Christone Ingram - Kingfish

Christone “Kingfish” Ingram has been on my radar for a while of course.  The kid – he’s just 20 – has been touted all over the place as “the future of the Blues”, so his name would be hard to miss.  It’s just taken me some time to get round to his debut album Kingfish.  And having done so, I can belatedly confirm young Christone is pretty darn good.

His quality is summed up by one song, ‘Been Here Before’.  One of several co-writes with producer Tom Hambridge, it’s a simple acoustic blues with a lyric based on his grandma’s perception of Ingram’s uncanny maturity – “that boy’s been here before”.  And the sentiment is borne out by the delivery, with a neat guitar motif, minimalist backing, and a

Christone "Kingfish" Ingram - "Get in there!"

“less is more” Kingfish solo.  And in large measure that’s the story of the album.  We have here a 20 year old with a rich, molasses-like voice, who prefers varied, subtle guitar playing to wanton shredding.  A grown-up, in other words.

Hailing from Clarksdale, a legendary stop on the Mississippi blues trail, Ingram nevertheless has a curiosity about the wider world, outlined on the opening ‘Outside Of This Town’.  A chunky riff is the entrée for his warm voice and quality phrasing, garnished with stiletto-like guitar licks that are precise not wasteful, and with tension and release in his solo.  As a piece of songwriting it’s not rocket science, but it is well constructed.  And in a similar vein ‘It Ain’t Right’ may be a fairly perfunctory 12 bar, but it’s well put across, with a sparkling solo combining quick trills and long sustained notes.

There’s well handled social commentary on ‘Believe These Blues’ and ‘Hard Times’, both penned by Hambridge with Richard Fleming.  The first is a slow to mid-tempo blues with a lyrical, varied first solo, that displays real feeling, while the second is another acoustic blues, on which Keb’ Mo’ contributes resonator guitar.

More uptempo variety comes by way of the crisply tripping ‘If You Love Me’, with Ingram showing off some pitter-patter vocal delivery simple drums from Hambridge, embroidered with some squawks of harp from Billy Branch.  And ‘Trouble’ is similarly upbeat, but with a Latin beat provided by congas, some subtle piano colourings from Marty Sammon, and effective guitar/vocal call-and-response work from Ingram.

In contrast the closing slowie ‘That’s Fine By Me’ is all languid resignation about the end of a relationship, with a sparse guitar opening accompanied by jazzy drums, a piano solo that catches the mood, and a fitting guitar solo that grows out of the melody, demonstrating that Ingram is capable of covering all the bases.

I do have a couple of questions mind you.  Like why bother to include ‘Fresh Out’, a song Hambridge and Fleming wrote for Buddy Guy?  Okay, it provides an excuse for Guy to add a verse of vocals and a solo.  But really it’s little more than an amped up version of ‘Come Back Muddy’, from Guy’s album Born To Play Guitar, and anyway I don’t think Ingram needs the leg up.

What’s more, Guy’s presence means that ‘Fresh Out’ features four guitarists.  And  Keb’ Mo’ may have come along to join the party for one song and stuck around to strum on a few more, but with the additional presence of Rob McNelley, several songs feature three guitarists.  There’s not exactly a ‘Born To Run’ wall of sound going on here, and Ingram copes fine as the lone guitarist on songs like ‘Trouble’ and ‘That’s Fine By Me’, so what are the others adding to the equation?

Whatever.  Those gripes aside, Christone Ingram is by no means one of those fly-by-night, over-hyped guitar “prodigies”.  On the evidence of Kingfish I wouldn’t saddle with him that “future of the blues” tag, but I’ve no doubt that he’s an artist with a very bright future.

Kingfish was released by Alligator Records on 17 May.

Quinn Sullivan - Midnight Highway

Teenage guitar prodigy.  Produced by Tom Hambridge.  Two phrases that don’t exactly fill me with confidence.  Too often the whizz kids suffer from PR types recklessly raising expectations.  And regular readers may have picked up on my doubts about the credentials of American uber-producer Hambridge.

Fair play though, the latter has done a nifty job of helming this third album by 17 year old plank spanker Quinn Sullivan, who does his own reputation no harm either with his playing and singing here.

Quinn Sullivan - the kid stays in the picture

Midnight Highway is a fresh and bright collection of songs, well executed by Sullivan, Hambridge (on drums), and some of the latter’s usual studio henchmen such as keyboard player Reese Wynans.  But anyone thinking that Sullivan’s association with Buddy Guy and past support slot for B.B. King means this is going to be wall-to-wall blues is going to be disappointed.  This is a diverse set that ranges from chunky R’n’B to AOR, from country-style fingerpicking to power pop.

The cover of ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ is indicative of Sullivan’s twin influences of the Beatles and the blues, and if it’s a pretty faithful reading it’s also fresh and modern-sounding, with Sullivan delivering some accomplished soloing – no bar band rendition, this.

The tougher end of the Sullivan sound is apparent in the opening ‘Something For Me’ and the later ‘Rocks’.  The former opens with a 78rpm style muffled vocal and drumbeats with an underlying drone, giving way to modern R’n’B featuring trills of jazzy piano from Wynans and subtly squealing guitar from Sullivan.  The latter is a suitably titled bit of simple boogie with shuffling drums, and an interesting ‘collapse’ into the middle eight and guitar solo – it may be slight, but it’s nicely done indeed.  ‘Graveyard Stone’ serves up a funkier Sixties soulful angle - with ‘Hush’-like guitar and organ riffing it’s a bit shag-a-delic, baby.

The power pop comes in the shape of ‘Tell Me I’m Not Dreaming’, a catchy little number with jangling guitar chords and vocal harmonies that could have been been delivered unto us by – wait for it – McFly.  It’s as bright and airily constructed as something Kevin McCloud might admire on Grand Designs, but if that’s just too damn teenage girly for you there’s always ‘Crazy Into You’, which manages to inject a glossy blues feel into the pop vibe, with staccato rhythm guitar, a succession of neat guitar fills, some more tasty organ from Wynans – and a catchy chorus.  ‘Lifting Off’ may be a less snazzy song, but it’s still sonically interesting, with some interesting guitar tones and falsetto vocals – at which point I should note that while Sullivan’s voice may still be a bit boyish, his singing is more than capable throughout.

The title track has something of an Eagles feel to it, with pinging guitar notes and more tasteful organ, and if ‘Eyes For You’ has a rather naff lyric it still demonstrates that Sullivan can convey a convincing acoustic country feel.

There are also a couple of interesting instrumentals: the rippling ‘Big Sky’ edges towards Steve Howe-like guitar with echoing piano accompaniment before settling into something more mainstream; and the closing ‘Buffalo Nickel’ is in post-Hendrix mode, spacy and effects laden, with Sullivan practically getting his guitar to talk as matters progress towards a high revving finale, with Hambridge going on a disciplined tour of his kit at the finish.

Midnight Highway might not be a tour de force, but it is a highly professional outing from a talented kid who lives up to the expectations created for him, ably supported by some quality musicians and some sympathetic production from Hambridge.  I’m impressed – and pleasantly surprised.