Release: DAVID LUMSDEN - ROOTED IN THE BLUES

DAVID LUMSDEN - ROOTED IN THE BLUES

CONTEMPORARY BLUES
LABEL: SELF
RELEASE DATE: MARCH 25, 2022

“Lumsden offers up a great variety of blues. These ten tracks highlight David and his
bandmates’ - Gary Davis, Jim Engel, Tim Bahn, and Kylan Davis - talent across the whole spectrum of the blues.” Bob Paleczny, WEFT 90.1FM & President, Prairie Crossroads Blues Society

The iconoclasm of Guitar Heroes is such a universal ideal that a successful video game was
created to honor the purveyors of the art, who wielded the instrument that filled the imagination
of generations of musicians, who strived to followed in their footsteps. Midwestern guitarist David
Lumsden has been chasing the guitar hero muse, since he got his first guitar at 10 years old in
1965, beginning his journey during the British Rock invasion and the Golden Age of Electric
Blues, the birth of soul, funk, and mainstream rock ‘n’ roll.
Lumsden’s sophomore album, “Rooted In The Blues,” could easily be described as a tribute to
those heady days when guitar heroes dominated the airwaves and turntables of young music
fans. The ten-song collection of three original tracks and seven reimagined classics run the
gamut of blues, blues rock shuffles, boogies, a countryfied train beat, FM pop and a few
surprises. Lumsden is backed by his hard-working band featuring Tim Bahn on keys, Gary Davis
on bass and drummer Jim Engel, who together have built a firm foundation for this six-string
salutation.The cavalcade begins with a faithful rendering of a Chuck Berry prototype from Eddy Clearwater,
‘I Wouldn't Lay My Guitar Down,’ complete with barrelhouse piano and rumbling baritone sax.
Lumsden’s ‘Runaway (Blues Train)’ is a down home chicken pickin’ good time with a classic
country train beat and hot licks reminiscent of Nashville aces Alvin Lee and Danny Gatton. John
Lee Hooker created the mold for electric guitar with ‘Boogie Chillen’’ in 1948, and Lumsden’s
‘Ruthless Boogie’ follows that patented form and mashes in a little ZZ Top and Deep Purple to
bring it into this century. The band then transforms Lieber/Stoller’s ‘Hound Dawg’ into a 70’s funk
number fueled by electric piano and more baritone sax from Ian Buschmann. The lovely ballad
‘Your Memory,’ composed by Lumsden’s old friend, jazz guitarist Greg Pasenko, sits in the middle
of the set as a fine palette cleanser and reminds us that six strings also come in the acoustic
variety.
The bump and grind blues, ‘Hooked On Something,’ is a revival of the time Lumsden spent with
guest vocalist Reggie Britton and his band, Black Magic Johnson. The spot-on instrumental cover
of ‘Josie’ not only pays homage to Guitar God Larry Carlton, but also to the vaunted session
players, who created a catalog of hit songs for Steely Dan. The 12-bar blues, ‘Everyday I Have
The Blues,’ that became a blues hall of fame standard with renditions recorded by numerous
artists, is Lumsden’s opportunity to acknowledge the impact on his life of all those records. He
then honors arguably the best electric guitarist of all time with a loving ‘Ode To Jimi AKA Slow
Burn’ quoting several well-known themes from the Hendrix Experience sonic lexicon. Recorded
live at the end of 2021 ‘Everything Is Broken,’ serves as a charming bonus track for the collection
featuring Kylan Davis, son of the bass player, on snarling lead vocal. David Lumsden has spent
his life as a student of the guitar arts and pays it forward with this heartfelt offering.
Rick J Bowen

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Fore More Information: Betsie Brown, Blind Raccoon, betsie@blindraccoon.com