The seven strong Warrnambool outfit crank up a sophisticated brand of urban R&B with just a touch of the woodshed, no pretension whatsoever and mountains of class and cool.
Quality is in top order and not one lick is overblown or dragged out in the name of false improvisation. Blue heat swings the blues courtesy of fabulously subtle horns that have the inherent ability to make one cry as attested by the fills and the changes of "Don't You Love Me Too Much".
The fraternal tightness of the Galbraith brothers rhythm section anchors the 10 tracks perfectly - just the security that Bradley Harrison needs to float a sinuous sax fill. Or for Mr. Goldsmith himself, the hip vocalist, writer, and guitarist who uses it to inject his craft. Yes, Blue Heat has got it right on all three stages of the song - the intro, the body and the finale.
"I'm Comin' Home" and "Right Track" are so good they warrant a long eulogising paragraph. Richard Tankard's slick keyboards provide the most subtle intro to this refined tune but if you were to intro-scan the intros to each tune at 10 seconds a song, you would have, in 100 seconds, all the persuasion needed to shell out your hard earned for what is another hallmark in Blue Heat's remarkably short recording career.
Marco Goldsmith's Blue Heat has the same tenacity, the same verve, the same economical yet improvisatory craft and deep feel that the best R&B bands from Houston, Los Angeles and West Memphis exhibited in the '40's, 50's and 60's. And yet this band is very much part of today's scene.
The next time this most esteemed gentlemen of the blues, Mr. B. B. King comes to Melbourne, he would be well advised to employ Blue Heat for himself. That's for sure!
This review is copyright © 1996 by Terry Reilly. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Copyright © 1996 Craig Smith
(galap@mira.net)
Last Changed 7 September 1996