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"With "Straight To The Point", Fred Chapellier delivers one of his best albums. An album that combines artistic demands, humility, sincerity and fervor."
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4/5
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Just over a year after his excellent best of "25 Years On The Road", Fred Chapellier is back with a new solo album, composed, as for many artists, during the pandemic. And as usual, we find in this "Straight To The Point" everything that makes the bluesman's personality so endearing: simplicity, efficiency and emotion. An emotion that shines through as much in his guitar playing, full of feeling, as in his deep and warm voice, which he has made over the years into a full-fledged instrument at the service of a racy and instinctive blues.
Blues is of course a topic throughout the album, which begins with a vibrant tribute to all the artists who have influenced Fred Chapellier since his earliest childhood ('Blues On My Radio'). But as always with this musician, rock, soul and rhythm and blues are never far away. So much so that "Straight To The Point" quickly takes on the appearance of the high point of a career entirely devoted to popularizing the power of the "blue" note.
The album is in many ways the quintessence of the French bluesman's music. First of all because the horns make their great return to energize most of the pieces, in particular 'I'd Rather Be Alone' and its swing inspired by Chicago blues or the excellent 'Remnants' in a more rhythm and blues spirit. Then because Fred Chapellier offers us some of the most beautiful instrumental tracks he has ever composed, notably the magnificent 'Juliette' and its duel of guitar and saxophone. Finally because "Straight To The Point" is a concentrate of eclecticism, sweeping almost all the sub-genres of the blues, from the slow blues of 'Tend To It' to the Texas blues of 'Same For You And Me' passing by the shuffle of 'Mother Earth' or the very jazzy 'Way Past Midnight' and 'Where Eagles Die'.
Needless to say that all the musicians invited to record "Straight To The Point" are in tune with the musical requirement of its author. But once again, it is Fred Chapellier's subtle and sensitive guitar playing that dominates the album. His playing has been refined for decades and is mostly inspired by Peter Green for its purity (the excellent blues cover of the soul standard: 'I've Got No Use My Imagination') and by Roy Buchanan for its flamboyance (the very funky 'Racing With The Cops').
With "Straight To The Point", Fred Chapellier delivers one of his best albums. An album that combines artistic demands, humility, sincerity and fervor. An album in the image of its author in short. - Official website
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TRACK LISTING:
01. Blues On My Radio
02. I'd Rather Be Alone
03. I've Got To Use My Imagination
04. Mother Earth
05. Remnants
 06. Juliette
07. Same For You And Me
08. Tend To It
09. Racing With The Cops
10. Way Past Midnight
11. Where Eagles Die
12. Basketful Of Blues
LINEUP:
Christophe Garreau: Basse
Eric Mula: Trompette
Fred Chapellier: Chant / Guitares
Guillaume Destarac: Batterie
Jérémie Tepper: Guitares
Jimmy Britton: Claviers
Michel Gaucher: Sax
Patrick Baldran: Guitares
Pierre D'angelo: Sax
Vic Martin: Claviers
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READERS
4/5 (1 view(s))
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STAFF:
4/5 (1 view(s))
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IN RELATION WITH FRED CHAPELLIER
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