Fitchburg Street
Doyle Bramhall
Yep Roc
Damn, I’m pretty sure we buried Stevie.
Evidently, I’m mistaken. Fitchburg Street sounds so much like a lost Stevie Ray Vaughn record you keep checking the cover to make sure the singer doesn’t have a goatee and a cowboy hat on. Doyle Bramhall is a great vocalist, good songwriter (he wrote “Life By the Drop,” which SRV covered) and an able guitarist, but damn, he’s walking in a really narrow trench on this record. Heavy on John Lee Hooker covers, Bramhall has Texas grit for blood, and his music has a commanding swagger that is missing in large measure from modern blues rock. Other than the lamentable choice to cover “That’s How Strong My Love Is,” which since Otis Redding recorded it, only fools have attempted, this is an enjoyable record, and since Bramhall and Stevie most likely developed their skills in the same place at the same time, it’s not surprising that he sounds a whole lot like SRV. But for some of us who revere Vaughn, this record, no matter how well intended, feels like walking on a grave.
Originally published Ink 19, 2003
mannormyth 