Regular readers of Guitar Noize will know that I have a penchant for blues and I get very excited when I discover a new artist who is following in the footsteps of the greats who have preceeded him.
Here is a little background on Marcus:
Marcus was born in North London and from an early age was played Joe Cocker, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and an array of blues and folk by his mother and father who made him tapes of old LP’s he owned, Marcus proceeded to break these tapes through over playing quicker than his dad could make them till he was given a guitar made from a shoe box and elastic bands to keep him occupied. It wasn’t till 12 years later at the age of 15 he actually picked up a real guitar.
Heavily steeped in delta blues his music combines elements of folk, rock and soul. He has been likened to a modern John Martyn, Seasick Steve and Tom Waits.
“What Good Am I To You?” opens with a track called “Will Not Play Your Game” and it is impossible not to make a comparison to Seasick Steve, especially the gravelly voice which defies his youthful looks and fingerpicked acoustic guitar playing but Marcus isn’t a one man band and when the band kicks in this track falls into a deep funky blues groove that will instantly make your foot tap and head nod. The production is very slick and everything sits perfectly in its virtual audio space when you listen with headphones, the electric slide sitting just off to the right and the hummed multiple backing vocals that seem to sit on either shoulder and make the sides of your head vibrate. This is a killer opening track that sets the album up very nicely.
There are elements of southern rock, country and folk all over this album which can be heard on the 2nd track “Goin Down” whereas the 3rd track “Messin Round No More” is a more traditional blues style which you could expect someone like Buddy Guy to play, and he pulls it off perfectly.
There is some nice acoustic fingerpicking across this album too as I mentioned on the opening track, and the track “Devil Girl” which has a folky laid back feel and a strong groove akin to the John Butler Trio.
There is also a great track called “Tweed Blazer” which is like Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Rude Mood” although the guitars with the slapback on sound a bit more surfy.
The title track “What Good Am I To You?” is in 2 parts, the first part reminded me of Keb Mo’ whereas part 2 is more Rolling Stones with its honky tonk piano parts.
“God Only Knows” is just voice and blues harp and you can imagine Marcus buskin’ this track on the streets of London. I still can’t believe this music is by a white guy from London?!
The cheekily titled track “Give Me Your Cash” is available as a free download using the widget below so I will let you listen and make your own mind up about this track, it displays Marcus’ slide skills and some down and dirty blues riffin’.
It is not often I come across a new blues artist that has a complete mastery of all the different styles of blues and roots that even though there are hints of influences on all of his music Marcus Bonfanti still has his own defined voice. Marcus doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel, he simply uses his influences to guide his compositions and mould them into great songs.
www.marcusbonfanti.com – Official Site
www.myspace.com/marcusbonfantimusic – Marcus on MySpace
.png)
No comments yet. You should be kind and add one!
By submitting a comment you grant Guitar Noize a perpetual license to reproduce your words and name/web site in attribution. Inappropriate and irrelevant comments will be removed at an admin’s discretion. Your email is used for verification purposes only, it will never be shared.