bluesboy_g's Full Review: 88 Elmira St. by Danny Gatton
The genius of Danny Gatton has gone under appreciated while he was alive and still is 8 years after his death. Here is a guitar player who could out play any guitar picker that crossed his path. However, his lack of commercial appeal was the stumbling block in his career. Throughout the 1980's and early 1990's pop, hair metal, and Seattle dominated the charts. A guitar virtuoso like Danny never really had a chance at commercial success unless they were part of a superstar act. But Danny stuck to his guns and played what he liked. 88 Elmira St. was his major label debut in 1991. Somebody finally recognized his talent in the majors and gave him a more than deserved shot. This opportunity came after a few years of rave reviews about his 1987 album Unfinished Business. That album was the springboard for greater things to come for Danny. Unfortunately, 88 Elmira St. came out in a time when hair bands were on their way out and flannel "alternative" bands were on their way in. This all instrumental album did well for Danny but was not as successful as it should have been. It was his most commercial release and one of his best pieces of recorded work. Let's take a closer look at the tracks.
1. FUNKY MAMA - Funky shuffle blues at it's best. Danny plays a lot of blues licks with some country guitar runs mixed in. Bill Holloman covers all of the horn parts and lays down a tasty blues sax solo. This blues shuffle song should have your head bopping immediately. Listen to how Danny uses his guitar's volume and tone knobs to make his guitar sound like it's crying or wailing. Cool stuff!
2. ELMIRA ST. BOOGIE - Sounds like how Elvis Presley's backing band might sound in the 90's. This is a rockabilly blues tune. Danny's guitar has a great echo effect on it to make it sound like it was Scotty Moore playing! Danny plays like Scotty, Paul Burlison, Cliff Gallup, and Brian Setzer all rolled into one on this cut. There are plenty of rockabilly guitar licks in this track to make any rockabilly guitarists out there re-evaluate their own playing. Another good upbeat number.
3. BLUES NEWBURG - A scorching slow blues barn burner! This is how I think slow blues should be played. It sounds like slow blues, played by Albert Collins, on steroids. There is plenty of blues feel in this track and numerous fast guitar runs that will make your head spin. This is my favorite track on the album and definitely one of the album's highlights. You will be hitting repeat on your CD player for sure!
4. QUIET VILLAGE - This cover song is very interesting. It sounds like a mix of Latin, World music, and jazz with a country guitar tone. This mid tempo number is very mellow and dreamy. Danny plays some great melodic phrases on his guitar. Another winner of a song that shows how Danny could easily mix many different musical styles together to create a brilliant piece of music.
5. RED LABEL - Here is another cool track. A Latin, funk, country mix with very ear catching melodic guitar parts. The horns beef up this song. Bill Holloman strikes again with a beautiful trumpet solo. He was definitely an asset to this band. This song once again has great guitar soloing and a great mid tempo groove. Nice work.
6. IN MY ROOM - Yes, that's right. An instrumental version of Brian Wilson's Beach Boys classic. This was probably as commercial as Danny got. It sounds pretty much like the original except there are no vocals.
7. THE SIMPSONS - Another stab at commercialism. This version of the Simpson's theme song smokes. You want to learn all about guitar tricks? Then listen to how Danny manipulates his guitar to make it sound like you were listening to the actual Simpson's TV show theme. Bill Holloman plays a great sax solo. Danny and crew have some fun with this cut taking it to new heights. Definitely worth listening to.
8. MUTHASHIP - This is a straight time blues rock tune. Sounds like Danny Gatton is playing with a big rock band such as The E Street Band or Huey Lewis and the News. Very fast guitar runs are all over this song. The ever so soulful Bill Holloman lays down another fabulous sax solo. I should mention at this point that John Previti on bass and Shannon Ford on the drums are two amazing players in their own right. They are a deadly rhythm section combo that follow Danny in whichever direction he goes and they do not miss a beat.
9. PRETTY BLUE - Slow blues shuffle with a country twang to it. Another version of this song was released on the posthumous Danny Gatton album called Portraits. This is very mellow. Sit back, close your eyes, turn the lights down and transcend with this tune. Yet again Bill Holloman plays a mean sax solo. I hate to sound like a broken record but he is a fantastic horn player and deserves all the accolades he gets.
10. FANDINGUS - Rockabilly. Pure and simple and it's one of the styles that Danny truly excels at. Great guitar playing on this one. Not to be missed.
11. SLIDIN' HOME - This album closer is one of the few times (maybe the only time) that Danny recorded an acoustic blues number. Danny plays tasteful and melodic slide guitar for the first minute and then the band kicks it up a notch and the horns and electric guitars come in. Lots of great slide playing.
It is very hard to really describe everything that Danny could do with a guitar. He could play any style that he wanted with ease. He brilliantly mixed them all together. His main bread and butter mix was rockabilly, country, blues, jazz, and rock. He was so good that he effortlessly mixed all of these styles together in every song he did. It made his playing extremely interesting and astonishing to listen to.
88 Elmira St. was one of his better albums. Any guitar player who is interested in styles such as blues and rockabilly should own this CD. Heck, go pick up as many of his albums as you can. There is so much to learn from a Danny Gatton album. Unfortunately, non musicians might find all instrumental albums like this one a little boring. They might just like it as back ground music. That was Danny's downfall. He never had a permanent vocalist in his group and at least half of his recorded material is instrumental. Personally, I think he and his band were strong enough to ride on their instrumental prowess but obviously that was not the case.
Fans of Danny probably already own this CD. If you are a musician and you like blues, jazz, country, and rockabilly guitar playing then this CD is for you. You will not be disappointed.
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