Duanne Eddy 28/5/2012

It's always dangerous to see a hero, especially when he is 74 years old. I needn't have worried. Duanne is still a great guitar player and playing in front of a classy band and most importantly with a sax player with lots of rock and roll in him, the gig delivered. The only previous time I saw Duanne was about 20 years ago and even then that was a come-back for a guitar player that made his name in the fifties and early sixties. However a recent recording in the UK 'Road Trip' had given hime some profile and I guess that was what lead to the recent tours. He played a number of tracks from the recent album and all the famous songs from the archive. Second track in was 'Movin' and Groovin'' and to hear that seminal recording, that kickstarted the Beachboys, played live, was powerful. A number of classic Eddy songs followed interspersed with an occasional track from the new album. The classics included 'Yep', 'The Lonely One', 'Shazam' -all played with full-on Eddy guitar, full-on rocking sax and great back up from the band. He then brought on two girl singers to deliver 'Play me like you play that guitar' and of course 'Guitar Man'. Being the first piece of vinyl that I fully purchased myself , from choice to taking the money in the shop, makes it powerful stuff to hear live. He then played '3:30 Blues' a track which for me always demonstrated that Eddy is a fine musician beyond the 'Twang' shorthand. Towards the end Richard Hawley (whose band this was bar Paul Porrey on sax) joined in and having a third guitar to add to Eddy and the excellent Shez Sheridan upped the tempo again. A rip roaring 'Primeval' from the new album was followed by a vocal track that was a tribute to Lee Hazelwood 'Still is the Night'. 'Rebel Rouser' and 'Peter Gunn' finished the set, iconic stuff but played for real. A couple of tracks of encore , finishing with 'Hard Times' and Duanne ambled off stage. This was an unexpected gem of a gig.