The very first track of Chris Duarte's latest offering
would lead one to expect another batch of high-quality blues-rock from the
Austin guitarist. Competent, if not always as inventive as one might like,
Duarte is one of many to be pinned with the "next Stevie Ray Vaughan" tag
recently, and the appropriately titled "Baddness" gives one no reason to
expect anything different.
Almost immediately, however, Duarte veers off that
well-traveled highway and goes careening off down some dirt road. True,
"Brand New Day" isn't exactly startling--it's old-time, Chuck
Berry-heyday-style rock 'n' roll, performing with an energy that suggests
there's a highly personal tale behind it--but things soon get stranger.
"All Night" sounds utterly unlike Duarte's straight-ahead sound; parts of
it have a driving, foot-stomping beat, but in between the guitar wanders
along lazily, taking the listener with it. "Metaphor Song" will make
anyone familiar with the music coming out of Seattle over the past 15
years take notice, as it sounds more like alternative rock than blues. And
so on. Duarte avows that "How Long" is a reach for a Howlin' Wolf sort of
sound, and sure enough, it's vaguely reminiscent of "Spoonful," though
perhaps closer to the way Cream performed it. "Azul Ezell" is probably the
biggest stretch; if Duarte is aiming for guitar godhood, this track is a
step in that direction, roaming as it does between various musical styles
and giving the guitarist plenty of room to show his stuff.
So what does all this mean? Duarte's been accused in the
past of having little originality--for all his talent as a guitarist--and
it might be that Love is Greater Than Me, easily his most personal
release, is his strongest attempt at breaking out of well-worn paths? Is
it successful? Partially. It's still obvious that one tune is a homage to
Hendrix, another to Sly Stone, and so on. On the other hand, this is
definitely Duarte's most inventive and varied effort yet, and as such, it
should be applauded. Besides, "Duarte E Ezell," which closes the album,
might not sound particularly bluesy, but it has the heartbreaking quality
all good blues should possess.
-- Originally appeared in Blues Revue No. 64,
January/February 2001, p. 54