A veteran guitarist who has worked with Roomful Of Blues and his own band, The Broadcasters, among many others, Ronnie Earl possesses a sweet, searing tone and the ability to skate between styles--from blues to jazz to gospel spirituals.
In this very mellow but inspired and inspiring album, Earl creates guitar-based spirituals that can stand alongside Carlos Santana/John McLaughlin's Love Devotion and Surrender, as well as the more cerebral works of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Duane Allman, Albert King, and Eric Clapton. Healing Time features organ giant Jimmy McGriff and a pliant band massaging Earl's twilight tunes into reveries of soul-fueled fury.
"Thembi"'s waterfall piano chords and sunny disposition recalls the cosmic searching of John Coltrane, "Idle Moments" the smoky-sweet 3 a.m. blues of Wes Montgomery, "Catfish Blues" the raunch and roll of Buddy Guy or Albert Collins, "Song For A Brother" the blue-eyed soul of the Idlewild South-era Allman Brothers Band or maybe Derek and the Dominoes. Even in referring to other guitarists, Earl creates something unique and quite beautiful, an album that would be as at home in a bar on Saturday night as a church on Sunday morning.
All recordings courtesy of Telarc Records. All songs written by R. Earl; courtesy of Mr. Earl Publishing (BMI).
