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Dudley Taft: Deep Deep Blue

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: American Blues Artist Group
Released: 2013.05.07
Time:
 48:29
Category: Blues, Country
Producer(s): John Kessler
Rating:
Media type: CD
Web address: www.dudleytaft.com
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2014
Price in €: 1,00





 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Meet Me in the Morning (Bob Dylan) - 4:42
[2] The Waiting (Dudley Taft) - 3:45
[3] God Forbid (Dudley Taft) - 4:18
[4] Sally Can't Dance (Lou Reed) - 3:55
[5] Deep Deep Blue (Dudley Taft) - 6:34
[6] Feeling Good Now (Dudley Taft) - 4:26
[7] Wishing Well (Dudley Taft) - 4:11
[8] Satisfy You (Dudley Taft) - 4:37
[9] Bandit Queen (Dudley Taft) - 2:52
[10] Palace of the King (Donald "Duck" Dunn / Don Nix / Leon Russell) - 4:25
[11] Shanks Skimbo (Dudley Taft) - 5:04

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Dudley Taft - Guitar, Vocals
John Kessler - Bass, Producer
Eric Robert - Keyboards
Chris Leighton - Drums
Jason Patterson - Drums
Scott Vogel - Drums
Ashley Christensen - Backing Vocals

Geoff Ott - Engineer
Rick Ledoux - Engineer
Shanna Marie Ducan - Album Artwork

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


Recorded at London Bridge Studios, Studio X, Studio D, Seattle, WA; Jeff Grimes Studio, Goldsboro, NC; Studio D, Chapel Hill, NC.



Dudley Taft has yet again proven his staple in today’s blues rock scene with his upcoming album, Deep Deep Blue. After several projects came and went, Taft formed a band under his own name in 2006. His current album builds on his debut, Left For Dead, with countless hit after hit. Taft’s classic rock approach garners uncanny comparison to past greats. Taft embodies the eclectic bluesy style of a Clapton or Beck, with the edgy vocals of a Billy Gibbons. Deep Deep Blue is one hell of a ride, start to finish.

Taft’s meticulous guitar playing carries each track to another dimension. With the addition of bass, keys and horn, the band blends seamlessly, rolling out one catchy rhythm after another. Songs like “Sally Can’t Dance” and “Feeling Good Now” start off with the intricate flare of Taft’s guitar; the hook, line and sinker that leaves you wanting more. The songs only take off from there, building on each riff with rhythm and bass. “Feeling Good Now” features trumpets, offering yet another layer to the band. Taft’s guitar seems to weave throughout, an interlude between licks. “Satisfy You” comes on heavy with a distorted intro, alluding to a groovy verse, led by John Kessler on bass. Drummer Scott Vogel shines on the intro to “Meet Me in the Morning.” The big hit, “Wishing Well,” highlights Taft on acoustic to begin, making way for a killer solo and catchy harmonized chorus.

Dudley Taft seems to have found solid ground with his new band, and they are picking up the pace with Deep Deep Blue. Chock full of hits, the album is a definitive fan pleaser, each track a riff driven rock anthem, with two feet in the blues. Taft’s talents are streamlined to our ears for a refreshing ode to classic rock and roll.

The Review: 9/10

Don Tice - April 12th, 2013
Copyright © Blues Rock Review



My first intro to Dudley Taft was by way of his debut release "Left For Dead", of which I wrote, "If you got a hankering to listen to some good old kick-ass blues/rock mixed with a dash of classic rock, then please step right up and grab yourselves Dudley Taft's Debut Release.  "Left For Dead" is a non-stop feast for the ears in the timeless tradition of old ZZ Top and Stevie Ray Vaughan, which is sure to be recognized as one of 2010's best albums in this style". Dudley Taft's "Deep Deep Blue" continues in the vein of all the above and more, a lot more.

When you put the monster release that is "Deep Deep Blue" into your CD player, don't start kidding yourself that you are going to be doing anything other than being glued to the front of your stereo, absolutely mesmerized with the non-stop tour de force that is the music of Dudley Taft. From the first few notes of the opening Track, "Meet Me In The Morning", you will be lassoed to your chair and loving it, as this previous Hard Core Rocker, now Hard Core Blues Rocker, blasts out one solid hit after the other, all the while treating your eardrums to a whole new dimension.

"Deep Deep Blue" clocks in at 48+ minutes and offers us 11 smoking Tracks of which 8 are Dudley Taft originals. For the 3 Covers, Taft chose some really nice ones which included, Track 1, "Meet Me In The Morning" (Bob Dylan), Track 4, "Sally Can't Dance" (Lou Reed), and Track 10, "Palace Of The King" (Leon Russell, Don Nix, Duck Dunn). "Deep Deep Blue" was produced by John Kessler, whom is also the Bass player on this album. The album was recorded at Seattle's Studio X and London Bridge, with Overdubs and Taft's guitar tracks recorded at Taft's home studio in Chapel Hill. Additional musicians on "Deep Deep Blue" included Scott Vogel, Chris Leighton, & Jason Patterson (Drums), and Eric Robert (Keyboards). Ashley Christensen appears on "Deep Deep Blue" in the capacity of Backing Vocals. There is also a really fine Horn Section on a number of the Tracks.

When it came to picking a few favorites off of "Deep Deep Blue", it was not an easy task, in fact I could of thrown the names of all the Tracks into a hat and picked out 3 of them and they would of been great picks simply because the album is that strong. Regardless, for my 3 favorites, I chose, Track 1, "Meet Me In The Morning", Track 4, "Sally Can't Dance", and Track 7, "Wishing Well".

First Tracks more then often get on my 3 favorites list simply because they are ones first impression of hopefully what is to come and therefore need to be really strong. "Meet Me In The Morning" was certainly a strong opener with it's super tasty riff.

I love Lou Reed and Dudley Taft does his song "Sally Can't Dance", to perfection, not by mimicking it, but by adding his unique twist to it, which at times sounded like Alice Cooper took over his Vocals. This one comes at you with all guns loaded, including Backing Vocals, Horn Section, and Searing Lead Guitar. Really fine stuff.

"Wishing Well" was my favorite song on "Deep Deep Blue". This gems starts and finishes on a great acoustic note, while the rest of the song wasted no time kicking it into high gear with great Lead Guitar and awesome backing Chorus.

"Deep Deep Blue" was one of those rare albums for which I could not stop listening to it, once I started, with my first thought being, when it was finished, was that I can't wait to listen to it all over again.

5***** for Dudley Taft's brilliant release "Deep Deep Blue", one of the most enjoyable Blues Rock albums I have listened to in a very long time.

John Vermilyea - Blues Underground Network



Okay, so there I was, for FAME reviewing some really cool samba in a recent CD from a dreamy romantic female singer, me going all misty-eyed and gooshy when the disc wound down. Then Dudley Taft's Deep Deep Blue turned up in my Review-It-and-Right-Goddamned-Now! backlog and, whew!, woke my ass right back up, I'm tellin' ya. Funky and chunky in the old school Chickenshack/ZZ Top/Groundhogs/Jim Suhler & Monkeybeat/70s school with a lot of solid stompfootin', Taft first slo-mo's the blues in a complete turn-around of Dylan's Meet Me in the Morning, then pulls a righteous speed-up in The Waiting, a cross between Turbine, Dire Straits, Les Dudek, Gary Moore, and Frank Marino in a bouncy zipalong burning with a middle eight illuminating the smokin' rhythms. Nice start, and my bossa nova mindset had fled to Acapulco to down a few mojitos.

And Taft keeps it up as the disc progresses, embodying a mid-point between that deep confidence Billy Gibbons so sedately pinpoints and a more slippery grinning mid-West salubriousness combined with a glowering hippie ethos which prompted him into a set of cool-ass Leslie West/Mountain riffs in Satisfy You and then the Eric Gales-ish Bandit Queen. Feeling Good Now popped up, and it carries the jazzy swing of the old Edgar Winter Band circa the Jerry LaCroix era, a place where rock and soul met to knock back a few and then hit the butt boogie dance floor for a few turns and tailshakes.

Taft's been around the block a few times, earlier having formed the band Sweet Water, which opened for acts like Alice in Chains and Monster Magnet. He moved on to helm Second Coming for a year or so, an ensemble that snagged a #10 chart position with one cut and saw another placed in a Bruce Willis movie, and thus the grizzled string-wrangler knows how to put a tune together. His milieu starts in the Delta tradition, travels to Chicago to pick up its modernizations, and kinda hops over to London for a short extension course, but ends up sprinting back to Texas and getting to work. Yep, Texas 'cause that IS the last stop on the busline in American blues, whether other critics want to acknowledge it or not, and Mr. Taft is most sincerely a practitioner just as much as Johnny Winter was, along with quite a few cowboy-hat-wearing mojo men 'n wimmens. But he's also putting a few tricks of his own in, and if you'll jump straight to my fave track, The Waiting, you'll see exactly what I mean.

Mark S. Tucker
Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange



Lady K loves some rockin’ guitar blues, and coincidentally, Dudley Taft has some rockin’ guitar blues!! Out of North Carolina, Dudley Taft provided the guitar, vocals and songwriting for Deep Deep Blue. He was backed up by John Kessler (bass), Eric Robert (keyboards), Chris Leighton (of Double Trouble fame), Scott Vogel and Jason Patterson (drums), and Ashley Christensen (backup vocals)

So, in addition to his insane guitar, Dudley Taft penned most of the tunes on Deep Deep Blue, with the exception of some totally well-done covers: Bob Dylan’s “Meet Me in the Morning;” “Sally Can’t Dance” by Lou Reed, and Freddie King’s “Palace of the King.”

“The Waiting” is an up-up tempo, nasty-good rockin’ guitar number. Evidently the relationship has cooled and she’s been keeping him waiting too long. They had it all, but now it’s gone: “I’m done waiting for you, my time’s wasted, Lord knows I’m through.”

Lady K’s favorite is the title-song, “Deep Deep Blue” – a slow-slow sexy-plaintive guitar blues, with a long, insane instrumental mid-section – makes you want to close your eyes to listen (don’t attempt this while driving a car). It’s a love song, about love lost. He’ll “Pull myself together, close my eyes and think of you / fly my soul up the mountain, lost in the sky’s deep, deep blue.”

There’s more up-tempo, rockin’ guitar in “Feeling Good Now.” He’s been missing her; when she left, he spent lots of time just looking out the window, but he’s better now: “Feel all right, I don’t need you babe, tonight / feeling good now.” The mid-tempo track “Wishing Well” might take some explaining to younger blues fans (does anyone even have wishing wells anymore?). “Some will go to test their fate, others go to claim their stake; some come to listen, and some to tell, some find heaven, some find hell – I think I’ll just rest a spell. Show me baby how you feel, down by the wishing well.”

The rollicking up-tempo “Satisfy You” is just fun to listen to. And, ladies, it sounds like this guy is the answer to every woman’s dream: “I won’t dry your tears, but I can make all your troubles disappear – I want you to use me – any place, any time - I want to satisfy you.” And he plays killer guitar!!!

Rocking blues – yes; crazed guitar – yes; danceable – yes. All good – yes!

Lady K - August 2013
The Boston Blues Society



CHAPEL HILL, NC – Guitarist/singer Dudley Taft announces a May 7 release date for his new CD, Deep Deep Blue, coming from his own American Blues Artist Group Records. On Deep Deep Blue, Taft pulls together his influences – geographical, biographical and musical – and filters them through his blue soul. The result is a genre-busting slab of tunes, blending his Midwestern roots with his love of the blues, the British Invasion and Southern Rock, seasoned with songwriting and musicianship nurtured through 30-plus years as a musician. The new album, the second solo release from Taft, includes eight originals, plus deft takes on a diverse group of covers from Bob Dylan (“Meet Me in the Morning”), Lou Reed (“Sally Can’t Dance”) and Freddie King (“Palace of the King”).

Of the original tunes, Taft points out several for discussion. “‘God Forbid’ is an extension of the spaghetti western type of song we did on my last CD. Using the same protagonist who finds himself left for dead on the first album, the song provides a glimpse into the character's history. We kind of figure out what he did to make a certain person want to chase him down. ‘Wishing Well’ is my Americana song; it’s about hope and what you want out of life. It’s got an acoustic Neil Young flavor, a Crazy Horse-type of feel. And ‘Bandit Queen’ is a song I wrote about Pearl Hart. She was a girl who grew up reading Cowboys and Indians comic books around the turn of the century and decided she wanted to be like one of the characters. She left home, fell in love with a gambler and they robbed a stagecoach at a time when nobody was robbing them anymore. They got the money and were trying to hide, but ended up going in a big circle and getting caught close to where they robbed it. No one really knows what happened to her. One legend is that she joined Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.”
Dudley Taft’s slashing style of guitar playing, honed from years of work in a host of rock bands based in cities from Indianapolis and Houston, to Los Angeles and Seattle, has given his blues-fueled repertoire a decidedly edgier tone, which accentuates the tension and energy of the songs.
The songwriting and planning for Deep Deep Blue began in 2012, shortly after he moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The new CD was recorded at Seattle's Studio X and London Bridge, with drums by Scott Vogel and Chris Leighton, bass by John Kessler and keyboards by Eric Robert. Overdubs and Taft's guitar tracks were recorded at his home studio in Chapel Hill.

“I’m not going to try to be something that I’m not,” Taft says. “I’m not about regurgitating stuff that everybody has done before. The blues legends of old were breaking the rules; they were doing what they wanted. I'm just doing what comes naturally to me.”
That musical sensibility was nurtured by influences ranging from Ted Nugent, Kiss and Rush, to Foghat, ZZ Top and The Allman Brothers Band. In the early 1980s, Taft headed east to Connecticut. While attending prep school, Taft met Trey Anastasio (who would go on to play guitar for Phish) and formed Space Antelope, his first real band.
“Then it was out west to San Bernardino,” Taft recalls. He attended college there, but the call of music was too much for the burgeoning fret shredder, however, and he soon found his way into LA where he tried to find a band.

“It was all about the image and I had terrible hair,” he remembers. “In the summer of 1990, I heard Mother Love Bone’s EP, Apple, and it resonated heavily with me. It was REAL music. I drove up to Seattle to stay two weeks and ended up moving up there.”

For the next 20 years, Taft would become a fixture in the Seattle scene, forming Sweet Water, who toured the U.S. extensively with bands like Monster Magnet, Candlebox and Alice In Chains, and later Second Coming, who snagged a deal with Capitol Records and had a No. 10 hit single with “Vintage Eyes” and a song placed in the Bruce Willis movie, The Sixth Sense.

After the demise of Second Coming Taft, dug deep into his soul and uncovered the roots of the blues that had been planted there as a youth.

“I decided I wanted to do something different than another rock band,” Taft says, and after preparing to form what was initially going to be a ZZ Top tribute band, Taft discovered the magic of Freddie “The Texas Cannonball” King.

“That got me excited about having my own blues band,” Taft says. “I watched videos of Freddie, and the music is a bit looser and there is a lot of cueing going on. All the guys in the band are watching Freddie like a hawk. I wanted a band that understands that communication. And I thought: ‘dude I can play lead guitar all night long!’”

Teaming up with some A-list Seattle musicians, Taft recorded his first solo album, Left for Dead, and inked deal with Made In Germany records. A European tour ensued and was followed by Taft's relocation from Seattle to his new home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

“I’m just doing what comes naturally for me,” he says “I don’t have to write the next hit single. My original songs gestate themselves and emerge as they are. I don't try to make them fit any category. And if people like it, that’s good. I just play the guitar, keep my head down and roll with the changes.”




Zweiter Longplayer des Grunge-Bluesrockers Dudley Taft nach dem großen Erfolg seines ersten Soloalbums "Left For Dead". Das Album "Deep Deep Blue" kommt mit 11 Titeln, darunter 3 Coverversionen von Bob Dylan ("Meet Me In The Morning"), Lou Reed ("Sally Can't Dance") und Freddie Kings "Palace Of The King".

Produziert wurde das Album von Dudleys jahrelangem Weggefährten, dem Bassisten John Kessler. Chris Leighton (u. a. Ironhorse, Laura Love), Scott Vogel und Jason Patterson (ex-Cry Of Love, Chris Duarte) wechselten sich an den Drums ab, Eric Robert (Jerry Miller / Moby Grape) begleitet Dudley Tafts virtuoses und teilweise sehr rockiges Gitarrenspiel auf den Keyboards.

Eindeutig ist Dudley Taft ein würdiger Nachfolger zu "Left For Dead" gelungen. Im Gegensatz zum Vorgänger sind die Songs griffiger, fast kompakter, Produktion und Sound sind stimmig und runden das Allgemeinbild positiv ab. Die Protagonisten rocken und bluesen sich durch die 11 Titel und decken dabei das volle Spektrum ab.

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