Philip Sayce
Steamroller
Provogue Records

Some people are born to be musicians and Welsh born whiz Philip Sayce is one of them. Having been weened from an early age on a musical diet including legends like Eric Clapton and Dire Straits, while most kids were out playing soldiers, Sayce had his eye following his heroes and, one listen to the way he burns his way around the instrument shows that all those years of bleeding fingers and broken guitar strings have paid off.

Having been plucked out of nothing during his teenage years to join the Jeff Healey band, it is obvious from listen to tracks like The Mystic and the way Sayce works his magic that those hours and opportunities were most definitely put to good use. Clearly sitting comfortably with the music of those who helped inspire this vision, material like the chugging Black Train will certainly find a welcome home with those who have eaten from the same musical pie as Sayce. If you’re a fan of the classics like Hendrix, Clapton, Dire Straits and so on, there is no reason why the unpolished, genuine, honest sounds Sayce wrings out of his guitar won’t sit nicely in your record collection. It’s a record that sounds like it belongs in that era but, at the same time, doesn’t sound dated.

Don’t worry though, if you like something a bit more upbeat, the magnificent Beautiful will help there. A snazzy, uptempo number guaranteed to get audiences on their feet and clapping along, it’s nice to see that he’s writing material that will not only impress his crowd but will have them on their feet enjoying every note he plays.

Release Date : 27th February 2012

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Philip-Sayce/105666346133349

Buy this album from Amazon

Review by Graham Finney