CD Review of Days Like This

by Al Kaplan of Bluesrockers web site

“Days Like This” is Danny Bryant’s fourth CD and may be his best yet. In my reviews of his previous three CDs, I always mentioned his uncanny similarity to Walter Trout, not surprising since Trout is his mentor and good friend. This time around, Trout appears with Bryant on one of the songs and it is the listener’s good fortune to realize that it is often difficult to determine which of the two is playing or singing at any given time. The song itself is the title track and, clocking in at over eight minutes, is slow blues nirvana. One song does not make a great CD but, rest assured, “Days Like This” is indeed one great CD, certainly the best I have heard in several months. As a reviewer and listener, I have a mental checklist that I go through when forming my opinion of a CD.

The checklist is as follows:

-guitar proficiency
-guitar tone
-fluidity of playing
-structure of the guitar solos
-power and “bluesiness” of the vocal performance
-intensity of both guitar and vocals
-emotion inherent in the overall performance
-tightness of the rhythm section
-song structure and "hook"
-percent of the songs that I listen to over and over

It is a very rare CD that I give a high rating to each and every item on the checklist, but Danny Bryant’s latest is such a CD. With the exception of Walter Trout on the title song and Chris Copper on keyboards for two of the songs, the lineup is a trio with Danny’s father Ken Bryant on bass and, a new addition to the band since the third CD, Dave Raeburn on drums. The rhythm section is one of the best around for this format, providing tough support for Danny’s playing and singing, but never overpowering his performance.

The opening song, “Losing Game,” has a brief acoustic intro with great vocals. About 35 seconds into the song, Danny switches to electric guitar and quickly shows his jaw-dropping proficiency. “Earl Shuffle” is an instrumental dedicated to Ronnie Earl and played in his style. I’m sure that Mr. Earl would heartily approve. “Heart Working Overtime” is more up-tempo than the previous tracks. It is a tough sounding song, somewhat reminiscent of an arena-rock band’s performance, only far better. “Back in Baltimore” is a short instrumental ballad, very touching and a wonderful change of pace. “Long Time Coming” is one of my favorites. The guitar playing and tone sounds eerily similar to John Mayall/Fleetwood Mac era Peter Green, whose influence I have heard on certain songs on Bryant’s previous CDs. “Last Man Standing” is, as the title implies, a slow, tough song with great guitar soloing. “Blues All Over Me” is perhaps the closest song on the CD to traditional blues with yet another great guitar solo. “Good Time Woman” is another up-tempo performance and reminds me of an early John Mayall type of song. The final track, “Always With Me,” is a gospel-infused ballad with touching guitar fills and heartfelt vocals.

As with any great CD I listen to, I always wish that both the songs and the overall CD were longer. With four CDs and 40 songs in his current body of work, I really think that Danny Bryant’s next release should be a 2-CD set of a live performance, preferably with Mr. Trout sitting in on a few of the songs.

As far as I know, Danny Bryant is way below the radar in the United States and that is truly a shame. He is an artist who deserves as wide recognition as possible. In all of the blues/rock music I listen to, there are artists who are extremely proficient on guitar but lack emotion in their performance. When I come across a group like Danny Bryant’s RedEyeBand that display both proficiency and emotion in their performance AND record a CD that passes my personal checklist with flying colors, I feel fortunate to be able, in some small way, to pass the word to others.

 © Al Kaplan of Bluesrockers