Web site Penny Black Music has released its verdict on Bill’s first solo album release in 33 years, saying that Bill’s ‘hard work really shines through to the end’.
Penny Black Music has featured a detailed, track-by-track review of Bill’s latest solo album, Back To Basics. The site, which has a dedicated following of music fans, reviewing and interviewing an array of musical talent, gave Bill’s Back To Basics album a glowing review.
Says the site:
Bill Wyman’s CV is an astonishing one — the former member of the Rolling Stones went on to produce an impressive list of solo albums and art books, but throughout his career, he never lost sight of the blues. On his new album, ‘Back to Basics,’ you can see through his twelve originals that he has remained extremely faithful to the genre.
‘What & How & If & When & Why’ opens the collection, boasting a fierce Hendrix-type ninth chord as a leit motif. “You end up hiding even though you’re law abiding,” Wyman asserts. The spoken word song explores a myriad of tense situations with a curious lightness. The bright saxophone and backing singers embellish with sheen.
‘I Lost My Ring’ is more of an R & B shuffle and it begins with a lovely guitar passage. Wyman’s attention to structure shines through. It’s rife with playful modulations and sax that comes across as more simmering than in the previous ballad. The first two songs are precisely the same length. The pacing on the album is another perk — it’s really well balanced as far as the song lengths. Wyman’s lament begins with the losing of his ring, but as he pours his heart out in the subsequent verses we realize he has been hit by the blues even harder emotionally.
Read the full Penny Black Music Bill Wyman Back To Basics album review.