Customer Reviews

Tailspin Headwhack

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Without a doubt, the production raises the level of this cd several notches above his first yet ironicaly, he doesnt match the kind of pyrotechnics he showed on "shelo" on that same disc, with his rendition here of "driving south" a huge dissapointment and his vocal range still woefully short of adequate, in most places, the only redeeming factor here is the sense that wonderful things are possible from this guy, on a few of the songs i can start to hear the beginnings of a signature sound that is quite inspiring.it could be that no album has yet captured the fullness of the chris duarte experience for I hear only great things from anyone who has seen him live and he plays,at times, with a wonderful recklessness that would be a joy to see and is a pleasure to listen to. i will buy his third cd also,in due time,as the guy has my keen attention about where he is going to take his considerable talent. worth a listen or three, leave the expectations for greatness in the store and enjoy the presence of great potential, id love to see a concert......

I have seen Chris Duarte live a number of times and neither of his discs even begins to approach what he does live. Nevertheless, both of his offerings are very good and worth having. His first CD; however, is the better of the two and more similar to what you get live. If you ever get a chance to see him live, don't pass it up - he is awesome.

What a disappointmnt this release is. "Texas Sugar..." was so refreshing and then Chris released this pile of rubble. Most of the original material is shockingly bad and the cover treatments should be a felony. Chris deserves a whack in the head for trashing "The Thrill Is Gone" and "Drivin' South." He is very talented so the future still looks bright even after this disasterous release.

I instantly dug this entire cd starting with Catch The Next Line. I was at a drive up when that song came on and the guy says "Who is that?" I showed him the jewel case and he was sold,"I'm gonna get this!" Wanna rock? Want to get funky and do some major punk blues to yo' head? Hell, throw a party and keep playing this one ALL night long. If Chris comes close to your town, run to go see him. His show's even hotter live. Awesome guitar riffs up and down the neck. Simply amazing. De veras.

A fine album by one of the funkiest men alive. Definitely a heavily rotated disc in my collection, but to truely appreciate Chris he has to be witnessed LIVE! Anyone who missed Hendrix or Clapton at the Flamingo or Stevie Ray at the Continental should check him out to get a glimse of what it was like. I recommend this and his first album Texas Sugar, Strat Magic Highly!

I was gonna give it three stars but then I popped in Texas Sugar and demoted this one even further. A couple of good songs, but like many other artists, tried a bit too much of the funk and lo-fi rap drum garbage. Really ruins these songs by a very talented player. Buy Texas Sugar... Outstanding!! Hope there will be more from Chris.

To paraphrase my brother, who is a both a devoted guitarist and a devoted student of many playing styles (from D'Jango to Jimi), Chris Duarte manages to combine influences from many, many other fine artists and yet retains his own unique style. His music ranges from straight-ahead kick-... rock to liquid, buttery-smooth jazz, blues and soul. If you expect ANY of his albums to be consistent and uneclectic, forget it. If, however, you delight in amazing, incindiary, surprising and listenable ear-candy, ALL of Duarte's work is a treat.

While you're at it, look him up on the Web and plan on seeing him in concert. I did, at some little biker dive in Topeka, KS. Spent most of the time there in slack-jawed amazement at him and his band. God only knows how Duarte wrenches so of the music he gets out of that strat, but it's well worth hearing.

This album and it's predecessors are more polished versions of the Duarte magic. I highly recommend you spend a few $$$ and buy them. Your ears will thank you.

This guy owes a heck of a lot to Jimi Hendrix and even more so to Stevie Ray Vaughn's take on Hendrix. But, hey, you could have worse influences...right ? On his second recording "Tailspin Headwhack" (what a great name) Chris Duarte plays some incindiary and inspired stuff.On his first release, Austin ,Texas native Duarte managed to meld Stevie Ray and the Red Hot Chili Peppers into a great, funky album.Though generally danceable this one's not quite as funked up, opting for a more soul searching,brooding sound. It comes off quite well indeed,and I think this one's better. The poppish "Cleopatra" leads off with distortion laden guitar over a nice groove. Chris does the lead vocals here as well and his voice matches his music perfectly.At this point the show start's to ignite. Ther'es a soulful rendition of B.B. King's "The Thrill Is Gone" and an excellent update of the Meter's "People Say". The rest are mostly originals and run from the rockin' "Drivin' South" to the the more introspective and psychedelic sounding "Walls". Also noteworthy is the title cut which also sounds like something from the "Electric Ladyland" sessions. Ditto for the sultry".32 Blues", with superlative Hammond work from former SRV bandmate Reese Winans. The band is always right on the mark, confident and rock solid. A solid offering, "Tailspin Headwhack", is an easy disc to throw on almost anytime and I can't think how anybody couldn't get caught up in this swamp- rocker groove.

Chris has a much more "funky" feel on this CD. His first (texas sugar strat magic)showed what Chris is - one great guitar player. This just doesn't grab you like his first. It's not bad. I have both in my drawer at work. When I go to listen to them, I pick his first 90% of the time. Parts of it show a hint more Hendrix than SRV, but there seems to be a pinch of Prince in here as well. I'm still waiting for Chris to come to Ohio. I understand he is fantastic live. His web site is also cool with lots of downloadable music.

A good artist, IMHO, expands on what he already knows. Duarte could play blues-rock in his sleep, but here he chooses to go further. On this CD, he tries some sampling and R and B to go with his blues. It took me a few listens to get into it. It's not as easily digestible as his debut. I think his songwriting is an improvement and his guitar playing is as good as on the first one. The playing here is more soulful than firery, and it's aslo more in the service of the song. I takes a lot more listens to like this one, but it's worth the effort.