TOWER.COM REVIEW
Jeff Healey - Mess of Blues
Jeff Healey, arguably one of the most distinctive guitar players of our time, released a bustling, bright collection of tunes he's titled Mess of Blues. The CD is being released internationally by the German blues label Ruf Records, and in Canada by Edmonton-based roots music company, Stony Plain Records.
"Mess of Blues was recorded late last year, with the musicians who regularly accompanied the guitarist at Jeff Healey's Roadhouse (named after the movie "Roadhouse") in Toronto. While most of the album was recorded in the studio, two tracks were in fact recorded live at the club, and two more cut at a concert in London, England. The Jeff Healey Blues Band was formed as a "house band" to accompany guests who sit in when Healey plays the club that carries his name in the Queen-Bathurst area, and to meet the ongoing international demand for the artist's powerful and unusual guitar work.
The guitarist called his group "the best damned bar band in Canada," and it consists of Dave Murphy on keys (he also sings on two cuts), bassist Alec Fraser (who co-produced the record with Healey), Dan Noordermeer on guitar and Al Webster on drums.