Rating: 9/10

Track Amount: 10

Running Time: 47 minutes and 44 seconds

Genre: Blues Rock

Personnel: Eric Gales (vocals and guitars), plus others as indicated

Producer: Joe Bonamassa & Josh Smith

Recording Location: N/A

Record Label: Artone Label Group

Art Direction: N/A

Best Tracks: Don’t Wanna Go Home, Somebody

Quick Verdict: A decent Blues Rock album for the 21st century

This album is a very serious one on paper. Eric Gales came from a musical family of stars in their own right. In fact, his own elder brother Manuel performed as Little Jimmy King and this album is posthumously dedicated to his memory and music influence. Indeed, this is not something to be disregarded, as Eric Gales was already seen as a musical prodigy by his early teens. Little Jimmy King died early from a heart attack back in 2002 at the very young age of 37, which hit Eric Gales very hard. In any case, this is one of the most well-received and essential releases by guitarist extraordinaire Eric Gales. Let’s dive in and hear this album, and hopefully it will be a great listening experience indeed.

1. You Shouldn’t Have Left Me begins with some spoken word dialogue from Eric Gales, honouring his brother’s memory in advance. It quickly launches into a superb and tasty piece of music with guitars, horns and a sweet, soulful vibe about it all. This sounds amazing and sensationally wonderful, with some great and confident vocals, matched with some awesome and skilful instrumentation throughout. Eric Gales, as per usual, is in fine form on this song. A seriously cool and neat ode to his own brother, with some very neat and expressive guitar soloing near the midsection. A wonderful example of fantastic musicianship and how the Blues should be done in the 21st century. Simply excellent. All in all, a simple masterwork piece that is difficult for many artists to come near to. The second half has some more excellent electric guitar soloing and leads that sound absolutely awesome to listen to. An amazing song and musicianship that should be valued and cherished by Blues fans in particular. The guitar playing is insane throughout. The instrumental section continues right towards the end, before finishing with a tasty and dramatic conclusion. Top.

2. Rockin Horse Ride (feat. Christone “Kingfish” Ingram) launches into it with some wah-wah guitars, hi-hats and organ, launching into a serious tune that is fun and uplifting to listen to. Eric Gales sings nicely on this song, and he is a masterful music maker throughout, with Kingfish singing and playing along with the band very nicely as well. A wicked listen, with some powerful and searing guitar work near the midsection. Absolutely wonderful, and something groovy and interesting throughout to hear. The combination of these two music legends playing their best in memory of another legend long gone, this is extremely wonderful and fun music. It is a better music outcome than expected. This has some rather odd guitar soloing towards the end, before dual guitars fight for space at the end. Good job, guys.

3. Guitar Man begins with some crunchy guitar in the right channel, handclaps and launches quickly into a sweet and amazing song at hand that is a nod and a wink to the spirit of Blues Music throughout. Eric Gales sounds fantastic on this song. He is truly a postmodern evocative man of the Blues, and he sings and plays with his band gloriously. A real ode to the guitar instrument itself, Eric Gales plays a really powerful and jaw-dropping set of guitar solos at hand. If you dig the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan, then you will also dig this superb and gritty music. The music and performances are nothing but amazing throughout this song. This music is seriously good to listen to. Eric Gales is one of the undisputed Blues Music greats of the 21st century. A seriously cool tune, and something that is both delicious-sounding ear candy and awe-inspiring listening. The soloing at the end is fully sick. Nice job, brother. It fades out nicely.

4. Don’t Wanna Go Home (feat. Joe Bonamassa) is a key track of this album. It begins with some downtempo drumming before launching into a seriously cool tune with some fantastic guitar work throughout it all. This is a low-down, sleazy and easy Funk-based groove throughout that sounds seriously awesome at hand. The lyrics are both interesting and laugh-out-loud funny, in their very own way. Eric Gales and Joe Bonamassa are two Blues Music legends of the 21st century. This song is, nonetheless, a very impressive piece of music listening. A song about partying all night long after one is paid, with no regrets, is present here. The guitar solo sections are really quite sweet and magical overall. This is a good and interesting tune about money matters and relationship issues in such a scenario. Eric Gales is a really good champion at what he does. A seriously good song to listen to. Some dramatic snare drum beats enter, before this tune continues to play along very well. An awesome and impressive song. Well worth listening to from start to finish. Excellent music.

5. Something Inside Of Me begins with some awesome drum rolls, and quickly enters into a sweet and dynamic song at hand. This sounds trippy, interesting and surreal throughout. Eric Gales sounds like a masterful guitar virtuoso at hand. This music is an updated take on Blues Music, which sounds flavoursome and tasteful throughout. A real true talent of Blues Music, Eric Gales plays and makes music that only a few could really come near. This music is seriously good, all the same. Eric Gales tells a tale of a Blues in real life, and he sings, plays and makes some great music at hand. This sounds interesting, melodic and has some very nice pseudo-Fender Stratocaster guitar leads and soloing playing away. The organ is also a very neat musical touch. Eric Gales continues to play the Blues like a really great madman that he is. It heads into some sweet and luscious guitar shredding that sounds really cool. Eric Gales is an underrated talent today, and his music is extremely impressive listening. An absolutely awesome tune at hand. It gradually reaches its logical conclusion, with some awesome singing and artistic guitar playing that sounds super cool. A top-notch tune from beginning to end.

6. Baby Baby is not Justin Bieber, just so you know. A funky watery guitar riff emerges at the start, just sounding really cool and interesting throughout. Eric Gales and company quickly launch into an upbeat and punchy song that sounds dang good. This is a tune that is very Funk/Disco in its own way, and which sounds seriously cool and interesting to listen to. A good song with some effortless and glorious magic about it all. It leads into a guitar solo section near the middle, which sounds really excellent and fantastic simultaneously. Another solid cut by Eric Gales, which rivals many guitar greats out there today. This music is a pleasantly awesome listen overall, which has both style and classiness about it. “Baby baby, why do you treat me so bad?” asks Eric Gales to his lover. Nonetheless, a solid listen that mixes 12 Bar Blues with some Funk, Disco and Soul vibes throughout. Towards the end is a female guest singer, who sings extraordinarily well on this song. Fantastic music to listen to from start to finish.

7. It Takes A Whole Lot Of Money (feat. Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith) launches right into action with prominent drumming and descending melodies, before Eric Gales and his friends play along nicely on this song. Another rock-solid listen from Eric Gales, this quickly launches into a fantastically glorious guitar solo section that will blow your mind. This music sounds pleasant and tells the tale of making it in the music industry. A seriously good set of sounds and musicianship throughout makes for a genuinely soulful listen. There is a seemingly autobiographical story about the fact that some women prefer dollars over love to get them in the first place. This isn’t necessarily sexist, as it is true from both a male and female perspective that they can live off a partner’s fortune. However, this music is very, very awesome to listen to, all the same. This music sounds extremely upbeat and expressive, with dual guitar solos duking it out for attention. This continues on for some time, and sounds seriously sweet and cool throughout. The music and guitar skills are absolutely awesome to listen to from start to finish. This guitar jam is definitely a winner and is something unique and exciting to listen to. A seriously great song at hand, which sounds neat and sublime. Just purely wonderful music.

8. Worried Man begins with some soft and slow neck position Fender Stratocaster sounds that are, quite frankly, extremely sweet and soulful to listen to. This is a great song, period. Eric Gales gets singing very nicely about the woes and difficult times that a man can go through in his lifetime. It is a bittersweet listening experience that has some harsh and detailed lyrics about being married and having children as such. The guitar solo near the midsection is classy and elegant-sounding throughout. The music and guitar playing will blow your mind. Eric Gales sings and plays sweetly on this song about the difficulties that one can go through. A seriously awesome song at hand, which is pretty, interesting and well played by all. A cool tune overall. The guitar soloing and talk by Eric Gales wrap this one up very nicely. Awesome stuff.

9. Blues Been Too Good To Me begins with some awesome drumming and launches into a seriously neat tune with synchronised instrumentation at hand. Eric Gales sings and plays like a naturally gifted and fantastic musician, ready to rewrite the Blues Music history during the 21st century. A guitar solo pops out that sounds expressive and glorious to listen to. This is music that is incredibly tasteful, articulate and fun to listen to. A seriously cool and upbeat song. Near the midsection are some great organs playing along, which emerge into a solo instrumental piece of their own. A very, very cool listen that sounds very 1970s but original in its own way. This is definitely a great song and album that fans of Jimi Hendrix will truly love listening to. All in all, a seriously and fantastically legendary winner of a song. Very, very awesome to hear. It ends with cymbals and soft guitar work to conclude.

10. Somebody (feat. Buddy Guy and Roosevelt Collier) is the final song on this album, and is an acoustic guitar-led piece. Eric Gales sings well on this song. He delivers a simple and melodic tune about a lover who cheats on her man, and articulates this via Blues Music that is sweet and tasty to listen to. A really cool and awesome song that sounds unique, dynamic and fresh throughout. Eric Gales is a champion of Blues Music, and he sounds great on all of his songs. Period. The music and sounds throughout are seriously different, and the shredding on guitar in the second half is mind-blowingly good. If you dig the Blues, this is an excellent way to start listening to it all. A sad story set to upbeat music about being cheated on, and having some sort of plan to deal with it all. A solid tune, and a great finish to a decent album. It ends with some unique drumming, guitars and organs to conclude. Neat.

This is a very good album that any self-respecting Blues Music fan should embrace and listen to in their own collection. Although this may not have been seen as Eric Gales’s best album, it is still a fantastically extraordinary listen on many accounts. One can literally hear the efforts throughout, particularly on the electric guitar. Therefore, this album is a solid winner that any guitar lover should hear. Should you listen to this album? If you dig any form of the Blues, go for it. Fans of EDM and other similar genres will not like this one, however.

If you like this article, please like, share, comment and follow me on The Ultimate Music Library. Thank you, Chris Airey.