Bluesharp.org
Chas plays ... Chas - Rick Beall 3/27/04
Signature harp
It's kind of cool listening to an album on which one person wrote all the songs. Chas wrote all the songs here. Chas has a rather whispery voice and it

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www.ChasHarp.com . . . .
makes you wonder if he is whispering his understanding of the world into your ear.

The songs on this album are all well played and have catchy melodies. The general feel could best be compared to Fleetwood Mac's blend of pop and understated blues. But for us harp players, the really catchy thing about this CD is the great, hoarse but mellow harp being played through what is probably a JT-30. Have you ever heard mellow but hoarse, overdriven JT-30 harp playing blending in well with a laid back style of rock song? And heard it consistently on song after song? This is rather unique instrumentation. There are other harp tones in the album, but I was the pop sensibilities of the harp probably mic'd with a JT-30 that really reached out and grabbed me.

There is a fair amount of slide guitar throughout the album. Good and greezy slide guitar goes down well with harp, but the general mood here not so much rautions as upbeat and bouncy.

On my first listen, I thought the harp was playing along with too many other instruments, but on subsequent listens, my blues ear was replaced by my pop ear and I like it quite well as it is.

Some Song Notes
In "Too Blue to be True", the JT-30 mic'd harp joins the horn section to play the horn parts.

Once in a Lifetime
In "Once in a Lifetime", the harp takes one of its cleaner turns. The song is about finding your love, but the harp sounds like it has lost its love. The harp sounds like it is being played on the street corner on a rainy night. This creates nice emotional counterpoint to the breathy vocals singing of love found.

Pond Scum
If you like more of a Sonny Boy vibe, then "Pond Scum" is your cup of ... uh hum, minus Sonny boy's hand wahs. On this album, it's a nice change of pace.

C.E.O.
"C.E.O." comes across as a more hard hitting blues rock number. Again a nice change of pace, on an album that is itself a change of pace for a harp album. The slide guitar starts heating up like a pat of butter on a black skillet and bubbling and sizzling and sliding around.

Then There's You
If there is such a thing as pensive harp, it exists on "Then There's You".

This is a very unique album obviously crafted with a lot of love. I love hearing the harp in a new context. The album really cuts some new ground by the harp playing so ably "out of genre".


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