If there is one guitar style that is synonymous with the blues, it is the bottleneck, that is, the passing of a glass or metal tube along the strings to create that distinctive vibrato and glissando, or in layman’s terms, pulsating notes and smooth slides. Christina Crofts is one of the best in the game when it comes to this technique, and the proof is evident in this compilation of some of her most popular songs in this style, spanning years of playing and numerous albums.
It is fair to say that her music sits at the electric rock end of the blues sound, the end of the same line that connects iconic players from Muddy Waters to Duane Allman to Rory Gallagher to Samantha Fish, and as such, will tick as many boxes for rock fans as blues aficionados.
“Voodoo Queen” is the perfect way to kick things off, a squalling, squealing, grooving, grinding blues-rock juggernaut and the ideal vehicle to deliver her exquisite and expressive salvos. It’s an album that rarely lets up, even more understated and spacious numbers like the reflective “Lookin’ Back On You” are still very much a foot-on-the-monitor, heads-down, boogie-kinda song.
“Lucy” blends formative 50’s rock ‘n’ roll strut with more contemporary sounds, “Like We Used To” almost crosses into pop realms – albeitt pop writen by a group of garage rock and swamp-blues musicians at the back of a smoky basement blues club – and the album closes with “Escape to Blue” and the perfect instrumental sign off which shows us just what a consumate player she is.
Blues for the blues fan, for the rock fan, for the discerning music fan, for those looking for something authentic, something new, something as an antidote to the shallow sound of the modern music world. I can’t think of a single person whose day wouldn’t be vastly improved with this album as its soundtrack.
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