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So, following on from last week’s discussion of Canadian farmers and former UK PM’s, this week I take a completely different approach. I would like to introduce you to a staple of the Australian blues scene for well over twenty years – none other than Chris Wilson.
Immensely talented both as a singer (with those unique vocals) and a brilliant harp player, he is often the go to guy when any Australian musician needs a guest harmonica player.
In the mid nineties, he teamed up with Australian singer/guitarist Diesel to release an album called Short Cool Ones, a collection of classic blues tracks. The contrasting vocal styles of the two, with Diesel’s great guitar playing and Wilson’s harmonica really makes for a wonderful listen and I think elevates its above your stock standard cover of a classic blues track. Have included a couple of tracks for you to check out if interested.
One other live performance of Wilson’s that I really like is when he teamed up with Arlo Guthrie’s daughter Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irons to tackle a Gram Parsons track for the Australian TV show Rockwiz! It’s a brilliant performance, but strange in some ways as I don’t think Guthrie and Irons are used to sharing the stage with someone else.
Now I have a bit of personal experience with Rockwiz, my claim to fame being that I have been a contestant on before, but that is another story – ask me in the comments if you are really interested.
So yes, some blues for you this week – and Chris Wilson, we salute you!
Over to you –
