Danny Bryant – Temperature rising

If you’ve ever heard a song or album and wondered to yourself “Why have I never listened to this band/artist before?” then you’ll know exactly how I felt when I started listening to Danny Bryant’s new album, Temperature rising.
Danny Bryant is an English Blues guitarist who despite only being in his early thirties has already got 14 years of touring experience behind him and ho has released seven studio albums plus a couple of live ones.  He’s a protégé of Walter Trout and toured recently with Walter Trout’s band while Walter Trout was too ill to perfromNow, “Temperature rising”, his eighth album is being released, and as you might have gathered from the opening line of this review, it’s a great album.
Although I described him as a Blues guitarist that doesn’t mean he’s only a guitar player – he also does the vocals on the album and they are really impressive.  He’s got a great voice and it’s a versatile one that allows him to put in a top quality vocal performance to match his stunning guitar work regardless of the style of the song he’s playing.

The album is an interesting mix ranging from Blues to Blues rock and with a good range of songs of different speeds and styles.  Consistent throughout is the quality of the music and vocals.

The first track to be released is “Nothing at all”, which is a great rock and roll track.  At a few points it does remind me of Chuck Berry – the guitar solo at one point does remind me in particular of Johnny B. Goode.  Throw in some Gerry Lee Lewis style piano from producer Richard Hammerton and you’ve got a great track.  Check out the lyric video for it below..

“Together through life” is a soft ballad.  It’s done nicely on acoustic guitar with some piano and synth to add extra texture.

“Mystery” is a piano-led track with a stomping beat and that guitar part repeated throughout the song just sounds so good.  It’s a similar guitar part to that in “Razor sharp” but here it’s heavier,  The vocals are great, but this track is all about the music and is really semi-instrumental.

The album ends with with “Guntown”, a slow ballad.  The pace starts off slow before gradually picking up.  The guitar work is beautiful and seems to carry so much emotion, particularly in the solo.  On most albums a song like this would be a real stand-out track, but on this album with all the songs being so varied and of such high quality then while you recognise it as a beautiful track, it doesn’t stand out as much.  My only slightly negative comment is that the start of the song features a tolling bell and that doesnt seem to add anything, and actually makes me expect to hear ACDC starting rather than the bluesy sound of Danny Bryant.

Containing everything from Blues to Blues-Rock to Rock and roll, this is a varied album but all the songs work well together and it’s an album you can listen to again and again (which I have been doing).  Superb guitar work plus excellent vocals and great songs – what more could you ask for?  Highly recommended.

“Temperature rising” will be released on 1st September 2014 via Jazzhaus records.

Track listing:

1. Best of me
2. Take me higher
3. Nothing at all
4. Together though life
5. Razor sharp
6. Temperature rising
7. Time
8. Mystery
9. Guntown

UK tour dates:

The Robin 2, Bilston
Wednesday 3rd September
Tickets: £12.50/£15.00 – Box Office: 01902 401211
Doors: 7:30pm Stage: 8:00pm
www.therobin.co.uk
20-28 Mount Pleasant, Bilston, Wolverhampton, WV14 7LJ
(Plus support from Motherlode)

The Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
Thursday 4th September
Tickets: £12.00/£14.00 – Box Office: 0845 413 4444
Doors: 7:00pm Stage: 7:30pm
www.rescuerooms.com
25 Goldsmith Street, Nottingham NG1 5LB
(Plus support from The Mentulls)

The Citadel Theatre, St Helens
Friday 5th September
Tickets: £12.00/£14.00 – Box Office: 01744 735436
Doors: 7:30pm Stage: 8:00pm
www.citadel.org.uk
Waterloo Street, St Helens, Merseyside, WA10 1PX

Arc, Stockton
Saturday 6th September
Tickets: £13.00/£15.00 – Box Office: 01642 525199
Doors: 7:30pm Stage: 8:00pm

Home

Dovecot Street, Stockton-on-Tees TS18 1LL
(Plus support TBC)

The Scene, Swansea
Tuesday 9th September
Tickets: £12.00/£14.00 – Box Office: 01792 654226
Tickets: www.derricksmusic.co.uk
Doors: 7:30pm Stage: 8:00pm
Venue: www.thesceneclub.co.uk
50 Plymouth Street, Swansea, SA1 3QQ

The Waterfront, Norwich
Wednesday 10th September
Tickets: £12.00/£14.00 – Box Office: 01603 508050
Doors: 7:30pm Stage: 8:00pm
www.ueaticketbookings.co.uk
139-141 King St, Norwich, Norfolk, NR1 1QH

**LONDON RELEASE SHOW**
The Borderline, London
Friday 12th September
Tickets: £13.00/£15.00 – Box Office: 0844 847 2465
Doors: 7:30pm Stage: 8:00pm
www.ticketweb.co.uk
Orange Yard, Manette Sreett, London W1D 4JB

The Ropetackle Arts Centre, Shoreham
Sunday 14th September
Tickets: £12.00/£14.00 – Box Office: 01273 464440
Doors: 7:30pm Stage: 8:00pm
http://ropetacklecentre.co.uk
High St, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex BN43

Arlington Arts Centre, Newbury
Thursday 2nd October
Tickets: £13.00/£15.00 – Box Office: 01635 244246
Doors: 7:30pm Stage: 8:00pm
www.ticketweb.co.uk
Mary Hare School, Newbury, West Berkshire RG14 3BQ

Blues Fest, London
Wednesday 29th October
www.bluesfest.co.uk
The Royal Albert Hall
Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AP

Whelan’s, Dublin
Thursday 6th November
Tickets: €15.00 – Box Office: 00353 1890 200 078
Doors: 7:30pm Stage: 8:00pm
www.belfasttickethub.com
25 Wexford Street, Dublin, Ireland

The Empire, Belfast
Friday 7th November
Tickets: £12.00/£14.00 – Box Office: 02890 31 31 31
Doors: 8:00pm Stage: 8:30pm
www.belfasttickethub.com
42 Botanic Ave, Belfast, County Antrim BT7 1JQ

The Spirit Store, Dundalk
Saturday 8th November
Tickets: €15.00 – Box Office: 00353 42 9352697
Doors: 8:00pm Stage: 8:30pm
www.belfasttickethub.com
George’s Quay, Dundalk, Co. Louth

The Saints Room, Cockermouth
Sunday 21st December
Tickets £15.00 – Available: http://saintsroomslive.com
Doors: 7:30pm Stage: 8:00pm
Kirkgate, Cockermouth, Cumbria CA13 9PJ