Rebooted...originally posted September 9, 2014 with File Factory link.
...this guy was deep blues – lived it, died for it, and resonated it. A troubadour who traveled the world, Chris finally got discovered by uber-producer Daniel Lanois (U2, Peter Gabriel, Bob Dylan), who set Chris up to record with Lanois protégé’ producer Malcom Burns, down in Dan’s New Orleans-based studio at the time. Whatever was in the water from Chris' native Houston,Texas birthplace (same water that spawned ZZ Top and King’s X), it sure as hell got into his blood, and coarsen its way out his veins onto his guitar and throat. Any Chris Whitley CD has some pretty intense life stories woven into it.
And the cool thing to me was, it wasn’t always the country - voodoo blues resonator style that propelled his stuff – the guy could hit on smoky cool, Chet Baker style jazz, as well as grinding noise-rock ala Sonic Youth to make a point. Check out the cuts “Never”, and “Din”, on his CD, “Din Of Ecstasy” – Chris’ electric guitar work just explodes in noise and feedback throughout. This isn’t controlled, polished, processed guitar feedback – all cleaned-up, and sonically hitting some acceptable pitches – this is guitar work that just grabs you by the shirt and throws you across the room - because it’s VERY pissed off, and it wants you to know. This sort of guitar sound comes from another realm, another world, entirely – it’s more visceral than technique – based (although there is a technique used to get there), more emotional than intellectual. Jagged with sharp edges –the guitar, acoustic and electric throughout the CD, actually seems to be falling off a cliff, for the most part. Along with Chris’ most passionate vocals, the album is a continuous IV drip of sensuality, regret, loss, and retribution. If Hendrix were around, I think he would be apt to say, ”Cool”, because Chris’ electric guitar work here is clearly a homage to Jimi in spirit and body…..
~Mick Polich