Play 90 second soundbite of 'Psycho' @ 'CD quality'
Oli Brown goes straight for it here - he's not pretending to be anything he's not, he's seems to have no inhibitions and he apparently has the blues and wants to tell us about it. What this young man does isn't new, where Brown goes is a well trodden path but, somehow Oli Brown still makes it all sound a bit different. Brown still has a natural youthfulness in his whole blues delivery but somehow he imparts just enough grit and reality to get away with it - hey, come on, the guy's young and this is just the start for him. Believe me, there's a lot more yet to come from this guy and 'Open Road' is a great taster, an appetiser, for later courses.
Musically Oli Brown is already the complete package he writes and plays with a maturity that belies his relatively tender years. Brown sure knows how to get the most of his guitar without ever needing to turn to fx and/or studio trickery. Lyrically, although Brown can't have had the real blues experience yet, he writes with a decent degree of believability that will only get stronger with time. And, it all comes together as a nicely rounded blues package that stands up extremely well against his contemporaries. Oli Brown doesn't yet push at any blues boundaries, he's relatively 'straight-arrow' and 'safe' - when he starts to 'ask questions' within the genre this guy is gonna be a totally different proposition - time really will tell and, hopefully, time will bring out some real blues character from within this inexperienced but dedicated young man.
'Open Road' by Oli Brown is an extremely competent and workmanlike debut album. What Brown lacks in road experience he makes up for with great dedication to the cause. As Brown grows, so will his music - where there's youthful naivety soon there'll be road-hardened, life-experienced, blues grit that'll only add to this young man's blue armoury. This is an extremely well handled debut album from a naturally gifted young man; there's a lot more to come yet and time will only enhance Oli Brown's blue outpourings for the better. Oli Brown is a natural! The future of the blues is clearly safe in the hands of Oli Brown - watch out for this guy - he's already blindingly good but, he's gonna be special! 'Open Road' by Oli Brown is a brilliant introduction to a superbly talented musician with blues festering up inside just waiting to get out and do its worst. Excellent!!
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