You can’t really go far wrong with an album by Bushmaster especially if you have an affinity for the work of a master guitar player, and axeman Gary Brown is nothing if not that.
“Revolution Rhapsody” therefore demonstrates the stylistic eloquence that we have come to expect and does so over a variety of musical styles. You can hear our Mr Brown’s Hendrix influences breaking through most strongly in “Cumberland Blues” but, for those of you familiar with his previous releases, there is more variety to enjoy this time around. “War On The Poor”, as an example, is about as conventional a blues track as Lonnie Brooks might have made back in the days but, in something of a contrast, the lyrics suggest something akin to a political awakening has taken place in the background.
Overall though, “Revolution Rhapsody” sounds more like a child of the seventies album than anything else. “Arizona Shame On Ya” makes for a decent protest song and “I Will Shine” set sails for southern rock just like Johnny “Guitar” Watson would have done back. That relaxed, unprocessed feel so often found in albums of that time pervades the music but this time those words of conscience clearly illustrate the growing maturity of Gary Brown as a songwriter.
So, there you go. Four albums in and the Bushmaster still has the blues. You can’t argue with that.
Available from CD Baby and the Bushmaster website.