You can’t go far wrong with the blues. That’s why the genre has been visiting those same twelve bars for so long. It is no surprise therefore to find out that veteran guitar man Wayne Riker and his Gathering of likeminded souls tread the familiar path to that perfect Friday night. Nor, indeed, is it a surprise that they do so with assured confidence.
The selection of songs probably won’t surprise you and the deftness and fluidity of Wayne Riker’s fret walking is, as always, a sterling example of how to it. Yet, despite putting his name on the wrapper, it is actually the sterling vocal performances of the guest singers that give this album its sense of purpose with Michele Lundeen, in particular, easily turning “That’s Why I’m Crying” into her own song.
Like I said, you can’t go far wrong with the blues and “Blues Lightning” is an album that provides the proof of that.