Dave Fields
"Force of Will"
www.DaveFields.com
Amazon.com
CD review by Roger Zee (10/20/20)
I must warn you. Back in the day, I grew up on the Lester Bangs school of "Creem Magazine" Rock writing. When I first reviewed Dave Field's Blues records, he amazed me with his uncanny knack for taking four chords and molding an unforgettable tune. It takes real genius to work with the same building blocks as everybody else yet come up with something totally unique. On Fields' latest Blues-Rock CD, "Force of Will," he plies the road less traveled. On this journey, it appears he meets no chord he does not like! Picture Led Zeppelin jamming with Van Halen and inviting Jeff Beck to sit in!
Today, I follow my normal routine for reviewing Dave Fields (and most other artists') albums. I first listen to the record when I wake up, roll out of bed, and head to the kitchen to take my ten pills, then feed my cat Zoe and two parakeets, Eli and Nyssa. Then I bring the CD with me for my morning shave and hot Yoga shower. I continue listening to it as I finish up my workout in the bedroom. Finally, I grab my bass, head to the living room, put on the disk and start learning all the bass lines. I do this for pleasure and also out of necessity for the gigs I play with Mr. Fields. As a matter of fact, we already performed two of these songs even before the album release -- "Big Block" and "Why Can't You Ever Treat Me Right."
On this record, Fields wrote and produced all the tunes and returns to laying down most of the instruments himself at his home studio. Most drum tracks get sent out to a percussionist who records them elsewhere and emails them back. Overdub musicians include Van Romaine, Lee Jeffryes, Kenny Soule, Kare Amundsen (drums); Bill Ferris (harp); Buddy Allen, Erik Boyd, Bjorn Hagset (bass); Vlad Barsky (organ).
I live for melody -- an earworm guy! When I walk down the street, I suddenly breakout humming a tune or riff. "Force of Will" gives me plenty of that! Let's start with the two songs I first learned for the gigs. "Big Block" Rocks my World! When we play it, feels like the bass line's just out of my reach. So I dream I just did a shot of Tequila (don't do the hard stuff anymore), and stretch to wrap my fingers around it! I don't get too upset with that feeling because even Dave didn't play the bass part on his own record. Frankly that tune pile drives like a colonoscopy with no anesthesia! When I play the slow Blues, "Why Can't You Ever Treat Me Right," I wish I ate more brain food and finished more Soduku puzzles. Fields knows his way around walking bass, very sophisticate passing tones. Lovely tune but requires intense concentration with all it's chords. But wait a second, the other slow Blues on the CD, "It's Not Ok," absolutely dwarfs the first one in chord number and complexity, and still manages to sound seamless!
Fields brings the "Heavy" to a lot of tracks on this collection. Especially on "Hunger," an exception to his many chord rule -- just one here. Perfect for me, LOL! I picture the intense thirst a Vampire feels when rising out of the coffin. Or the throbbing, gut-felt growls issued by a Werewolf when s/he turns. The lead guitar writhes and squeels like the wriggling, shreiking serpents on Medusa's head. And then there's Fields' tribute to Delmar Brown who used to trade licks with him when they both ran the Jam at The Bitter End on Bleecker Street in the Village. If you listen carefully, you can hear Eddie Van Halen howling through "Eruption." And I think you can guess that the instrumental "Jack Ham Her" rains down like a ton of bricks!
And of course, Mr. Fields dishes up his trademark mid-tempo shuffles. Like the title track, "Force of Will," where he shares how he survives the current Apocalyptic state of the world. Really, the successor track to "Changes In My Life" from his "All In" collection. And let's not forget the album opener, good-time Blues Rockin' "I Love My Baby," an ode to Field's lovely wife, Judy.
Fortunately Fields doesn't forget to Funk it up on the record. On his ode to the pet metaphor about getting along, "Chloe and Otis," we hear a lot of synth tickling, bass slapping, drum thumping and some "cool out," jazz tinged guitar chording. He does the same on his what should quickly rise up the Singles chart, "Best I Can." The sublime three-string chord shading throws a nod to Steely Dan before it rockets off to galaxy's edge! Yeah, we're talkin' major earworm...
So if you like your Rock hard, your Blues hot, and your Funk dancilicious, download or pick up the CD "Force of Will." It will surely spike your fever, drench you in sweat, and then wring you out to dry! What more can you ask for? One <3
YouTube - Big Block - Dave Fields
©2020 Roger Zee
