Jesse Dayton (from the album The Hard Way Blues

Jesse Dayton (from the album The Hard Way Blues

Jesse Dayton (from the album The Hard Way Blues available on Blue Elan Records) (by Lee Zimmerman)

There’s no small hint of irony attached to the title of guitar slinger Jesse Dayton’s latest album, The Hard Way Blues. While Blues remains at the core of his creative instincts, there’s also a emphasis on up-tempo Rock and Roll as well. That’s hardly surprising given the fact that Shooter Jennings had a major role in the new album’s overall execution, both as a producer and, with his band in tow, as an active architect of the sound.
 
Of course, Blues and Rock are natural bedfellows, especially nowadays with headliners like Joe Bonamassa and Tommy Emmanuel drawing stadium-sized crowds and competing for the commercial credibility once reaped by Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Stevie Ray Vaughn. In that regard, Jesse Dayton makes no apologies for his dynamic and driving sound. His music has as much to do with attitude as it does with aptitude, which allows him to find favor with those looking for tenacity and tradition to go hand in hand. They’d certainly be rewarded by several songs here — the searing title track, the stomp and sizzle found in “Night Brain”, the steady surge of “Talkin’ Company Man Blues”, and “Navasota”, the riveting refrains of “God Ain’t Makin’ No More of It” or, for that matter, the soulful strains of “Baby’s Long Gone” in particular.
 
Jesse Dayton doesn’t merely rock with a vengeance, but even when he pulls back to a degree — as with the rough-hewn narrative “Ballad of Boyd Elder” (‘…a lone star man, painted longhorn skulls on demand’), the rugged “Esther Pearl” or the singular stories shared in “Angel in My Pocket” and “Huntsville Prison Rodeo”, his gruff designs and darker demeanor are still at the fore. Granted, the blues is often embedded in tales of angst and adversity, but beyond that, the hard way seems to be the right route for Dayton to pursue. (by Lee Zimmerman)
 
Listen and buy the music of Jesse Dayton from AMAZON
 
 
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