Andres Roots – Royal Spa Blues – Live from Temperance
Roots Arts Records
23 Tracks – 50 minutes
Yes, this solo album from Estonian slide guitarist Andres Roots, does have 23 tracks, but as this album was recorded live eight of those tracks are short spoken interludes between the songs. Andres was born in Tallinn, Estonia and now lives in Tartu since 1995. His music has been played on five continents, and he toured everywhere from Clarksdale, Mississippi to Hell, Norway. He won the first Estonia Blues Challenge in 2017 and went on to represent Estonia in the European Blues Challenge. He first started playing with a trio, Bullfrog Brown, in 2005 but in 2010 decided to go solo.
Andres does not sing, so the songs listed here are all instrumentals played on his acoustic guitar. He starts the set off with the gentle “Jook Jones”. “Starbuck Theme” features his slide guitar and that segues into a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “The Wind Cries Mary”. The next song “Django” is his tribute to jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt.
Next up is “Tango Walk”, which is a tango played on his slide. “Springtime Blues” is a bouncy blues number. “4 Am Hot Dog” rolls along easily and transitions into “Spanish Run” a fast-moving piece of slide work. The traditional song “Station Blues Medley” is a blend of older blues songs. That is followed by “The Sheik of Hawaii”, which has an air of Arabian music.
AT 3:57, “Legacy Blues” is the longest song on the album and it will get you rocking. He advises that on “Western of The Month”, he makes his guitar sound like a mandolin, as he delivers another fast, robust instrumental. He then settles things back down on the pleasant “Something in the Evening”. “The Wagon Swing” does get a little swing into the mix. He completes the set with a cover of The Beatles “Come Together”.
For those of you that like the instrumental work of Leo Kottke or Jeff Fahey, this is an album for you. Andres certainly is adept with his instruments and frequently powers it to sound like there is more than one guitar playing. The Beatles song certainly demonstrates that wall of sound approach to the guitar. As stated, he ventures across many styles of music including forays into the blues. All are played well and delivered in an enjoyable performance.
