It’s difficult to say if there could be something more far afield from Alatair Greene’s tandem job as a guitarist with Alan Parsons than the scalding blues rock of Trouble At Your Door.
Instead, Greene — who has also done sessions work with Aynsley Dunbar and Glen Phillips — focuses intently on things that hit you right in the chest. Or maybe a little bit lower. From the James Gang-ish “People” to the grimy groove of “Back Where I Belong,” from the Delta grit of “Red Wine Woman” to the Southern rock-inspired “First Born Son,” this album is about visceral, gut-check emotions.
Joined throughout by organist Eric Norlander, drummer Austin Beede and bassist Jim Rankin, Greene has finally hit upon an alchemy that showcases, even as it expands upon, the tough guitar intellect that propelled four previous studio efforts.
What was missing, it’s clear now, were companion voices like those to fill out the edges around that sound — to make Greene’s portrait of next-gen blues complete.
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