BRUCE MADDEN
TALKING WITH THE ANGELS
Bonehead Records, 2004

Who'd have figured that the soft spoken and unfailingly polite Bruce Madden would be transformed into a new millennium version of Jim Morrison when he grabbed a microphone, strapped on his guitar and laid his mouth on his harmonica for this disc? 

Those that have missed Morrison since his untimely death so many years ago will be unnerved by the uncanny manner in which Madden duplicates his gruff vocals and the trippy blues that marked much of his work with the Doors. While he has his sound down cold, Madden distinguishes himself from Morrison by focusing above rather than below the waist. 

Those that take some time with the lyrics will be rewarded with thoughtful looks into a variety of topics such as life in the burbs, Suburbia Amerika, the battle between right and wrong, Talking with Angels, pulling against your roots, Leave This Town ,the fact that achievement doesn't necessarily mean satisfaction, Still Not Satisfied, and the agony of being shackled by a religion that doesn't fit, Christian Deformed Blues. While the lyrics don't come from the blues 101 topic list (bad women, bad luck, bad booze) the raucous slide guitar could come from an RL Burnside or Hound Dog Taylor disc while Madden's harmonica playing could come from any number of early Chicago blues discs. 

While the whacked out sonic assault of UFO Louisiana is a bit of a challenge for blues fans, the bulk of the disc will find favor with those that like their blues with a raw edge and a thinking cap.

-Mark Smith
West Michigan Blues Society