Chris Wilson

Since the blues boom took the world by storm in the 60’s and ushered the rise of the modern rock, a style of rootward looking Aussie music has steadily anchored itself in the soil. Drawing as much from country music, contemporary rock and our Gaelic heritage as it does from American blues, it has now come of age. King For A Day (Forge 001) by Chris Wilson follows hard on the heels of his Spiderman album which was awarded Best Blues Album Of 2002.

With Chris’ affecting lived-in vocals, folksy guitar flourishes and an approach that hoes more to country in the up-tempo pieces, King sits comfortably on the edge of middle field. While this is an extremely good record of its ilk, with Chris’ testifying both warm and honest, the blues association might imply swingful surprise. This is not the case, although all lovers of honest country-rock and the international folk genre will certainly find plenty to admire here. Jan 2003