Last August I reviewed the latest album from British blues star Danny Bryant’s RedEye Band. Of Black And White I wrote, "A searing blues sound that will have you thirstily needing more, like a salivating dog". Well fellow salivating dogs here it is, Watching You!, a re-release of where it all started, Danny’s first album from 2002 courtesy of the Roots Collectibles label.
To hammer home the point, I added the following about seeing Danny, one of the hardest working acts around, live in concert. "I stood mesmerised by the sheer attention he commanded, the total absorption of the audience, and the controlled ferocity of some amazing blues guitar licks."
Danny is almost constantly active on the European blues circuit and has carved out a massive reputation in the process. He was born in Hertfordshire in 1980. At the age of fifteen he began amazing his friends with his guitar skills. Labelled a ‘young guitar prodigy’ he turned professional three years later and has been working his socks off ever since.
The beneficiaries are us, of course, and his six albums have underlined his growing status in the blues world. He has played alongside such luminaries as Joe Cocker, Carlos Santana, Jeff Beck, Greg Allman, Patti Smith, Buddy Guy, Peter Green, and Mick Taylor (formerly of the Rolling Stones). You don’t get to do any of that unless your reputation precedes you.
Way back, countless tours ago, when Watching You! was released Danny had yet to make his mark. As a result the album was originally missed by many who discovered him through later releases such as Days Like This, Covering Their Tracks, Shadows Passed, and the excellent Black And White of course.
So there are plenty of good reasons to re-release Watching You! at this point in time. Certainly when heard now, all the signs pointing towards his future achievements are present. On the evidence of this, here is a guy whose subsequent success is of little surprise.
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