Coen Wolters Band
Broken Glass
(Crying Tone)
With Kenny Wayne Sheppard on the verge of losing his fanbase because of
his abandonment of his blues roots, Dutchman Coen Wolters seems to be the perfect choice
in picking up Sheppard's discarded skepter.
Coen Wolter's debut Broken Glass finds the axe burner giving
many nods to his heroes Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan. If these gentlemen never
existed then Coen could stand a chance of blazing new paths.
But with Hendrix waxing psychedelia into blues logic and Stevie
re-introducing the genre in the early 80s, Coen might have to bear the brunt of being a
non-original: Another axe grinder who studied the same licks as Sheppard while
putting his own spin on them.
Which doesn't mean the music is bad. Far from it. Coen lays down thick
Strat tones and his Chris Duarte vocals match his blues rock compositions. Wolters
harnesses his Texas influences in "Kings Cafe" and turns "Ain't No
Way" into burning slow mournful blues. Drummer Nico Groen and bassist Michel Mulder
are the Double Trouble to Coen's Hendrix/Vaughan guitar hybrids. A surprising take of
"Spanish Castle Magic" shows Wolters waving the freak flag that Hendrix so
boldly carried.
A big plus is Wolters writes his own material. He can play a mean Texas
shuffle and come up with spicy riffage as thick as Mesquite Sauce. Quite evident from
listening to "Ride The Katy" and "Time After Time”. He can apply the
funk in the wah-wah drenched "She Takes My Breath Away”.
Like many other players in their 20's, Wolters can't resist a Fender
Guitar and cranking out those licks made popular by Messer's Hendrix and Vaughan. While
it's not breaking new ground, the young Dutchman has to be extended some credit for trying
to keep legacies alive. What could be a blessing could be construed as a curse.
Wolters will have to work hard at finding his voice and striving for originality. But
originality is hard to come by in the blues world. When so many masters and disciples
discover those magic licks, players of Wolter's caliber can easily get lost in the
shuffle.
- Gary Weeks -
Southwest Blues CD Review - February 2005
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