The Henry McCullough Band CD Review
The Henry McCullough Band
FBI Live
*****
You may or may not have heard of Henry McCullough - although it’s more
likely you will have - but it’s almost certain you’ll have heard him play.
After cutting his teeth with various bands in his native Ireland, McCullough
headed for the bright lights of London just as the British blues boom
exploded. A meeting with a young Sheffield singer led to a stint in Joe
Cocker’s Grease Band, which included their legendary Woodstock performance.
After leaving the Grease Band, McCullough joined a little known outfit called
Wings, headed by a certain ex-Beatle and his wife. Musical differences
between McCullough and McCartney saw a parting of the ways and he - McCullough
not Macca - went on to play with a veritable musical who’s who, including
Donovan, Marianne Faithful, Spooky Tooth, Eric Burdon and Roy Harper.
An accident with a knife on a trip home in the 1980s saw a career
re-evaluation and that path led all the way to The Famous Bein Inn, Glenfarg
and the latest in the FBI [Famous Bein Inn] Live series.
Whilst wildest Perthshire may not have the status of some of the Wings gigs,
what is certain is that McCullough is where he wants to be and where he
undoubtedly belongs, on stage, any stage.
When I read the track listing and saw that after a seven-minute
opening of Same Damned Thing, there was House Of The Rising Sun weighing in
at over ten minutes. Henry McCullough is not a guitarist to do things by half
and both are a glorious throwback to a time when songs were fully explored
and McCullough shows himself to be a master of his craft. As good as it is
on CD, live it must have been a magical experience. A true genius holds you
in the palm of his hand wherever you may be and Henry McCullough is as close
to genius as you’ll get. He teases and caresses a classic until it too falls
under his spell.
But in a way, even House Of The Rising Sun is eclipsed by what follows,
Locked In, Can’t Get Out may not be as well known, but it fits
Henry McCullough like a second skin. This real, honest-to-goodness British
blues, which is raw and earthy, celebrates its blemishes and imperfections but never
loses its sense of joy.
The pull of Henry McCullough’s folk roots is obviously still strong and he
immerses himself in the simple beauty of Belfast To Boston. Until a final
flourish there are no guitar pyrotechnics to break the hold, just a man
playing from his heart and you really need nothing more, its nine minutes pass
in a heartbeat.
McCullough’s comfort with the music is obvious but comfort doesn’t breed
contempt in this case, he grooves his way through Mess With The Blues before
launching in to the title track of his album Failed Christian. Perhaps for
the first time on the night McCullough bares his teeth.
FBI is quite simply the complete performance as Henry McCullough leads the
Bein Inn audience gently by the hand through a blues wonderland. Michael Mee