Blaze

I've been listening to David for over 20 years now, and this album is a nice confluence of the sounds and styles he's worked with over the years, from very minimalist acoustic melodic work framing intricate stories and more percussion based plugged in rock, the latter of which this album primarily consists of, and personally I find that refreshing. The production of this album is very nice, with a live feel and scaled down. It's great to see him accompanied by a full band, and with more electric guitar than acoustic. The percussion work is stellar, and the back up singers fill the background wonderfully. David finds his best pop/rock muse here, shows a darker side of them than we're used to in a song like "The Sacrifice" and ultimately, wraps it up with a song that is more what people come to expect from him in "Single Candle." All in all, this album is very listenable from beginning to end, and I wasn't disappointed at all.

Very good work and well r corded. It would not be my recommendation to introduce yourself to David's work. But it stands well enough on its own.

My husband and I are huge David Wilcox fans and we're looking forward eagerly to this album. It's fine but not spectacular which in itself is kind of a disappointment.

I love his soulful and deep melodies, the lyrics are often very, very sad but haunting and so beautiful. Very nice cd, once again from this man.

The warm tone of Wilcox’s voice and his equally welcoming guitar work has resulted in a plethora of albums over his 27 year recording career that began back in 1987. David has not veered much from his laid back material though every now and then he will release a project that is embellished more than his typical recording. Much like 1994’s Big Horizon, his latest recording Blaze takes a similar approach though with improved results.Blaze includes a total of 11 songs of which 5 are solo compositions along with an additional 5 songs co written with long time cohort Ric Hordinski who is also featured on electric, acoustic and bass guitar. The album kicks off with the upbeat “Oil Talking To Ya” or the bubbly melodic “Tip Of My Tongue which appears to be the overall approach of Blaze. If these are desirable results fast forward to discover the underlying bluesy feel of “Bail My Boat” that features the funky Fender Rhodes of Dan Joseph Dorff and Wilcox’s always transparent lyrical content. That causal bluesy feel is revisited on the slower moodier track “The Sacrifice” that features Marc Raia on guitar.For those of you seeking out the stripped down mellow madness of David Wilcox may find this album difficult to become comfortable with however your patience will be rewarded. Glide over to “Drift” were Wilcox’s gorgeous acoustic work is prominent, seamlessly merging with Carol Sharar’s violin performance and Nance Pettit’s simple harmonic vocals allowing you to flow with this absolutely pure and precise performance. Otherwise you will have to wait until the concluding song “Single Candle” which features Wilcox’s wonderful lyrical tribute to the long lasting effects of the life and death of Martin Luther King.David Wilcox is a highly regarded musician who never sells out for commercial gain. He writes from the heart and soul bringing insightful lyrical material. Match this with his warm baritone voice and elegant guitar work and this would essential capture the ingredients of this impressive musician. Needless to say Blaze captures Wilcox in fine form adding to the long list of impressive recordings he has created over the last 27 years.

The first thing popping up in my mind after listening to "Blaze" was: "Underneath", up to then in my opinion one of David's lesser albums. Even the cover art of both albums gave me the feeling of being disappointed...This is not David Wilcox in his "normal doings", leave alone "at his best". Overproduced, using way too many instruments, this album probably tries to get away from the "chosen path", but does it in a way that really takes away from what David is really good at: writing beautiful crafted songs with outstanding lyrics, that sound the best when he walks his own path and do not need "heavy" instrumentation nor background singers, however good they might be. David is not known for being a pop or rock-and-roll singer: he is a storyteller - and he is excellent at it.All in all a disappointing album, with ONE song (Single Candle) that hopefully leads back to the path he walks so well.

I love this guy but he's lost in the jungle of feeling like he needs to be different. His choice... but Wilcox plus electrical music generally equals zero.