Who thought that a blues, family three piece from a little town in Texas would become huge? Heaven was regularly played on top 40 stations and their debut was hailed as one of the best of the year, even more one of the best blues albums in recent history. Their sound is much more mature than their age. The Garza brothers range from 21-25 and they sound like blues veterans. Henry Garza's guitar playing is phenomenal and is reminiscent of two of his biggest heroes, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Carlos Santana. He effortlessly solos on
Onda and he can really wail with the wah-wah pedal. The two other brothers do an excellent job supplying the rhythm and vocal harmonies. The whole product just works beautifully. From
Senorita to
La Contestacion, there is not one bad song.
The songs range from rock to blues to pop. The wide variety of styles incorporated into their music gives them a fresh sound. The mainstream audiences couldn't help but like
Heaven. It was highly infectious and catchy and fun to sing along too, and something that was new. There hasn't been a blues release in the past couple years this big. It was big for the blues, people I knew started getting interested in Stevie, Clapton, and Santana, all because of this album. So why is it so good? As previously mentioned, the guitar playing is top notch. Each song has some noteworthy guitar playing. The album's opener
Senorita has a roaring wah-wah solo that rival's some of today’s best players. The vocals are also impressive. The vocal harmonies are similar to The Beach Boys. Henry's cries are loud and full of soul. The enthusiasm he puts into the music makes it even better. The songwriting is above the average. The right chords are chosen and he doesn't excessively solo and they songs go for just the right length.
This is the kind of music that's great to crank up on a stereo and listen through the whole thing. There is the sugary songs (
More Than Love,
La Contestacion) the bluesy ones (
Crazy Dream,
Tell Me Why), the pop ones (
Velvet Sky,
Heaven, and the rock ones (
Senorita,
Real Emotions.
Onda is the only instrumental. It's 8 minutes of the Garza brothers pushing their instrument to the limit. Jojo keeps the beat going and Ringo's drum solos are great. But, the real star of the show is Henry. His solo's are fiery and beautiful and clearly show he is one of the best guitarists of the past few years.
There is definitely something for everyone here. The broad range of styles will appeal to most everyone and it's an essential buy for the blues fan. Definitely the mainstream highlight of 2004.
Recommended Tracks
Onda
Senorita
Real Emotions
Tell Me Why
Crazy Dream
