David Gogo: Halfway To Memphis
 Review by Tom Branson - BluesRocker.ws staff…
August 2001
I have made no secret of the fact that I believe that Walter Trout is
the reigning king of the blues/rock guitarists. He has paid his dues,
earned the respect of his peers, is recording the best material of
his career, and plays live with great passion and intensity. However,
as was the case with all those before him, there will come a day when
he is replaced at the top of the heap. Some have left the mountain
top through retirement or death while others simply lose the fire in
their gut. Someday, another player will stand atop the list and I do
not imagine that we have ever seen a day when there were so many potential "heir
apparents". There are more gifted blues/rock artists around these
days than at anytime I can recall.
Though there is a large number of worthy future contenders for the
crown, I would be hard pressed to come up with someone who has a more
legitimate chance of someday reaching that apex than Canadian born
blues/rock guitarist David Gogo. Gogo is an upper tier guitarist whose
brand of blues/rock will hit you in the chin with the force of a Clark
Kent uppercut. I first heard of his work after the release of his live Dine
Under the Stars CD, which is an intense and fiery showcase of Gogo's
incredible ability with six string instruments of assorted varieties.
His latest release for Cordova Bay records, Halfway To Memphis is
a studio recording, but still an intense one nonetheless. His music
is not for "blues purists" or the faint of heart in general,
but if you are a fan (like me) of aggressive blues/rock guitar, then
Gogo's CDs surely have to be added to your grocery list.
 This latest release is the fourth for Gogo in the past
3 years, as he continues to build the kind of outstanding body of work
worthly of potential future royalty. The CD is a mixture of 7 covers
and 4 Gogo originals. Regardless of style or tempo, each is filled
with monstrously powerful guitar and Gogo's passionate vocals, which
have steadily improved with each of his releases. Take a listen to
Muddy's Louisiana Blues, Eddie Hinton's (I Gotta) Testify or
the Gogo original Bad Faces and you will soon understand that
this is an artist who can go just about as far in this genre as any
before him and perhaps someday even farther.
© Bluesrockers 2001
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