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Mike Welch

"catch Me"

Tone cool cD Tc 1167

As fellow SBS member Tim Graham pointed out in his review of Magic Slim last issue, some artists who thrill you on stage sometimes don’t quite deliver when you bring them home to meet your cD player. Such has previously been the case for me with Mike Welch. While I’ve enjoyed his energetic performances, his recordings have often seemed flat by comparison. The good news is that catch Me shows that Mike’s recorded work is starting to "catch-up" to his live work.

The disc opens with it’s best track–As Good As It Gets–which would have been my choice for the title cut with its infectious groove and strong vocals. Mike penned this along with eight of the twelve remaining songs, mostly with bandmate George Leroy Lewis. His vocal ability often seems uneven; sometimes it enhances, as evidenced in Price To Pay and My Love Belongs To You. Other times it detracts from his ever-improving guitar work and songwriting. coincidently (or perhaps not), there are four instrumentals including Mole’s Blues and the mellow Blues For clara. The other two non-vocal performances feature the best of the discs guest players, David Maxwell on piano, who shines on Don’t Worry and provides some honky-tonk keys on Worried Life Blues, a bit of a mystery as an instrumental since the lyrics are printed on the jacket. No matter, these are some of the best cuts.

Mike still suffers from some inconsistent moments including a shrill and uninspired remake of Money (That’s What I Want) and a disappointing title track. But others such as Make Up Your Mind with its lazy horns or changing Of The Guard featuring some shake, rattle and roll percussion from drummer Warren Grant show some imaginative touches which ultimately result in a more sophisticated sound.

He has a long way to go before deserving comparisons to his mentor, Johnny copeland, but with this release Mike Welch moves a step ahead of the pack and hopefully won’t look back. While not a "monster" release, its too good to wait for the used bin.

Steve Magner