With the continuous loss of blues legends who have kept interest
in their magnificent form of music alive, the attention of the
blues world slowly shifts from these legends to the younger
generation. Into this void stepped Mike Welch two years ago, when
he released his debut album at the tender young age of 16. Now 18,
Welch has released his third effort,
Catch Me, which, despite some major flaws, is an
entertaining listen.
While I can still relate to the perils an 18-year-old goes
through (I’ll be able to identify, at least, until I attend the
10-year reunion of my high school graduating class next year), it
sometimes is hard to believe that someone so young could relate to
some of the topics the blues deals with, such as love lost and
gained. (I’m 27, for Crissake, and I don’t claim to be any more
knowledgeable about such things.) “Make Up Your Mind” and “If I
Love You” are prime examples; on the latter, Welch sings, “If I
love you so much / Why do I treat you so bad?” Please.
And while Welch’s playing is impeccable, his singing takes some
getting used to. I honestly had problems getting past the opening
song on the disc, “As Good As Gone,” due to the limitations of his
vocals. To Welch’s credit, though, they get better as the disc goes
on – he does a great cover of “Money (That’s What I Want)”.
However, Welch is still a very young man, and it does take time for
vocals to mature. In a matter of time, this shouldn’t be a
limitation to Welch’s future.
When Welch steps away from the microphone and lets his playing
do the talking on
Catch Me, the album takes a major u-turn for the better.
With a talented crew of backing musicians (including bassist David
Hull, drummer Warren Grant and keyboardist George Leroy Lewis),
Welch lets his Strat copy shred through some wonderful 12-bar blues
exercises, as heard on “Mole’s Blues,” “Blues For Cara” and “Don’t
Worry”. However, had this album been all blues instrumentals, it
most likely would have become boring rather quickly. So, to Welch’s
benefit, he spaces out the instrumental work well.
Some of the songs on
Catch Me stand out, such as “Worried Life Blues” and “My
Love Belongs To You,” but there still lacks a maturity about the
songwriting – and this, again, is something that only comes with
time. So, I’m willing to cut Welch a little slack in this category.
Examples of this include “Changing Of The Guard” and the title
track.
Is Welch a talented musician? Absolutely. Is he a natural born
leader of a blues band? That has yet to be proven. But
Catch Me is a portrait of a student of the blues studying
for the ultimate test – even though his lessons are far from
over.
