Blind blues guitarists are nothing out of the ordinary; the
annals of blues history make note of several guitarists who could
not see, such as “Blind” Lemon Jefferson. So, Canadian guitarist
Jeff Healey’s success in 1988 was not a gimmick because of his
blindness.
Likewise, there are many different ways that people have played
guitar over the years. While Healey’s style – putting the guitar
flat on his lap and playing the fretboard more like a piano
keyboard – was unique, it could hardly be called a gimmick.
So why did this young guitarist and his band hit the big time
with their debut album
See The Light? Simple: well written songs that pushed the
envelope of blues and rock, even if the production wasn’t always
the greatest.
Healey proved early on this album that he was more than a
competent guitarist, lack of sight or strange playing style be
damned. With bassist Joe Rockman and drummer Tom Stephen providing
a solid rhythm backbone, Healey was free to both lay down a smooth
rhythm guitar track and to cut loose in his solos. Tracks like
“Confidence Man,” “River Of No Return” and the title track offer
evidence aplenty of this.
When it comes to the blues, Healey demonstrates the skill that
has left jaws of modern-day bluesmasters like Stevie Ray Vaughan
and B.B. King agape. His performance on a cover of “Hideaway” is
nothing short of a masterpiece, and though his cover of ZZ Top’s
“Blue Jean Blues” is a little too lazy for my tastes, it is played
lovingly by Healey and crew.
But don’t just write Healey off as a bluesman; one listen to the
ballad “Angel Eyes,” one of the most beautiful songs of this style
I’ve ever heard, shows there’s a lot more to Healey than meets the
eyes or ears.
There are only two problems with
See The Light that I can hear. The biggest is the lack of a
cleanly produced sound. Often, Healey’s vocals – admittedly not
that strong unless he’s singing in a lower range – seem like
they’ve been podded down a bit. It would have been better to have
allowed the vocals to be brought to the forefront (as they
occasionally are, such as on “That’s What They Say”) and judged
strictly on their own merits. (Actually, the overall production of
the album could have been better; it’s not as crisp as it could
have been.)
Second, not all of the material on
See The Light is of the same caliber of quality as the
“:hits” off this one. Tracks like “Nice Problem To Have” and “Don’t
Let Your Chance Go By” are quickly forgettable, which is a
shame.
Still,
See The Light was a nice first step for the Jeff Healey
Band, and quickly established Healey as a premier guitarist worthy
of the praise heaped upon him. He might never have achieved true
superstardom, but even if
See The Light had been his only recorded work, it would have
been something to be quite proud of.
