Alec McElcheran is a veteran bassist and singer/songwriter in Quebec. He has played with most everyone in that province and written songs for Bob Walsh, Steve Rowe and many others. For his first album as a leader, he proves himself to be a fine singer as well. Accompanying himself on acoustic guitar, electric guitar & bass and backed by Alan Springer on electric guitar and Dan Legault on drums, he delivers a lovely set of acoustic & electric songs that cover a range of styles while staying true to the title.

“Perambulator Blues” starts with an acoustic country blues riff but by the time the electric trio kicks in he’s into a tale of a girlfriend about to leave. There’s a verse in which he rhymes several lines with ‘perambulator’ that’ll amaze you. He says he loves the Rolling Stones and he proves it with “Kinda Like Him Anyway”, a toe-tapper about a girl who may have chosen the wrong guy. The re-worked “Honky Tonk Women” is a nice touch. “Fair Verona Blues” is a rocker that re-tells the story of Romeo & Juliette. Springer wrote the impressive lyrics and McElcheran had the good judgment to use the song. “Pot Boiler” is his power trio song with echoes of Hendrix and the Black Keys but the intro comes from the Beatles. “File Under Blues” is an ambitious jazzy piece that chronicles a long, tragic love story.

I hope the disc does well for him because it should but as a business card for a songwriter for hire, this deserves much wider exposure. His web site is www.alecmc.com and it has streaming audio of the songs. You should hear them.


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