Review: David Gogo—Halfway to Memphis

From half a continent away and North of the border, David Gogo plays wailing, striving Texas flavored blues. He takes a Johnny Winter approach and he does it well. Gogo plays with a free abandon, hard and edgy with real blues heart. Gogo mixes in slow blues, SRV boogies and T-bone smooth styles, but he prefers overdrive. His voice is expressive and his slide is rooted in the deep Delta, not the West coast of Vancouver Island in Canada. He covers Muddy a couple of times to good effect like “Louisiana Blues” and “Rollin’ and Tumblin.’” A long and indulgent version of James Browns’ “This Is A Man’s World” is overwrought and overlong. His own song, “Halfway to Memphis” is a fine blues about love, hassles and escape. Muddy’s “Louisiana Blues,” the opener, sets the tone and just plain rips and Captain Beefheart’s “Click Clack” oozes swamp from its otherworldly slide to its tortured vocals and mind-blowing harp. The best stuff on Halfway to Memphis is the material David wrote himself and it is a good, contemporary sound with excellent ear feel and obvious talent, dedication and true blues.—Mark Gresser