Rough Edge: The Paul Nelson Band CD Reviews

THE PAUL NELSON BAND

"BadAss Generation" (Walk the Dog Music/Friday Music; 2016)

Reviewed by R. Scott Bolton

If you've never heard of Paul Nelson, you should do yourself a favor and check out his entry on Wikipedia. You'll be surprised, amazed and impressed by the man's body of work. Probably best known as guitarist for Johnny Winter, Nelson is a Grammy and other award-winning musician with an incredible history. I was first introduced to his work by Paul himself when he sent me CDs from his speed metal band Liege Lord (reviews of which you can read here.)

Today, however, we're talking about The Paul Nelson's band new release, "BadAss Generation." It's a collection of twelve rockin' tunes that fuse blues and hard rock together in the style of bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd and Bad Company. As you can imagine, the guitars are incredible here, both with bluesy riffs, fiery leads and some jaw-dropping slide, but this band is the whole package. Vocalist Morten Fredheim is stunning, a beautiful cross between Paul Rodgers and Jeff Scott Soto. Chris Reddan on drums and Christopher Alexander on bass keep the music alive, giving the blues feel of the album a solid kick into rock'n'roll territory.

My favorite tracks are "Cold Hearted Mama" and the atmospheric "Swamp Thing," but there isn't a bad track here. If you're a fan of classic rock bands like the aforementioned Bad Company and Skynyrd, I can't imagine you won't love "Badass Generation."

For more information, check out www.paulnelsononguitar.com.

Rating Guide:

A classic. This record will kick your ass.

Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.

So-so. You've heard better.

Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.

Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.

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