Is Chris Rea's Slide Guitar the Best Ever?

A few weeks ago the remnants of the popular late 60's to early 70's rock group "Three Dog Night" came through our town. Known for their unique vocal harmonies, the show was good for nostalgic entertainment but wasn't anything like I remember from over 30 years ago. Perhaps it was because one of the original lead vocalists (possibly the best one), Check Negron, is no longer with the group. Of course they are a lot older and singing their hit One tens of thousands of times has got to dampen some of that original energy and enthusiasm.

Seeing a group like Three Dog Night reminded me of how I really liked to play two of their songs Easy to be Hard and Out in the Country over and over again. I had the same kind of craving about other songs such as Closer to Home by Grand Funk Railroad, I'd Love to Change the World by Ten Years After and Fresh Air by Quicksilver Messenger Service. Some part of my brain needed this stimulus or outlet and these songs provided it at the time.

Today over 35 years later I still enjoy hearing these songs once in a while but the longing is gone. The yen for particular tunes has been replaced with an uncontrolled craving to hear a particular artist over and over again. I have a six CD player in my car and all of the CD's are from the same artist. Occasionally I'll remove a CD or two and replace with other CD's from the same musician. This has been going on for over two years. My wife calls it an obsession. Others say it's a sickness. I don't know what to call it but I just know that I love everything this guy records.

Chris Rea isn't widely recognized in the United States. His biggest American hit, Fool (IfYou Think it's Over), was lifted from his debut album Whatever Happened To Benny Santini, released in 1978. It peaked at number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100. I was familiar with Fool but never paid much attention to it. It wasn't until the mid 1990's when a friend introduced me to Rea through his Road to Hell album did I realize that he was a superb vocalist with a unique deep smoky blues sound as well as a real talent on the slide guitar.

I have since purchased many of Rea's albums including Blue Guitars a compilation of 130 Chris Rea songs inspired by his interpretation of the history of the blues. The eleven discs and a bonus DVD set me back over a hundred bucks but it was worth every penny.

If you haven't really delved into his music I caution you to do so at your own risk. It can become quite an addiction!