Bernie Marsden is a six string king. This isn’t a term I use flippantly. It was earned over the course of a 50 year career. In those last 50 years, Marsden has played with UFO, Babe Ruth, Cozy Powell, Paice Ashton Lord, and ALMOST joined Paul McCartney’s Wings. Most famously of all, Marsden was the long time guitarist in Whitesnake, playing on every release from Snakebite (1978) through Saints & Sinners (1982). He also co-wrote much of the material on these albums alongside David Coverdale. Yes, Marsden earned his crown decades ago; a crown that shines brightly on his latest album, Kings.
This appropriately titled album pays tribute to three of Marsden’s guitar heroes: Albert King, B.B. King, and Freddie King. Marsden blazes through a thoughtful and soulful set of blues standards that showcase both his technical ability and the roots of Whitesnake. We naïve Americans seem to forget that before the hairspray, arenas, and MTV, Whitesnake was a stripped down bluesy hard rock band. The band’s unbridled honesty showed in David Coverdale’s sultry vocals and lyrics, as well as Marsden’s riffs and melodies that took far more from the three Kings than Jimmy Page or Paul Kossoff.
Marsden doesn’t have the vocal fire of Coverdale, but what he lacks in range and power, he makes up for in soul and authenticity. These no frills vocals are the perfect fit for this release. Had he brought in a hired screamer, such vocal acrobatics could distract from Marsden’s guitar work, which is the star of this album. The key component of Marsden’s playing isn’t his riffing, soloing, or hotshot abilities, but his tone: A tone so warm and sweet that you’d have to be devoid of heart to not be moved by it.
Kings does a standout job not just paying tribute to the blues, but showcasing the various shades of the genre. A jazzy spin on Albert King’s “Don’t You Lie to Me”, the southern soul of “Woman Across the River”, and the gritty Chicago blues of “Key to the Highway” are key (no pun intended) examples of the blues’ contribution to the development of rock n’ roll. On the flip side are passionate torch songs like “I’ll Play the Blues for You” and “Help Me Through the Day”, the latter being covered by Whitesnake on Lovehunter (1979). Marsden’s rendition of “Help Me Through the Day” is faithful to Whitesnake’s, minus the dense layer of synthesizers and post-production. After 10 tracks of tribute, Marsden closes the album out with two original instrumentals: “Runaway” and “Uptown Train”. Both songs are short and sweet blistering blues rockers that would make the three Kings proud.
Despite being 70 years old and assuming the same elder statesman status as those being honored on Kings, Bernie Marsden is a snake that hasn’t lost his bite. If he wanted to spend the rest of his career performing old blues and jazz standards, that’d be fine by me. Someone has to keep this music alive. I couldn’t think of a better candidate than Marsden to do so.
6 out of 10
Label: Little House Music
Genre: Blues Rock
For fans of: Gary Moore, Eric Gales, Whitesnake