CD Review Thumb A Ride - Ruf Records

Big Daddy Wilson brings the blues from Germany to the United States Big Daddy Wilson is a black musician. He comes from Edenton, a small town located in North Carolina. Strangely though, he did not export the rhythm of blues from the US to Europe, as might be expected. His first-time blues muse got him in Northern Germany. And this is what makes this 50-year old singer exceptional.

Big Daddy Wilson's "Thumb a Ride" is his second release under Ruf Records. It's a fantastic piece of music and will surely find fans in his old home country as well. Big Daddy Wilson started his international career in 2009 by releasing his debut CD "Love Is the Key", exciting his audience and earning overwhelmingly positive critics. His above-mentioned new album "Thumb a Ride" was released right after that. Together with his two guitarist Jochen Bens and Michael van Merwyk, Big Daddy composed and recorded twelve of the album's thirteen songs. The only cover version is "Brother Blood" by the Neville Brothers. "Thumb a Ride" (total time: 53 minutes) takes the listener on quite a large-scale and exceptional journey through various styles of the acoustic blues. Soul, gospel, and the original blues can all be heard. Big Daddy Wilson himself says: "It ain't where you come from or where you going, man, it's the trip..," and the journey is the finish line. Wilson's voice, his trademark, just stands out throughout the entire CD. Wilson's simply fantastic! Band members also include, next to the aforementioned guitar players, the contrabass player Andreas Müller and the percussions player Martin Esser. Appetizers: The fast-rhythm "Baby Don't Like It" (2), the melodious ballad "Anna Mae" (4) with a wonderful guitar solo and the final track "If You Were Mine" (13), with Andreas' contrabass weaved by Wilson's touching voice. Big Daddy's confident that the "Thumb a Ride" album will not only be a great success in Europe but will also break through in the US.