GARY HOEY-Dust And Bones

Provogue Records

I must admit that I more or less forgot how good Gary Hoey actually is. I remember him as the guitarist of the band Heavy Bones with drummer Frankie Banali (Quiet Riot) and singer Joel Ellis. They recorded only one album in 1992 but what a fantastic effort that was. A CD that every man and woman with love for heavy rock should have in their rock and metal cabinet. I remember some of his instrumental albums like ‘Get A Grip’ and ‘Ho Ho Hoey I’, ‘’II’ and ‘III’. Recently I saw a press release from Provogue Records announcing the release of ‘Dust And Bones’ and when I got onto Amazon to order a copy I saw that the man has been active through the years and has more or less become a blues rocker. In 2013 he recorded ‘Deja Blues’ and now there is ‘Dust And Bones’. He is still a great guitar player but Gary Hoey has also developed excellent vocal skills displayed over both albums. Let us concentrate on this latest release. Gary Hoey has written all the material and has chosen to put a shitload of variation into his bluesy approach. I hear songs that could be featured on albums from Pat Travers, David Gogo, Jeff Healey, Joe Bonamassa, ZZ Top, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Winter, Robin Trower and Chris Isaac. Get the picture? Variation galore! Hoey has drawn his influences from everywhere and created excellent songs like ,,Born To Love You’’ (hello ZZ Top) , ,,Steamroller’’ (dedicated to Johnny Winter, listen to the song and you will know why), ,,Dust And Bones’’ (great track with subtle and heavy parts), ,,Ghost Of Yesterday’’ (Hendrix flavoured guitar work), ,,This Time Tomorrow’’ (slow rocker that could have been on any Robin Trower album) or the instrumental ,,Soul Surfer’’ (again very subtle and laid back). The only track that is quite bleak and blend is ,,Coming Home’’, a duet with Lita Ford. Except for the guitar parts a bit on the soppy side lyric wise. But there is a lot to enjoy on this record. Don’t think that because I mentioned a bunch of artists in this review that Gary Hoey is nothing more than a copycat. He is not. He is a blues rocker that puts a lot of variation in this CD and he does it with flair and style. Warmly recommended!