Full-Time Blues Music Review - The Vincent Hayes Project

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Blues Music Review: The Vincent Hayes Project - Reclamation - North 61 Records 2010

You wouldn't believe it by simply looking at him, but baby-faced Blues guitarist Vincent Hayes is a 20-year veteran of the music industry. It's when you listen to Hayes and his band, The Vincent Hayes Project, that you realize how seasoned he is behind the mic, the guitar, and the pen. Michigan's The Vincent Hayes Project - made up of Hayes on guitar and lead vocals, David "The Butcher" Alves on bass, and Donnie Hugley on drums and percussion - made it to the semi-finals of the International Blues Challenge in both 2006 and 2007. Since then, they've become the hosts of the Sunday jam at Grand Haven, Michigan's Deelite, and produced their album Reclamation for North 61 Records.

The album was produced by Glenn Brown on the Muscle Shoals Neve console, a device that owns it's own place in music history for being the board used in sessions by a who's-who of music royalty, including Eric Clapton, The Allman Brothers Band, and more. If it were for this simple fact alone, Reclamation would be worth checking out; but the music stands up, and that makes it all the better. The disc is filled with 70 minutes of all original music written by Hayes and captures a power trio at the height of their powers. Additional musicians enlisted for the Reclamation sessions include Christian VanAntwerpen on a variety of keyboards, including Hammond B3 and Wurlitzer. Steve "Doc" Yankee plays piano on the album.

Things kick off with "Hit Me High, Hit Me Low," a swinging track with some terrific piano work right off the bat. The song kind of reminds me of a Texas Blues, which is interesting, because Hayes voice is similar, in my opinion, to Jimmie Vaughan. "Insecurities" starts with a thick groove from Alves and Hugley, before VanAntwerpen comes in, and finally, Hayes on guitar ahead of vocals. Hayes has said that he loves the old Blues, but having never lived those situations, he crafts songs that he has experienced in his life. It provides a realism to the band that you soon learn applies to everything that they do. The lyrics aren't forced, and neither is the playing. The music is natural.

"I've Got A Right To Change My Mind" is the first of two songs on Reclamation that are right around the 10 minute mark in length, the other being "Sone Kind of Fool." They're both slow burners. "I've Got A Right To Change My Mind" features Yankee's piano adding that little something extra to the song. "Some Kind of Fool" sees VanAntwerpen back behind the keys on a variety of instruments, wonderfully adding depth to the haunted emotion of the song. The lengthy guitar solo from Vincent Hayes is impressive, here, as well! The song as a whole features some of my favorite guitar work by Hayes on the entire album.

"Middle Man" is a great declaration song, laying it all on the line for the woman in the song. The tune is one of my personal faves on Reclamation and Vincent Hayes draws great tone out of his guitar on the track. Shout out to Donnie Hugley's drumming as the song hits its final minute or so. The playing throughout the entire disc is solid, but the way Hugley kills on the skins as "Middle Man" hits its climax is phenomenal. "Middle Man" is followed by "I Just Want To Get You High Tonight." This is the first track I featured from Reclamation on the radio show, and it left a big impression on some of the listeners, earning some almost instant feedback from a few members of the audience. The up-tempo number is pure fun, and if you're not six feet under ground, you'll want to hit the dance floor whenever it's played.

"Thank You Baby" is a really cool number featuring the recurring line "I want to thank you for giving me the Blues." Right on, brother. That's followed by "Double Talk," which starts off with a great bass line from "The Butcher" before the rest of the band comes in. The tune would fit in amongst some of the great, original Rock 'N' Roll classics, like "Johnny B. Goode;" ironic considering Chuck Berry's signature tune was the first song Vincent Hayes learned to play. Hayes does his take on the conversational guitar bit, too; a trick that never gets old. The afore-mentioned "Some Kind of Fool" is next on Reclamation. That's followed by the more Rock-y "Halfway Out the Door." The aspect of The Vincent Hayes Project that I pick up on is that, while there is a certain element of Rock in their music, I don't want to classify them amongst the Blues-Rock genre. I feel like their music is far enough away from the Rock element that VHP can be called simply a quality Blues band, and it seems like Vincent Hayes has worked hard to create music that way out of respect and passion for the genre.

Reclamation wraps up with the instrumental "Sticky Thigh Jive ahead of the slide filled "You Can Take Your Troubles," a great closing number that is filled with Elmore James style licks.

Standout Tracks: "Middle Man," "I Just Want To Get You High Tonight," "Some Kind of Fool," and "Insecurities"

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