Review - The Crave Stephen Dale Petit
By John Kaponi

Californian born Stephen Dale Petit has a lot to live up to – there are plenty of legendary guitarists in the blues/rock arena. Luckily he’s doing just that if his new album The Crave is anything to go by.  

Speaking to the London Daily News the former busker on the London Underground and the first official TfL/Carling London Underground Busker in 2003 said:

"My aim is to restore Blues to popular culture.  I want Blues to be in the charts again and I want to expand the reach of Blues music".

The Crave contains some ferocious, rocking New Blues monsters alongside updated classics by the likes of Robert Johnson, Fleetwood Mac, Little Willie John and Albert King.  As Paul Jones said “Updates of classic blues songs often don’t work but this one certainly does.”

He fell in with some stellar musicians (Clapton Gilmour, Strummer, Starr etc) and cleaned up his act. To survive he turned to busking and was . His first album Guitararama sold out its entire pressing, made HMV’s Top 10 Blues Chart and was voted Guitar Magazine’s Album Of The Year 2008.

The CD sees Ian Grimble(Travis, Mumford & Sons, Clash, Manics, Fall, RHCP) share production credit along with the Chapel Studios, the Lincoln hit factory team behind recent Arctic Monkeys, Johnny Marr and Liam Gallagher, Editors’ and Kaiser Chiefs’ successes. The Crave track listing is as follows:

3 Gunslingers; California; Let There Be More Light; Gun Song; Soul Survivor; Need Your Love So Bad (featuring Dick Taylor); Judgement Day; Cross Road Blues; Open; The Crave (featuring Pete Brown);Looking For Trouble; Slide (featuring Mick Taylor); As The Years Go Passing By; Sunnyland Stomp; It's All Good; Voodoo Lover; Hole In My Soul (featuring Max Middleton).

“21st century blues boy. There’s no question that Stephen Dale Petit can walk the talk. Authoritative guitar and a voice somewhere between Howling Wolf and John Lee Hooker” (Classic Rock, July 2010)

"The reason I am on the planet is to play blues guitar. I’m on a mission to spread the word about the blues and about the guitar – especially to young music lovers."  SDP

To catch Stephen Dale Petit in London at the 100 Club later this or visit www.stephendalepetit.com

photo credit: Judy Totten PR