A flexible bluesman,
Jimmy D. Lane can handle straight-ahead Chicago blues as proficiently as he handles blues-rock;
Long Gone is a fine example of the latter. Increasing the volume, the singer/guitarist shows his appreciation of
Jimi Hendrix and
Stevie Ray Vaughan on such high-octane originals as "Obsession Babies," "White Tears," and "Whiskey." Their influence is hard to miss on those songs as well as passionate interpretations of
John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom,"
Albert King's "California," and
Hendrix's "Hear My Train a Comin'." And on
Muddy Waters' "Rollin' Stone," listeners are reminded of the artistic debt that
Hendrix owed to
Waters. But it would be wrong to think that
Lane is going out of his way to emulate either
Hendrix or
Vaughan. Their influence is present, but when
Lane brings out his rock-influenced side, he's still very much his own person. Those who discovered
Lane with his next album, Legacy, might be surprised to hear how more metallic his guitar playing is on the equally excellent
Long Gone. ~ Alex Henderson