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bluesinthenorthwest.com - (UK) January 2010
Pissed Off, Bitter And Willing To ShareTreading
similar territory to Dave Arcari, fellow Glaswegian Craig Hughes is an
alt. blues and roots musician and writer, who mainly just armed with
his acoustic slide guitar playing gives us 12 of his own songs – mainly
about the dark side of life, but delivered in an stomping, upbeat
manner.
“Pissed Off,
Bitter And Willing To Share” is his first full-length release,
following on from his “Broke, Lonely And Guilty” EP. Co-producer Tommy
Duffin gives some cuts a full band sound with his drums and bass,
including the rocking and grungy “You Don’t Care At All” – Hughes on
electric slide here and his growl of a voice.
“Everybody’s
Fault But Mine” borrows, not surprisingly by the title, from the blues
standard “Nobody’s Fault But Mine”, with suitable black humour in his
lyrics. The haunting tale of lost love, “Three Hundred And Sixty Five”
is an album highlight, a pretty song again dominated by his acoustic
slide work.
“Dancing On
Your Grave” blasts off with a salvo of electric guitar, before
reverting to some nice fingerpicked acoustic, giving it a nice folky
feel. “Cuban Necktie” – named after a notorious method of gangland
execution – has an uptempo Texas Blues feel on this, the album’s only
instrumental.
Elsewhere
“The TR7s Have All Gone To Heaven” will raise a smile, while “Sighed
Smoke Halo” is probably the album’s hardest song to categorise –
slightly folky, with a bit of psychedlia thrown in for good measure.
“Tell Me, I’m Wonderful” is a full-tilt acoustic slide tune about the
things he wants to hear from his lady! The closing “Well Well Well, My
My My” rides on another electric guitar riff – think something like
Jesus & The Mary Chain meets ZZ Top and you’re there!
Not
one for the blues purists, but Craig Hughes angry, dark take on life
will appeal to those who have open ears – I found his mix of styles
quite appealing, and as previously mentioned definitely in Dave
Arcari’s “punk blues” area, and well worth checking out.
Grahame Rhodes
The Blues Report blog - (Canada) December 2009
Pissed Off, Bitter And Willing To Share
Yesterday
I informed you all that I was going to be listening to a couple of
recently submitted CD's, Craig Hughes "Pissed Off, Bitter And Willing
To Share", Floyd Lee Band "Doctors, Devils & Drugs". Well I
must say that I was more than just impressed, those were two damn good
CD's. Blues Music the way it was meant to be played, down and dirty, no
prisoners taken.
Blues Matters! magazine - (UK) Issue 49 - July 2009
Craig Hughes - Broke, Lonely and Guilty (EP)
Lack
of money, being alone and guilty of committing a crime - enough to give
anyone the deep blues, and on this seventeen-and-a-half minute EP, that
is just what Glasgow, Scotland based alt.blues and roots singer and
guitarist Craig purveys. The five songs are generally down-tempo
items, and titles such as 'Everybody's Got To Cheat And Lie Sometimes'
and 'He Loved Her And She Sent Him To Hell' are indicative of darker
sentiments, with world-weary vocals, and a bottleneck guitar style that
draws on the greats, such as Son House, Muddy Waters, Blind Willie
Johnson, and others (that last-named title is almost jaunty by
comparison with the other tracks). Alt.Blues lovers can buy with
confidence.
Norman Darwen
Blues Bunny - (UK) March 2009
Craig Hughes - Hope It Makes You Happy b/w All the World’s Women
Craig
Hughes is from Glasgow which is not exactly the home of the blues but
fortunately he doesn't know that. Armed with a guitar and the devil on
his shoulder, he growls through "Hope It Makes You Happy". Laconic and
twisted - but in a good way - he berates his lady for wanting a song
named after her. That's what we need - none of this angst ridden
rubbish but a sinking in of the boot just when it is needed. Damn, you
can even sing along to it. Class!
On the flipside - if there were a
flipside for it to be on - is the melancholy "All The World's Women". A
more conventional blues number, Mr Hughes guitar playing seems more
assured here than on "Hope It Makes You Happy" and he successfully
manages to make this song sound like it had fallen right out of time
itself. Works for me!
A record destined to be on vinyl? Hell, yes.
Bluesbunny
Blues Bunny - (UK) February 2009
Craig Hughes - Broke, Lonely and Guilty EP
The
world is a strange place. You'd think you would find the blues in
somewhere like Chicago and not in dear old Glasgow but here we have
singer songwriter Craig Hughes and his EP "Broke, Lonely and Guilty" as
evidence.
Obviously a blues stalwart, the first song "Everybody's
Got to Cheat and Lie Sometimes" starts and finishes with pops and
crackles just like an old 78. It's a pretty clear sign that Craig
Hughes is going to be handling things with respect (and a not
inconsiderable amount of impassioned slide guitar). There's always
going to be tears before bedtime with this kind of music and "He Loved
Her and She Sent Him to Hell" demonstrates that point and may I tell
you that makes a refreshing change from the self pity that normally
characterises Glasgow singer songwriters. "Bale of Blood" mixes
up redemption and rock to quite memorable effect as well.
The blues
ain't nothing but a feeling, or so the saying goes. It's fair to say
that Craig Hughes has that feeling and in this self obsessed,
antiseptic world that we live in that is very welcome. Turn the lights
down, turn the volume up and see if the Devil visits you too.
Bluesbunny
Last.FM - (UK) December 2008
Ship Sails Away, from Broke, Lonely and Guilty EP
Look up melancholy in the dictionary and be prepared. In a good way. So down it makes me feel glad to be me.
Ken Robertson
Blues Bunny - (UK) November 2009
Craig Hughes ... live at The State Bar, Glasgow
Craig
Hughes is promoting his new album "Pissed Off, Bitter and Willing to
Share". If you're going to sing the blues, then a bit of anger and a
slide guitar will come in handy and, indeed, those very things are used
by Craig Hughes to drive his songs along. The end result, however,
tended more towards the melancholy than the aggressive but was
enjoyable nonetheless.
Handsome Bluesbunny
Blues Bunny - (UK) November 2009
Craig Hughes ... live at The Liquid Ship, Glasgow
Now,
finding a good or even great blues guitarist around Glasgow is like
finding Moses and the burning bush - it doesn't happen too often - but
I think the search is over. Hughes is an impressive guitar player who
plays his guitar with impeccable virtuosity. Then, when you add his
gruff, bold vocals to the old Scottish twang, he makes for one hell of
a performer.
Ryan Lashkari
Blues Bunny - (UK) August 2009
Craig Hughes ... live at The State Bar, Glasgow
Now,
Craig Hughes is what you would call an imposing performer. Not the kind
of guy whose beer you'd want to spill. Better off seeing him live.
Armed with fine wit, anger, and a Takamine, Craig Hughes suppressed all
his frustrations and observations into a brilliant 45 minute onslaught.
Imagine RL Burnside was deported to Glasgow for his sins. Might well
have sounded like Craig Hughes. Brilliant.
Peter McGee
Rockradio.co.uk - (UK) Rock Blogs: Blues On The Road - July 2009
That Devil Music @ The State Bar, Glasgow July 3rd 2009
Grand night at the State last night ... Blog regular Craig Hughes played a fine set with some cool new numbers ...
Dave Arcari
Rockradio.co.uk - (UK) Rock Blogs: Blues On The Road - July 2009
Blues on the River Festival, The Ferry, Glasgow June 27th 2009
Our buddy Craig Hughes plays a crackin’ set.
Dave Arcari
Dave's Diary - (UK) davearcari.wordpress.com - June 2009
That Devil Music @ The State Bar, Glasgow June 5th 2009
That Devil Music last night was great – ever-dependable Craig Hughes played a great set ...
Dave Arcari
FEATURES
Blues Underground Network - (Canada) January 2010
Year End Review 2009
... These are the movers and shakers that will define or have already defined the Blues.The
Artists and Albums ... were chosen because they represented to me
something that was either unique, fresh, totally enjoyable to listen
to, or all of the above. They were not chosen by how much air play they
got, or how many copies they sold, those are industry standards which I
feel can at times mask true talent and neglect real talent. Top 25 Albums 2009 (see original article for full list) no.6
Craig Hughes "Pissed Off, Bitter And Willing To Share"
Best British Blues Album
Craig Hughes "Pissed Off, Bitter And Willing To Share"
Leicester Bangs - (UK) December 2009
A
little Q&A with Craig Hughes. On his new record, Pissed Off, Bitter
and Willing To Share, he sings, plays guitar, bass and stomps a bit.
Tommy Duffin plays drums and some bass, too.
Leicester Bangs: Tell us a little about yourself.
Craig:
I play alt. blues and roots music, think of myself primarily as a
guitarist but have seen the dreaded 'singer songwriter' tag applied,
not entirely inaccurately...
LB: How did you start out making music?
Craig:
Started playing guitar at around 12 years old. There was a good scene
where I grew up - everything from blues to metal to punk and prog at
the same gig, often in the same band. Sometimes in the same song. It
was a good atmosphere to learn in.
LB: Who did you grow up listening to and how do they influence what you’re doing now?
Craig:
I first showed a real interest in music when I was a wee boy, and I was
really into rock 'n' roll and rockabilly. Loved early Elvis (had a
copy of The Sun Collection which my dad gave me the day Elvis died) and
at the time Bill Haley was my favourite - my folks took me to a Bill
Haley show at a rock'n'roll revival show at The Glasgow Apollo when I
was 9 years old. That did it. As the years rolled on I went through a
lot of fazes, many of which stayed with me, and ended up in an
alternative-rock head-space throughout the 90s - Rollins Band, RHCP,
Soundgarden and so on. Now I'm playing primarily solo blues, but it's
with that attitude, I think. The biggest influences on what I do now
are probably Richard Thompson, Loudon Wainwright III, Skip James, Keith
Richards and Chuck Berry. And Lemmy.
LB: Tell us about your latest release.
Craig:
The latest release is my first album, 'Pissed Off, Bitter and Willing
to Share', which kind of picks up where the EP 'Broke, Lonely and
Guilty' left off. Where the EP was made up of fairly melancholy
slide-heavy blues, and was pretty dark stuff all in, the album is a
more aggressive and perversely upbeat affair - although lyrically it
still draws from the darker side of life.
LB: Do you get out and play your music live, and if so, what can an audience expect at one of your shows?
Craig:
My shows are solo acoustic affairs, but aggressive and full-on - I
break a sweat. I play mostly my own material but occasionally throw in
covers by anyone from Robert Johnson and Howlin Wolf - which you might
expect - through Kris Kristofferson and Jerry Reed to Motorhead - which
you might not. I put on some promotions in Glasgow under the banner
That Devil Music, which is me performing with one or two other acts - I
prefer to promote myself in the city as there are so many rip-off
merchants at work in the live scene, particularly at the grass-roots
level where everybody's trying to catch a break.
LB: What aspects of playing and recording music do you most enjoy?
Craig:
There's a school of thought that has the kind of stuff I do down as
some kind of catharsis, which probably isn't far off the mark although
I think that's more in the writing stage. Recording can be quite
frustrating at times, but there's that great moment when it comes
together and you think: cool - that's a proper fucking record, that is!
LB: Where can people find (and buy) your music?
Craig:
The album is out now - the CD is currently available from the Channel
Nowhere site and my website, where there's all sorts of other
fascinating gubbins to catch your eye, and will be available from CD
Baby (CD/download) from the end of November 2009. CD Baby is handling
digital distribution which takes time to roll out - the EP is already
available to download from CD Baby, iTunes, Amazon, Lala etc., so look
out for the album to start appearing on those stores over the next few
weeks.
You can also check me out on MySpace, YouTube and Last.FM, amongst others.
www.leicesterbangs.com
INDUSTRY QUOTES
Great performer.
Paul Clarkson, Sunny Govan F.M.
For
anyone who likes their blues, and I mean real blues not your Gary Moore
siphoned, commercial, rock blues... this is down'n'dirty slide geetar,
gravelly voice 'I'm gonna kill myself or someone else close to me"
blues. I really recommend you check this guy out... Many moons ago he
was the guitarist in a band I played with, and I hold him in the
highest regard as a musician.... And if you live in Glasgow pop on over
to a show, you won't regret it!
Grae Tennick, Morpheus Rising
Kick
ass Glasgow based alt.blues singer/songwriter. Top notch songs about
infidelity, death, lost love and all that. Miserable and depressing in
the best way.
Ken Robertson, What's That Noise?