Chrisbevingtonmusic

16 hours ago

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Sand & Stone, the fourth album from the Chris Bevington Organisation, is as good, and all blues-soul-swing encompassing, as it is.

The strength of the 2014 self-titled Chris Bevington & Friends (before they got Organised) debut, followed by the ever-increasing wealth of blues & band strength that showcased itself on Better Start Cookin’ and the highly exuberant, good-time fun of 2018’s Cut And Run meant Sand & Stone had a solid foundation of blues, soul, rock and brass backed R&B to build atop of.

From the small acorn of bassist and passionate blues aficionado Chris Bevington’s idea of putting a group together to record a few songs and selected covers, grew the branches of full blown, big-band blues.

As with Cut And Run, Sand & Stone also benefits from featuring a full album’s worth of new material from the songwriting partnership of guitarist Jim Kirkpatrick (of FM fame) and vocalist/ guitarist Scott Ralph.
That they also make for a strong production combo provides a musical and sonically impressive win-win for the Organisation.

'It’s True,' which puts 'The Heat is On' through a Stonesy rock and roll blender, makes for a seriously catchy opening number.
Kate Robertson and Sarah Miller add the feminine vocal touch behind Scott Ralph’s confident lead, backed by impressive solo bursts from Jim Kirkpatrick and saxophonist Chris Aldridge.

'Bad Bad Bad' allows the band to get their 70s styled soul-funk on before the blues come calling through the beautifully weighted ballad 'Already Got the Blues' (Scott Ralphs’ vocal, a wailing sax and Jim Kirkpatrick’s blues bursts complementing each other perfectly) and the slow soul-swing of 'Everywhere I Go,' featuring Kate Robertson and Sarah Miller.

Other slow blues highlights include the organ swirling 'It Was Over' and the gospel-tinged 'Home Sweet Home,' which carries an arrangement not too far removed from Joe Cocker’s celebrated version of 'With a Little Help From My Friends.'

The true strength of Sand & Stone however lies in its musical breadth and scope (Chris Bevington’s guide to Jim Kirkpatrick and Scott Ralph this time around was, clearly, not so much to provide a brief as to give them a blues carte blanche).

Examples?
How about the rock 'n' soul of the groovin' 'Deep River,' which is an absolute winner, or the short but effective funky-blues of 'I Got Time.'
There’s also the riffy 'Walk This Way' swagger of the harp hollering 'Heaven Above' and the "never again" headache blues of 'What Did I Drink Last Night' (the bar room blues equivalent of 'Show Me the Way to Go Home').

The album ends as impressively as it started, but in complete contrast to the up-tempo opener (which sums up the musical modus operandi of the album perfectly).
The closing title track is a work song blues that musically points to the deep south but lyrically tells the tale of the British mining industry and the dangers within (while not referencing it directly there’s a solemn nod here to the 1942 Sneyd Colliery disaster in Chris Bevington’s home town of Stoke on Trent).

Whether Sand & Stone gets the larger recognition such an excellent album deserves remains to be seen but that there is already healthy recognition for the CBO from the fan base, the more discerning critics and the likes of the Independent Blues Broadcasters’ Association (who championed Cut And Run) speaks volumes.

More power to Chris Bevington's Organisational elbow.

Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ

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