Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Chris Bevington could never be the kind of musician, or man, that anyone would accuse of ever dreaming of never giving anything less than his absolute dedication to the cause ahead. This is not a person who would Cut and Run, rather, he would be the one leading the fight, the guitar by his side, the fingers picking at the air beside it, ready to fire at a moment’s notice; a lawman in the old Wild West, ready to always do what is right in the service of the badge of Blues.
It is in the characteristic freedom of expression in which The Chris Bevington Organisation performs that makes this new album a ready and measured addition to the output already released, measured but exuberant, ready but overflowing with a great beat. It has a sense of style that lingers on in the brain and the imagination and that somewhere in a world where musical instruments have more than the power to heal, there is a smile as wide as a six stringed guitar on the faces that hear the music played.
With a line-up that includes FM’s Jim Kirkpatrick, Adrian Gibson, Mike Yorke, Scott Ralph and Nearly Dan’s Kate Robertson and Sarah Miller on backing vocals, there is much to admire in The Chris Bevington Organisation’s approach to making music.
From what must be considered the passionate realisation of a dream in recording an album of songs by the prestigious likes of Robert Cray, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Walter Trout and Joe Bonamassa in 2014, to this new original album of Cut and Run, Chris Bevington critical acclaim is nothing short of marvellous.
In songs such as the terrific opener It’s Too Late, Won’t Daydream No More, She Ran Away To The City, Ain’t Nobody To Love, Coming Down With The Blues and Sing Myself To Sleep, Chris Bevington takes the next step onwards in this fascinating journey. He makes sure that the audience and the listener knows that, beyond doubt, he is in this for the long haul, that there is no suggestion what so ever of sitting back upon garlands, laurels and past compliments and cutting and running from the sense of obligation he knows he owes to all who have supported him getting this far.
Cut and Run? This law man armed with a song and a fabulous back up of musicians beside him wouldn’t know how to, instead he simply takes to the stage and sends a message out, that this sharp shooter is here to stay.
Ian D. Hall