Like many talented guitarists, Brad Wilson is trying to forge a relationship with the cold-hearted mistress that is the music industry. Unlike many suitors, however, Wilson seems to be making some headway in his rock & romancing. The axeman has had songs featured in the John Carpenter films Ghosts Of Mars and Vampires, received airplay on the syndicated "Blues Deluxe" radio program and has had songs featured in episodes of the NBC soap opera Passions for the last four years. Wilson fronts the award-winning L.A. band Stone and has opened for folks like Cheap Trick, Derek Trucks and Walter Trout. With this excellent self-titled solo debut, however, Wilson takes a giant step forward in his courtship of industry acceptance. The album offers a baker's dozen of blues-rock tunes that stand as tall and sound as sweet as anything you're going to hear on specialty labels like Alligator, Blind Pig or Ruf this year.

Wilson's voice is a cross between Greg Allman and Warren Haynes, stripped of the twang but not of the warmth and emotion of those soulful vocalists. Wilson's guitar style and songwriting chops are entirely his own though, a joyful and invigorating mix of blues-infused rock that is reminiscent of Hendrix, Stevie Ray, Rory Gallagher and Gary Moore without ever sounding derivative or falling into clichés. There are too damn many good songs on the album to go into every one, but there are standouts that will stick in your brain and have you humming along or playing air guitar as you listen. The swinging "Black Coffee At Sunrise" is an inspired cross between Commander Cody and the Fabulous Thunderbirds while "Hands On The Wheel" is a riff-heavy rave-up with a driving beat. The powerful "The Healer" is blessed with the sanctified funk, Wilson's shimmering guitarwork riding high atop the infectious rhythm while "House Of Love" is a radio-friendly roots rocker with understated vocals and no little amount of energy. An edgy tightwire lead opens "Cruisin' The Coast," a spry instrumental tune that explores artistic territory similar to Steve Vai's best work.

Wilson is a precise player with great style and tone, not a virtuoso in the heavy metal sense but rather a natural talent with a wide and diverse range of skills. As a songwriter, Wilson is a fine storyteller and gifted wordsmith, crafting solid songs that compliment his guitar style without intruding. Often overshadowed by his considerable six-string play, Wilson's songwriting, in my humble opinion, is more mature and literate than that of better-known contemporaries like Walter Trout or Poppa Chubby. An enormous and impressive debut, Brad Wilson the album does an admirable job introducing Brad Wilson the artist, a little-known but nevertheless major talent with a bright future ahead of him. (CB Records, 8424A Santa Monica Boulevard, Suite 115, Los Angeles CA 90069)

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