Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Lachy Doley, Bandcamp 2020.
Lachy Doley hails from Sydney and he’s a master of the Hammond Organ, in fact he’s so good at it that he’s often been dubbed the Jimi Hendrix of the instrument.
He’s also one of Australia’s best blues singers and this wonderful album highlights both aspects of his remarkable ability.
The ten tracks contain selections from his five studio albums plus two new releases.
The album opens with a blistering cover of the classic Spencer Davis and Steve Winwood song Gimme Some Lovin’.
It’s a poignant opening given the recent passing of Spencer Davis.
Lachy’s rendition of this blues standard is a highlight reel of his incendiary playing and ballsy vocal style.
The other new song is an incredible version of Jimi Hendrix’s Voodoo Child (Slight Return).
It’s hard to think of a harder song for a keyboardist to cover successfully than this track and yet Lachy makes it his own.
I don’t know who his guitarist is but he deserves special mention for his interpretation of Hendrix’s playing, in fact, the whole band are great.
The remainder of the tracks are originals that vary from the slow soul of Conviction to the funk of Make It Up and the power blues of The Only Cure For The Blues Is The Blues.
There really isn’t a style or form of the blues that Lachy hasn’t mastered.
In Six Feet Under he even dabbles in aspects of stadium rock.
Lachy Doley’s playing is so impressive that it can move the listener to feats of incredulity.
He pounds the instrument and sometimes caresses it as he wrings out every last drop of emotion.
He’s intense and ferocious and apparently his live shows are a thing to behold.
The opening to Still In Love is a beautifully understated build up to a torturous and aching song of heartache that runs for more than seven minutes.
This album has really whetted my appetite for some more of Lachy’s work.
