Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Ron Wright, RDW Music Publishing Co. 2021.
The number of little or unknown, but outstanding, blues guitarists that exist in even the smallest towns never ceases to amaze me.
I have come across them in the most unlikely places, pealing (as in bells) off a note perfect Hendrix riff or emotion drenched version of Gary Moore’s blues masterpiece Parisienne Walkways.
I remember watching a guitarist performing a magnificent version of Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here on the sidewalk in Kings Cross many years ago and likewise an outstanding guitarist blowing me away with his technique in the plaza outside the Georges Pompidou Centre in Paris back in the 1980s.
It’s happened to me in small towns throughout Ireland as well as the cities of Dublin and Cork, in the Orkneys in Scotland and the south of France.
There are a couple of wonderful blues guitarists in my home city of Canberra and I’m sure that many of you have your own story to tell about coming across great rock/blues guitarists in out of the way locations.
Ron Wright is an American guitarist who was born in Montana but is now based in California and he is such a player.
I came across him on the Play MPE site and was impressed by his amazing ability.
Pilgrim And The Preacher is a three track EP with the opening track Digital Highway setting a high standard for the other tacks to follow.
It opens with a futuristic sound of possibly spaceships landing (or is it the digital highway?) however, it doesn’t take long before Ron’s guitar makes its presence felt.
Despite alien voices, and the introductory sounds, the track is really a full speed ahead blues/rock explosion.
The second (and title track) Pilgrim And The Preacher, is built around a power riff and feels as if it’s stadium ready with its arpeggio solo.
This track could easily be the work of any number of stadium rock acts.
The final track, Join Us, reinforces that we are listening to a guitarist that really knows his craft.
Once again monumental guitar riffs predominate.
To top everything off Ron has the rock/blues voice to match his fantastic playing.
Like the late great Roy Buchanan – who was once dubbed the best unknown guitarist in the world – Ron Wright has largely slipped under the radar.
Maybe (like Buchanan who achieved fame later in life) this EP will bring Ron Wright his day in the sun too.
