Albert Lee & Hogan's Heroes: Fleece

Friday 4th July 2008

This is a Crackerjack review of Albert Lee & Hogan's Heroes. Do you agree? Rate and review this event.

Crackerjack rating: 8 / 10.

In April, Albert Lee broke his right arm in two places. But as soon as he strapped on his custom-made Fender guitar and launched into a blistering version of the old Little Richard song Ready Teddy you could tell that the accident hadn’t affected his playing one jot.

For this was a night of country rock, rockabilly and out-and-out rock’n’roll, featuring the phenomenally nimble playing that has earned the 65-year old Albert Lee his reputation as one of the best guitar pickers on either side of the Atlantic.

Lee and his bunch of versatile heroes are touring with a brand new album to promote, so there were a lot of new or unfamiliar songs, many of which, like Barnyard Boogie, Two Step Too, Breathless and Little Feats’ Rad Gumbo, will presumably now find a permanent place in the set list..

His version of the late John Stewart’s Runaway Train was a real delight, and he showed that he is just as good a pianist as he is a guitarist on Jesse Winchester’s Skip Rope Song.

But there were loads of old favourites as well to keep the fans happy, such as Carl Perkin’s rocker Restless, the very country-style Hanging On and the jazz standard Tiger Rag in which Lee’s guitar playing was simply awesome. 

Lee’s past history as the guitarist for some of Nashville’s biggest names was reflected in the versions of The Everly Brother’s Brand New Heartache and Cryin’ In The Rain, and Rodney Crowell’s ‘Til I Gain Control Again.

And he closed the night with an extended version of Country Boy from his days as a member of Heads, Hands And Feet, before returning with his son Wayne Lee on piano for a three-song encore.

One of the new songs that was given an airing was called Can Your Grandpa Rock Like This? It’s doubtful whether there are many other pensioners who can rock quite like Albert Lee.

Keith Clark

This is a Crackerjack review of Albert Lee & Hogan's Heroes. Do you agree? Rate and review this event.