Clive Carroll
Life In Colour
The Guitar Label
www.theguitarlabel.com

Marcus Bonfanti
What Good Am I To You?
The Guitar Label
www.theguitarlabel.com
By George W. Harris

If you’re a fan of the six string, this fairly new label is manna from
heaven. If the upcoming releases by these two guys are any indication
of what we’re in for from The Guitar Label, it’s going to be a great
year! Dreams of touring guitar workshops are already dancing in my head.

UK guitarist Clive Carol was discovered by John Renbourn (one of my all
time favorites) who helped him cut his first album (The Sixth Sense) in
2000. This disc is a guitarists dream, as it not only displays a wide
variety of material, but also includes the tuning for each song as well
as capo information! He’s adept at Delta Blues (“Mississippi Blues”),
boogie strat (“Doodup”) and gorgeous ballads and folk tunes (“The
Boatman”, “The Gentle Man”). Picking, bending, snapping or strumming,
he’s made my favorite kind of a record-just give him his axe and see
what he can do with it. Decorative guitar overdubs, a bit of percussion
with spoons, drums and other paraphernalia make this disc a true
delight. Don’t miss out on this one.

Guitarist/singer Marcus Bonfanti is your classic bluesbreaking rocker,
with a voice that hints at the growl of Jim Morrison, the dirt of Tony
Joe White, and the grit of Johnny Winter. His material is in the
eternal triangle of broads/blues/booze and he handles it like a man
walking with a limp like Walter Brennan. He’s got the Strat chops, as
he shows on the instrumental “Tweed Blazer,” and he can play it cool as
on the acoustic tunes like “Bleeker Street” and “Don’t Wanna Come
Home.” But he’s here to get down, as he does so well on the ominously
stomping harmonica/vocal “God Only Knows” and the thunderous “Give Me
Your Cash” and the down home two part title track. A bit of Muddy
Waters in just the right spot on this dirt under the fingernails bit of
manual labor.