Record Review - 1 April 09 2003

When Chris Whitley came onto the scene in 1991 with Living With the Law, he was regaled as the savior of blues. He put the blues sound to the rock beat and gave it a modern sophistication. With each subsequent album, Whitley became less of a bluesman and more of a singer/songwriter. His lyrics became darker as his guitar riffs became subtler. Sales plummeted and, to his credit, Whitley doesn’t seem to care.

Whitley has spent much of his life moving to different states and countries. Hotel Vast Horizon, recorded in his latest home, Germany, captures the restless quality of a cynical man who has something to say, but isn’t sure how to say it. Excepting “Blues for Andre,” which has a slightly lounge-ish feel, and “Insurrection at Newtown,” the only tune in which Whitley’s guitar shows any teeth, the album sounds like one long, tired song written by someone who’s given up fighting and resigned himself to a life of failure in a land of destruction.

Hotel Vast Horizon is music for a coffee shop. It all sounds deep and important, but ultimately it’s not challenging enough to make you stop talking and listen.

Chris Whitley plays Smith’s Olde Bar Wed., April 16.