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Please email - houserocker@live.com
Note- 2009 - I have , for some time now , not bothered to read any of my reviews . About time ! Even the big blues names don't always get many reviews - thats the nature of the beast . So - yes , we know some of these are a few years old . For what they are worth - here is what the blues press said about some live gigs - and some CD's I received this letter from - Frank Hale , in York , South Carolina . Dated November 28 2004. Those of you who think you can write reviews ( good , or bad ones ) , read this and learn ! " Dear Les , it was past midnight, and I was rolling down the Interstate in my small pickup , coming home from a long day's work at a power plant in South Carolina . I was dog tired and in a kind of daze from all the traffic . Even so , I've noticed that while fatigue dulls most senses , it seems to heighten others. Scanning the radio , I picked up a broadcast from some small radio station , the ' Voodoo Blues Hour ' or something like that . The music was solid , some old and some new . Then a song started , ' I'll Play The Blues For You ' . It was different . It was also familiar , but I recognised immediately that it was somehow very different . ( I'm not a musician , so I can't explain how in technical terms ) . As the song progressed , I felt the hair on the back of my neck beginning to stand up . The sound resonated in the small cab of the truck , but it also cut , at just the right times. When the song ended , the DJ mumbled a long list of songs and artists , and I thought I caught the name , but my memory is like a sieve , and I had no way to write it down in the dark . When I got home , I tried everything to find the recording on the Internet . I searched for a couple of hours spread out over two evenings . I even tried to locate the radio station in hopes of getting a copy of the playlist . ( Let me tell you , there are many different recordings of this song , and a lot of band names that include 'house' or 'rockers' . ) Finally , I found your website , and when I listened to the sound clip , I knew I was home. Please find enclosed a check for a copy of the album ' A Ton Of Red Lightnin ' RLCD100. " ( letter ends ) . Maryport Blues Festival 27/7/2003 - Blues In Britain magazine " ..........as 7.30pm approached , the venues filled to bursting point , and the bands played on .......most notable was a blistering set from Les Wilson , Captain Nelsons was the ' furness ' ( furnace - geddit ? ) from hell - but vintage Les Wilson was what they got , and - it doesn't get a whole lot better. Les is a big stage performer , but he boogied on nevertheless ( including a gloriously cheesy , Thorogood inflected version of Elvis' ' Just Because ' ) and he did Elmore and Hound Dog just to remind us of the sheer magnificence of his slide work . Hopefully this man is on the main stage next year - where he belongs. " Great British Rhythm & Blues Festival - Colne , UK -1997 from the Lancashire Evening Telegraph " Day 3 of the festival .........and arguably one of the finest acts on this festival came on by way of the Mighty Houserockers , led by the incomparable Les Wilson . Wilson's staggering guitar virtuosity , coupled with an irresistible stage presence made this 60 minutes of pure magic , and was a damn near impossible set to follow ........... " ( Brian Wood ) Blues Revue Jan 2002 ( USA's premier blues magazine ) " Marking 100 releases for a UK roots label ( Red Lightnin ) , and 20 years of Boogie for a UK singer/guitarist . 'A Ton of Red Lightnin ' ( RLCD100 ) offers a retrospective of the work of Les Wilson & the Mighty Houserockers . As ever , Wilson brings the party with him , adding manic slide to his raucous guitar licks ...........rocking readings of blues by Elmore James , the Fabulous Thunderbirds , and Buddy Guy , scattered amongst Wilson compositions . Wilson's gritty ' Tell The Truth ' and his shimmering version of ' Ain't Nobody's Business ' are the highlights. " Warrington R'n'B Club 10/9/1999 " Electrifying , mind-blowing , and pure genius are the only words you could use to describe Les Wilson , who opened the new season at Warrington R'n'B club . The Mighty Houserockers mixed traditional blues with guitar wizardry a la Hendrix. Highlights of the first set included stunning versions of ' Hey Joe ' and original number ' Fly Like The Wind ' , mixed in with some fantastic slide work that was really appreciated by the audience. Les continued in fine form in the second set , enthralling the audience with more of his legendary guitar work - a standing ovation for ' Texas Flood ' , and coaxing the audience out onto the dancefloor with ' Madison Blues ' on slide .No one should miss one of Les Wilson's shows . " |
Les at a festival in Culemborg , Holland 2000 .
