Album · 2009
Strange Island
A wide-ranging set that moves from blues phrasing into jazz textures and electric rock.
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Where blues opens into jazz and rock
Strange Island brings three recurring strands of Chris Dair’s music together: blues, jazz fusion and rock. Blues phrasing is the starting point, with room for jazz textures and electric playing. For someone approaching the catalogue through guitar-led blues rock, it is a useful companion to Crossroads to Freedom.
The neighbouring records show how far those strands can travel. Dimensions draws jazz fusion and rock into a wider mix that includes industrial, psychedelic and World music influences. Three Day Love Down approaches rock through instrumentals and ballads. Listening across the three gives a sense of Chris’s range without treating the records as the same kind of album.