Bill Wyman (1974) White Lightnin

Bill Wyman's 1974 debut album Monkey Grip contains the calypso related absurdities that you would expect from it's title, mixing animated vocals with bass driven rhythms with a range of influences from honky tonk and country to reggae and calypso heavy laidback grooves. The biggest surprise isn't the three dimensional and eclectic brand of rhythm and blues but Wyman's strong conviction, sen s of humour and passion for the material not to mention his exquisite song writing which is full of in your face black humour. It achieves many of the best aspects of a solo album, showing off hidden talents, changing their identity as well as building on skills they have already shown. In many ways the promise of his work on InAnotherLand is here expanded upon and we see great insight into his potential. While the opener track, I Wanna Get Me a Gun, is possibly the most representative track, White Lightnin mixes bluegrass and reggae almost indistinctly.