I first became aware of Dudley Taft back in 2011 with the release of Left for Dead, a great blues rock album that highlighted his unique and memorable voice. Fast forward six years, and we get his fifth studio album, Summer Rain, which is just as good.  Dudley laid down the basic tracks for the new CD in his new studio outside Cincinnati (that he bought from Peter Frampton) and wrote all the songs.  He is an unabashed blues rocker and his music draws on the best of both its progenitors and helps to define the genre.

Come with Me sounds like a perfect mesh of Ted Nugent and Deep Purple; his guitar soars as an insistent beat drives the song….good stuff!  Dark Blue Star, Edge of Insane, and Don’t Let It Fade just crank!  My favorite tune is Flying on Love…..like fine tequila..sensimilla…you take me higher…why don’t we just drink margaritas and sit by the fire…..what a damn good idea…make it a bottle of Don Julio 1942 and I will be right there! I Lost My Way  and Live or Die are beautiful slow songs with great guitar licks.  And the title cut, Summer Rain, features some more great guitar riffs.

Dudley dedicated his album to all the men and women in the armed forces who accept duty tours in faraway places.   One of my greatest honors as a DJ has been to have troops stationed in Afghanistan tune into my live DJ sets on the Secondlife social grid and request mainly upbeat blues rock tunes to pump them up before they go out on missions.  The song, Pistols At Ten Paces, is one that I will be sure to play if they ask again.

This album was a great listen!  It will be officially released on September 15th and I hope it does well in terms of radio/internet play and sales over the coming months.  Download it as soon as you can….you won’t be disappointed!

Dudley Taft – Summer Rain    Taft Enterprises LLC 2017