Once again Jeff’s own work does a grand job of standing tall alongside the classic numbers he cherry-picked for the set and, once again, it is the wonderful ‘see the light’ that represents his own abilities. It is the sort of performance you can imagine changing the lives of the attendees, and we are fortunate indeed that it was recorded for posterity and with such clarity.
It’s a white hot performance and one that points to where Jeff would end up in 1995, playing with even greater confidence with an expanded line-up and a penchant for The Beatles.ĭisc two sees Jeff belting out twelve tracks (only one of which an original) including two Beatles songs – a blistering ‘Yer Blues’ that does a good job of matching the original’s fire and fury and a stunning ‘while my guitar gently weeps – a Hendrix number (‘Angel’) – and even the classic ‘stuck in the middle’ – all the while making it sound like the songs had been written only the day before by him and his band such is the infectious enthusiasm that infects the playing style. Even better still is the finale of Jeff’s own ‘see the light’ with its Hendrix-styled wah-work setting the crowd alike. ‘Angel Eyes’ is a grand example – a ballad of no uncommon power, it is Jeff’s beautiful solo – melodic, human, warm – that elevates the track from the realms of the everyday to the transcendental and all the while Jeff’s sympathetic band (in the form of Joe Rockman and Tom Stephen) provide the backbone, a backbone that is particularly crucial to rocking numbers like a blistering cover of the Doors ‘roadhouse blues’ with its searing lead work literally blazing out of the speakers. This is a man that lived, breathed and delighted in the wonders of music and you can hear form the solos that tear, weep and spiral out of the speakers the passion inherent in Jeff’s playing style. It is a remarkable set, only nine tracks in length, that mixes up six covers and three Jeff original compositions for a performance that moves from the fluid delights of opening number of ‘I’m torn down’ to the soulful ballad ‘angel eyes’ (originally credited to john Hiatt), each track demonstrating Jeff’s gritty, tuneful voice and stunningly varied guitar work.
#CONFIDENCE MAN JOHN HIATT FULL#
Of the three discs on offer, the first one captures Jeff onstage in 1989, full of fire and energy.
The concerts truly capture both the magic of Jeff’s soulful playing and the progressive leaps he made over his years as an artist, and fans and newcomers alike will find ‘As the years go passing by’ a document that presents Jeff in the environment that suited him best, supported by a world-class band and in front of an enthusiastic audience. Five years after Jeff’s death comes a very special collection of material that is endorsed by the Healey family and which presents three very different stages of Jeff’s career via three stunningly captured concerts recorded in Germany in 1989, 19.
Tragically, fate was to strike again when, at the age of 41, Jeff passed away from cancer leaving behind a body of work that continues to inspire to this day. Deprived of sight at an early age due to a rare form of eye cancer, his sense of feel and his deft touch would become a legend amongst his many fans and his contribution to the world of the blues and jazz stands as a testament to his enduring ability to paint with his guitar the vistas that were denied to him by fate. Jeff Healey would seem to be a case in point. There is an old adage, oft repeated, that a person’s senses, when deprived in one area, compensate in others.
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