TITAN MAGAZINE (Nov. 2001)

CD review Vic Foley Wide Open

by Rod Moody

Dear Ma:
It’s me, Vic!  How are you doin’ ma?  Probably watchin’ Oprah or making that killer sketti and meatballs, eh?
Well, hey ma, I got news – big news.  My new CD just came out and you can probably find it in just about every store around now.  Can you believe it?  Remember when you always kept yellin’, “Turn it down, Vic.  Turn that damn guitar down!”  Ain‘t never gonna happen, ma, and you know why?  Because that guitar is my life, ma.
Anyway, the new album’s called Wide Open, and I think you will like it.  For once, you will be able to control the volume, so that’s a plus in itself, right ma?
Y’know people are always talking me up, ma, sayin’ I’m the next Stevie Ray or somethin’.  Well, sure you might hear that Stevie tone with my Strat, but that’s how you supposed to play the blues.  Hendrix played a Strat too, and so did Clapton, so why not follow the lead of the masters?
This new CD ain’t all about the blues, y’know.  Take the first song, “Goin’ Blind,” its got this mysterious little vibe going on, like the soundtrack from a David Lunch movie, y’know, like that Chris Isaak guy.  But I added this kinda bouncy, uptown funk groove to it, like ol’ Boz Scaggs used to be so good at doin’.
Anywho, on that song, my guitar is so clean and sounds so pure, that when that Hammond B3 gets behind it, man, we are talking soooo wearing sunglasses at night.  Know what I mean?
Now, on the other hand, the second song, “Riding,” is all about the rock drivin’ the blues around on a Saturday night, ma.  It’s got the dirty killer riff, some distorted swampy vocals and the solid gold rhythm section hitting all the cylinders.  You remember Mikey and John , dontcha, ma?  Well, they absolutely lock it down on this track.  Makes ZZ Top look like a bunch of old farts cruising down the road in AMC Gremlins.
On “Vic’s Lament,” I let the fingers fly over a jazzy swing piece that is sure to get all the fitters bugging.  I build up from some nice understated riffs to letting the freak out with some wicked wah-wah work. 
Well, ma, hope you like my album.  I know I’ll hear it from you about me smoking a ciggy on the cover, but hey, ma, that’s rock and roll.
Love, Vic
Press Kit Version:  Vic Foley is a very talented guitarist who adds plenty of fireworks to the decent funky blues grooves that make up this album, while his rhythm section (he as at least a couple) provide ample bone to hold up Foley’s six strings of meat.
Obviously influenced by Hendrix (proven by the exact and unnecessary cover of “Voodoo Chile,” and the eight-plus minute instrumental interpretation of  “Red House” which Foley titles “Lazy Daze.”) and Stevie Ray Vaughn, Foley is not slavishly devoted to either.
The songs themselves range from straight-ahead blues to various degrees of funk to all of the above with a healthy does of no-nonsense rock thrown in .  A very impressive release from a soon-to-be notorious guitar outlaw.