Sterling Koch: Let It Slide Review
Sterling Koch always brings a unique and personalized sound to the blues with his lap steel guitar. His new album, Let It Slide, is a testament to the slide-master’s musical talent and will leave anyone unfamiliar with his music pleasantly impressed. Sterling Koch specializes in contemporary Chicago-style blues, and Let It Slide is his fifth recorded studio album of steel guitar music.
The album opens with the two-track segment “The Shape I’m In,” slowly eases us in with an acoustic sound, followed in Part 2 by a heavier blues rock backed by Sterling Koch’s band mates on Let It Slide: bassist Gene Babola and drummer John Goba. Tracks like “Wrong Side of the Blues” and “Mercury Blues” attest to Sterling Koch’s working within the blues rock tradition with his wailing slide and deep soulful voice. “Blow My Mind” has a harder rock vibe, and Sterling Koch’s powerful voice plays a major role here in conveying his sense of really “feeling the blues,” as he bemoans of relationship troubles with a difficult lover: “they say I’m just wasting my time, but I keep you around ‘cause I love the way you blow my mind.” “Hurts Me Too” is another excellent track, starting out with some of Sterling Koch’s high-pitched wailing on the steel guitar, followed by heavy riffs and passionately bluesy lyrics.
The tables are turned in “I’m Too Sorry For You,” when the singer expresses his sorrow for someone he’s about to leave. “Lonely Avenue” is an instrumental track that allows Sterling Koch to flaunt his skill. His passionate vocals and sliding alike are ablaze in the fiery piece “My Baby’s Hot,” another heavy rock-driven track. “I Wanna Be Your Driver” seems like a return to a simpler time. “I Only Want To Be With You” is a sweet melody laden with the singer’s deep vocals and a classic blues bass line courtesy of Babola. The album’s closing track, “Working Man’s Blues,” is a powerful machine proceeding methodically and structured like the grueling work week that inspires Koch in this song in, until “Friday evening comes” and he’s “got to scream and shout.”
Overall, Sterling Koch’s fifth recorded album of steel guitar music is a tremendous success. In the past, the artist has worked with such figures as blues bassist Tommy Shannon (Stevie Ray Vaughan) and Grammy nominated drummer Chet McCracken of the Doobie Brothers. Sterling Koch credits Calvin Cooke as his mentor when he first began working with the lap steel guitar, and has since risen among the ranks of great artists working with the instrument. Let It Slide is living proof of Sterling Koch’s talent as a contemporary steel guitarist working with the blues genre.
The Review: 8/10
Can’t Miss Tracks
– The Shape I’m In (Parts 1 and 2)
– Blow My Mind
– Hurts Me Too
– My Baby’s Hot
– I Only Want To Be With You
The Big Hit
– The Shape I’m In, Part 2.
Review by Eileen Quaranto