Bernie Marsden Big Boy Blues & Green (4-CD Box-Set)

(Cherry Red Records) 52 tracks, digisleeve in slipcase.

Although Bernie Marsden has had a long and varied career that includes stints with Wild Turkey, Cozy Powell's Hammer, Babe Ruth, UFO, Paice Ashton Lord, Alaska, and most notably as a member of Whitesnake, where he co-wrote the US number one single "Here I Go Again," he has always been a bluesman.

A big influence on the young Marsden was the original Fleetwood Mac, and on "Green And Blues" (CD1) he pays tribute to his heroes, especially one of the most influential and beloved guitarists in the music world, Peter Green. Green And Blues opens with Freddie King's "Hideaway," influenced by Eric Clapton's work with John Mayall's Blues Breakers, but of the 15 tracks, Fleetwood Mac is the biggest influence, from Jeremy Spencer's "My Heart Beats Like A Hammer" to Green's "Love That Burns" and the poignant "Man Of The World."

CDs 2 and 3 feature 'Big Boy Blues' and 'Big Boy Blues: The Sessions,' about which Bernie waxes lyrical in the liner notes, "Throughout my professional career, I've always tried to play music that moves people and makes them enjoy themselves. This is the kind of music that inspired me in the early days." The album features original songs penned by Bernie, including another tribute to Peter Green with 'Loved Another Woman' and to blues legend Sonny Boy Williamson with 'Do It If You Wanna'. CD3 contains many out-takes, demos and alternate versions from the same "Big Boy Blues" sessions.

With CD4, Bernie goes on tour. Recorded at The Granary, Buckingham in February 2003, the set opens with George Jackson's 'Downhome Blues', then breaks out of pure blues and R&B with worthy covers of 60s standards like 'How Sweet It Is' and 'Hold On I'm Coming'. The set closes with Bernie's biggest hit, a duet with Sharon Watson on the Whitesnake classic 'Here I Go Again'.

The liner notes to this album say, "Don't forget what the great BB King said in a 1996 interview on German radio, when asked if white men can play the blues, he replied, 'Some can, Peter Green, Eric Clapton, Jonny Lang, they feel the blues, oh and this Whitesnake guy, Bernie, he's got it.'" High praise indeed!