Glenn Hughes
Building The Machine
Steamhammer
Glenn Hughes has absolutely nothing to prove to anyone, and frankly he’s one of the Most Important People in the History of Heavy Metal. With Deep Purple and Black Sabbath on your resume, you’re bound to get the job•
Never mind the amazing solo albums•
Building The Machine is an all-star cast (including Pat Travers) album of extremely funky blues. Or maybe bluesy funk. Indeed, Mr. Hughes is listed as “lead vocal, bass, and supplier of the funk.” There’s a large supply of deep south gospel blues as well. The album is slick, too. Glenn Hughes is packaged (maybe) as the height of fashion, he looks good: sharp-dressed, sharp corners, yet earthy. The songs are powerful, yet they are humid. “Can’t Stop the Flood” and “Celebrate” are good examples: they’re so funky I expected to see George Clinton’s name in the credits. They’re so funky that I imagined the band drenched in sweat – that would be the audience’s sweat. But the photos laid out in the album betray a dry, cool, calm, seated band• Perhaps that’s as organic as one can get, have a seat and supply the funk.
Steamhammer/SPV GmbH, PO Box 721147, 30531 Hannover, Germany; http://www.spv.de, http://www.glennhughes.com
