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Stephen Dale Petit - As the Years go Passing By [Single]

333 Records

by Floris Stoter, August 12th, 2009 and has been Read 1213 times.
Last Edited by: Chris MUG5 Maguire August 12th, 2009.

Though penned in the late fifties and covered by blues legend Albert King, 'As the Years go Passing By' doesn't sound like the typical classic blues song. It's more connected with 'Still Got the Blues' than with 'Mannish Boy' as it is as much a pop song as it is a blues song and as a result it's covered mostly by a new generation of blues interpreters, like Gary Moore, Elvin Bishop and George Thorogood.

Enter Stephen Dale Petit, only a child when the seventies blues came up, but as dedicated and addicted to the blues as the old masters. Though only one album has reached the light of day so far, Petit has followed his heroes by busking in the London Underground and keeping the blues from disappearing out of the public eye by doing a BLUnivErSity tour.

With such a deep love for his music, you expect 'As the Years go Passing By', a single from his yet to be announced second album, to be amazingly raw and pure. But the song doesn't have the basic blues structure and rawness to begin with and Petit doesn't even try to turn the tide. His version therefore doesn't make such a big impression, as it sounds like a classic Gary Moore blues interpretation; a poppy voice, the classic guitar solo, violins and a choir in the background.

For someone who's love for the blues is so deep, you expect it to be a bit more raw and either very conservative, to show the people what the blues was like, or to be modern, to show that blues isn't something that died seventy years ago. Instead, Petit sounds like a classic middle of the road blues interpreter and if this is really just a foretaste of his new album, it's doubtful whether his blues awareness fight is going to prevent the blues from disappearing.

Stephen Dale Petit @ Skegness Rock & Blues Festival 2009. Photo by Carl DeAbreu