By DAVE HOSICK, Courier & Press staff writer
January 9, 2004

BLUE NOTE QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "Got the blues so bad, I can hardly sleep at night. Tried to eat my meal, my teeth refused to bite." Ora Brown on "Jinx Blues"

Scott Holt is the real deal; a scorching rocker with real blues chops and a fire to succeed on his own merits.

Sure. He could keep touting the fact that he got his start as a lead guitarist behind Buddy Guy. But what's the point when you've got all the talent you need to stand tall among today's leading blues guitarists?

The Scott Holt Band's release, "Chipped Front Tooth" (Lightyear Entertainment), is a marked improvement from his last effort, "Angels in Exile," which was a good album in its own right. Still, the latest album is an impressive collection by a man we can expect to hear a lot more of in the coming years.

Holt is heavily influenced by the likes of Stevie Ray Vaughn and Jimi Hendrix, but he has a more polished sound. He's able to conform his passion on the guitar in each song, but he hasn't quite reached the pinnacle of being able to channel that emotion in one effortless existence, like the guitar gods he so rightfully follows.

While his songwriting skills continue to improve, his guitar work on "Chipped Front Tooth" sets the tone for this set. His work on his Fender is the thread that keeps the album together and the vehicle that keeps it moving at a frenetic pace.

Most worthy of mention on this album is the free-wheeling "Rockin' Daddy," an old Howlin' Wolf track. It has a great barroom feel and gets the album out of the gate. The entire album was recorded in a single day, and most of the songs have that improvisational feeling saturated with endless potential. "Tick" is a funky little number that sounds as if it was taken from the playbook of Sly and the Family Stone. "You'd Be a Millionaire" is a straight-ahead blues and soul tune, with guitar solos that begin with the delicacy of B.B. King but ultimately morph into a soaring sound like Eric Clapton's. A couple of ballads on the album break the pace of the set, but they really don't do justice to Holt's talent. He's a blues guitarist. He's not supposed to be singing love songs.

The title "Chipped Front Tooth" is a reference to the album being recorded so quickly, impurities and all. Holt writes in the liner notes that "sometimes it's the little imperfections that make something more beautiful."

And he was right. The album is not a work of perfection, but it's still a fun listen full of excitement.

Every once in a while, the music gods bring us something different, fun and downright moving.