Randy Hansen – Randy Hansen
Rock Candy Records
www.rockcandyrecords.com

Rating: C

Rock Candy Records has done it again!  They have unearthed an artist and album that has been buried in the basement of rock and roll. 

Randy Hansen was a guitarist in the 1970’s that was famous for his Jimi Hendrix tribute act.  The guy could flat out play some Jimi.  He ended up making some music for movies and then came his chance…signing with Capitol Records. 

Randy decided to go against the grain and leave his Hendrix influence behind, an idea that was valid as a musician but maybe a mistake when it came to breaking into the music scene.  If he had stuck with the Hendrix vibe, at least for his first album, perhaps he would have made a bigger splash.  He would have set himself up to release his own music to a wider audience.  As it turned out, his debut kind of flopped.  It was not a disaster by any means but it came and went pretty quietly.

It’s a shame really as Randy plays a mean guitar.  He had great style and fluid soloing.  His songs were not that great, however.  This hurt the released.  He came off more as a guitar slinger than a songwriter.  He has lasted, however, as he has kept releasing albums, though many feature the songs of Jimi Hendrix.

Still, this one will not disappoint fans of killer guitar playing as Randy knows his way around the fretboard and digging this album out for a listen or two is not a waste of time at all.  While it is not going to be one of your favorite albums in your collection, his playing is worthy of a horns up sign and a crank up to 11. 

By Jeb Wright