Shane Gilchrist reviews Living Proof by Buddy Guy and Hard Knocks by Joe Cocker.
Buddy Guy proves the claim he is "74 years young" (also the subject of the album's opening track) by revealing a palpable enjoyment of his craft.
He lets rip on a variety of instruments that many of us dream of owning (let alone playing so well), yet in doing so makes the point it's how you do it, not what you use to do it, that is all important .
That said, in Guy's hands, the sound of a '57 Fender Stratocaster can clearly be distinguished from that of a '74 Telecaster deluxe (small, but important, details).
It's not all about Guy, though: fellow blues great BB King guests on electric guitar as Guy takes a supporting role on acoustic on Stay Around A Little Longer, while Carlos Santana joins him on the slinky Where The Blues Begins, which also benefits from some smoky female backing vocals and voodoo conga drums.
Despite (or perhaps because of) the attentions of producer Matt Serletic (whose credits include Matchbox Twenty and Collective Soul), Joe Cocker summons enough grit and emotional resonance to ensure his latest album overcomes the obvious studio spit-and-polish.
Featuring nine new songs (written by those who inhabit 2010's version of Tin Pan Alley) and a cover of the Dixie Chicks' pointed anti-war song I Hope, Hard Knocks is an album largely rooted in soulful, upbeat tunes with a modern funk edge: take the distorted keyboard blasts of Runaway Train, the chik-a-chik introductory riffing (Red Hot Chili Peppers anyone?) of The Fall and the Tom Jones-esque lyrical frolicking of Get It On on which Cocker invites: "If you want to catch a ride to a good time/this is your song".
Maybe. Maybe not.