Italian Blues man, Davide Pannozzo, approached me on Twitter to take a listen to his cover of Elmore James' It Hurts Me Too, and here's my assessment.
Pannozzo takes this iconic song and turns it almost entirely on it's head. The slide guitar has gone and where once was piano is now guitar fills. He's also doubled the length of the track, from three minutes to just over six.
His guitar playing is very interesting also - a salute back to the legends of Eric Clapton and BB King - favouring short sharp runs as opposed to lengthy, overly elaborate solos, which is fresh and certainly a different take to that of most contemporary Blues players. It's more Live at the Regal than Tour de Force: Live in London that's for sure.
Innovation is certainly not something Pannozzo's afraid of. There are tiny nuances that gives this cover a very interesting sound, for example doing multiple up and down bends on one note rather than one long vibrato, and sharp slides mid note that liven up the piece. I can't say I've heard these techniques very often.
Pannozzo's voice is great too. Softer than that of gritty Blues singers like BB King, but full of tone and warmth, and compliments his playing.
Verdict - 8/10
It's a very nice cover of a classic track, and Pannozzo has put his own spin on it without losing the class of the original.
If you prefer softer Blues than you should definitely check out Davide's Soundcloud page and subscribe to his newsletter.
https://soundcloud.com/davide-pannozzo
http://davidepannozzo.fanbridge.com/
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