The late Bernie Marsden seems universally acknowledged as one of the good guys. Possibly best known for his time in and in association with Whitesnake, he spent time also with a dizzy array of bands: U.F.O., Wild Turkey, Babe Ruth, Paice, Ashton & Lord before that, and any number of solo or semi-solo enterprises afterwards. He was a reliable provider of rock guitar, just on the more tactile and friendlier shores of metal, closer to blues rock than heavy rock. As well as being a masterful player, able to bleed notes from any of the many guitars he collected over his lifetime’s playing, he also possessed a no-nonsense meat and potatoes rock holler. He died, in 2023, having caught bacterial meningitis.
His later recordings were often made in the form of collections of songs by artists or studios influential to him: the “Inspirations” series. 2021 saw “Kings” (a tribute to B.B., Freddie and Albert, the trifecta of regal blues) and “Chess” (a tribute to the studio of Marshall Chess and the artists who were there nurtured) come out, while “Trios” (a little more self-explanatory) was issued in 2022. In similar sleeve design, the posthumous release Icons is the fourth of his last five records in the same vein. (The album between, “Working Man”, released shortly after his death, was all Marsden originals, thus breaking the pattern.)
Albums featuring the “favorite tracks” by guitarists have a vexatious history. At one end of the spectrum, in, arguably, the blues from which rock was born, there is a long tradition of recycling and repeating the same riffs and repetitions, whether acknowledged or otherwise. At the other you get the deeply divisive “superstar plus friends” sessions, pumping out easy listening lite derivatives. Carlos Santana’s “Guitar Heaven” must surely here be the nadir, and this listener’s hell. Thankfully, Icons is not that, as it it comes over just so darn genial. Indeed, such is the choice of material that anyone with longer teeth in the game, and perhaps out of touch with the current playing field of rock guitar, will get a warming flashback to their more formative days, when this sort of ticket was just the job for any red-blooded boy with a denim jacket to embroider and satchel to stencil.
The no-shit shuffle of “Dust My Broom” opens proceedings, awash with searing slide soaring around the basic boogie rhythm. In due deference to the version by Fleetwood Mac, the Elmore James classic rattles along with a similar fire in the engine room. Whilst it was Jeremy Spencer who generally played slide for the band, being a full throttle advocate of James’ blistering style, Marsden famously befriended Peter Green, long after both his 60’s glory days, his slide into schizophrenia and his later and sadder re-emergence. It is hardly surprising, and touching, that this is one of 4 tracks with a link to Green and his band.
A respectable version of “Bell Bottom Blues” follows. It’s a good reminder, at a time when Eric Clapton’s name has become tarnished by lazier material, how strong his writing could actually be. If anything, Marsden inserts a little more soul into the vocal, the sound less muddy than on the Derek and the Dominos’ original iteration. The solo slips and slides around Clapton’s just enough to be other than facsimile. But there is a feeling this is all taster, all introduction, so as to prepare the ground for a sensational “Purple Haze.” Again, all the cues are well polished, the difference coming out of a slightly livelier swagger than ever permeated the 1967 single. It’s a beaut, with neither intention or desire to outdo any of Hendrix’s maelstrom calisthenics.
“Born Under a Bad Sign” is a song not short of versions, and one from Albert King was recognized on “Kings.” My guess is that this has Marsden’s cap tipped mainly toward the rendition offered by Cream, so a second nod to Clapton. Once more, there is that sense of just a little more spring in the step of the playing here, that also apparent in the more laid back “Wheels Within Wheels,” the Rory Gallagher song. Gallagher was never really acclaimed for his singing, so it is a pleasure to hear the song aired in this way, acoustic guitars and organ providing an elegant framework to work within.
“Kestrel” isn’t a cover, but a slow gliding instrumental, of the sort often added to albums as filler. Pleasant, if fairly generic, think it more a palate cleanser ahead of the slinky electric piano of “Calling Card,” with glorious flickering guitar slotted between the vocal refrain. Another vintage song, the debt is once more to Rory Gallagher, and represents a rare moment where that version packs more spikiness into the verve. As in, it’s good, but not quite that good. By contrast, “Oh Well,” another from Green’s time with Fleetwood Mac, breathes life back into the monster. The drums are terrific, though I can’t find who’s playing them. This is an issue across Icons for most the additional players featured, perhaps a result of the sessions being collated across several years.
Marsden and Green together
Possibly unusual company in the Brit-centricity of the influences, it is the Allman Brothers Band who next feature, as Marsden offers a twin acoustic guitar rendition of “Jessica.” It shudders along the highway slightly more than the auto cruise of the original, but I find that clunk in the gears endearing. I wasn’t either expecting the terrific fiddle solo, threatening, for a moment, to break into “Rag Mama Rag.” Again, no claim to fame offered.
“Like It This Way” heads right back to the stomping ground. It is the third Mac-opportunity, but, although Green was in the band when they played this, it was a showcase more for Danny Kirwan, the third of the guitarists in the band. With the bass bounding along beneath, this is the most unpolished song here, mirroring the live performances available from Green, Spencer, Kirwan et al. Written by Kirwan, it sounds of a much dustier and dirtier vintage.
Saving the best cover for last, Marsden closes his Mac book with “Man of the World,” a longtime favorite (the second single I ever bought, in fact). Against expectation, he detours distinctly from the arrangement as remembered. With a jaunty skip about it, it comes as a slight surprise, even if the guitar lines are faithful. It is a brave venture and, on balance, gets a lift from this interpretation. It isn’t as tragic as I prefer, treated almost as ironic self-deprecation, but it’s a grower. Whilst it sinks in, another self-penned instrumental “Barford Blues” choogles around inoffensively, allowing you the chance for rumination of the track ahead it.
It’s a delight to immerse in this old-fashioned dive into decades long gone. With Icons, Marsden finds sufficient stylistic insertions to gibe a sense of upgrade. I wonder if there is any more of this in the vault?
Icons tracklisting:
1. Shake Your Money Maker (Elmore James cover)
2. Bell Bottom Blues (Derek & the Dominos cover)
3. Purple Haze (Jimi Hendrix Experience cover)
4. Born Under A Bad Sign (Albert King cover)
5. Wheels Within Wheels (Rory Gallagher cover)
6. Kestrel (Bernie Marsden original)
7. Calling Card (Rory Gallagher cover)
8. Oh Well (Fleetwood Mac cover)
9. Jessica (The Allman Brothers band cover)
10. Like It This Way (Danny Kirwan cover)
11. Man Of The World (Fleetwood Mac cover)
12. Barford Blues (Bernie Marsden original)
Good to see Rory G being covered by one of his peers. Usually he’s the one doing the covering.
And I agree with the remarks about Clapton in this piece. He was over-rated for so long it is strange to see him being consistently under-rated. It’s due in part to uninspired output in recent decades, yes, but more so he gives off Old Man Yelling at Cloud vibes when he speaks out on things that are out of his depth. He’s undermined his own reputation, but the music is what matters, and in that respect EC’s catalog is deep and wide and always worth listening to.