Review: Live At Bose

A virtuoso guitarist, vocalist and blues harp player, he heads a quintet whose sound might best be described as a mix of funk, rock, R&B, reggae, ballads and jazz. The Boston-based brother’s impressive resume’ reveals a trio of well-received CDs, plus he is currently on the faculty at Berklee College of Music. His fourth album, Live at Bose, was sponsored by Bose as part of the launch of the company’s new Personalized Amplification family of products

Born in Britain, but raised mostly on the island of St. Kitts in the Virgin Islands, Thaddeus Hogarth’s music reflects the diversity of influences which helped shape him both before and after his arrival in the United States. A virtuoso guitarist, vocalist and blues harp player, he heads a quintet whose sound might best be described as a mix of funk, rock, R&B, reggae, ballads and jazz.

The Boston-based brother’s impressive resume’ reveals a trio of well-received CDs, plus he is currently on the faculty at Berklee College of Music. His fourth album, Live at Bose, was sponsored by Bose as part of the launch of the company’s new Personalized Amplification family of products.

Ironically, Bose failed, here, to translate the group’s magic effectively to CD.  Whether equipment, artists, or both are to blame, the technical quality of the concert was so poor as to prevent the listener from engaging viscerally with might have been a stirring performance if caught in person. For it certainly sounds like the audience on hand enjoyed the high-energy show put on by Thaddeus and his talented sidemen. Unfortunately, the emotional flatness of the tunes as recorded on Live at Bose simply means this critic cannot recommend the CD highly.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *