Seminal Blues Guitarist Carl Verheyen Returns to Sweetwater Studios for New Album
As one of LA’s elite “first-call” session guitarists since 1992, Carl Verheyen is no stranger to studio work. An award-winning guitarist, Verheyen has recorded albums with numerous acts over the years and is currently a member of the English rock band Supertramp. With 14 studio albums of his own, Carl has recorded all over the world. Still, Carl decided to return to Sweetwater studios to record his latest album, Essential Blues. After recording his previous album, The Grand Design, here at Sweetwater and loving the experience, he wanted to give it another go.
"I came back to Sweetwater Studios for many reasons," explained Carl. "I love the sound of the room — this room has just got the most glorious tone for guitar sounds. I love the people, and I really like the whole campus — the food’s really good too!”
Producer Mark Hornsby onboard
Sweetwater Senior Producer/Engineer Mark Hornsby was immediately onboard, but he also knew that this wasn’t going to be a one-and-done session. “The cool thing about the blues is that on an entry level, in its basic form, it’s extremely simple,” Mark explained. “As you go tiers deeper into the art form, it becomes more complex.” Keeping with the unique approach to Essential Blues, Carl decided to keep things simple. “Carl had the idea to pare down what he normally does and use two guitars, his LsLs, and a handful of guitar amps,” Mark remembered. “I think he saw it as a challenge to himself.”
Killer lineup and killer instruments assembled
As for the rest of the band, Carl brought along Jim Cox, one of the industry’s most prolific recording musicians, who has played with acts such as Aerosmith, Ozzy Osbourne, and Barbra Streisand. The rhythm section was finished out with two of Sweetwater Studios’ own session musicians: internationally known drummer Nick D’Virgilio and hall-of-fame bass player Dave Martin. Working together, the band members selected their weapons of choice. Carl’s main pick was his own LsL Instruments Carl Verheyen Special and LsL Soledad. Nick wanted a classic, warmer sound and chose to play Ludwig’s Legacy Classic Mahogany 4-piece shell pack with matching snare and a variety of Sabian cymbals. Finally, Dave went with a classic Fender sound, including Fender’s American Elite Precision Bass.
A vision realized
When the dust settled, Essential Blues had 10 blues tracks with Carl Verheyen’s sonic stamp of approval. Will this album become a blues staple? Who knows, but Carl isn’t really concerned about that. “I’m not interested in looking back — I’ll never play like Albert King,” he admits. “It’s about looking forward without really looking backward, except for inspiration.” Perhaps Dave Martin summed things up best. “We all figured it was a blues record,” he said. “But it was a Carl Verheyen blues record.”
Track List for Essential Blues and Features:
- I Take What I Want
- Someday After A While
- Stealing Gasoline
- Dodging The Blues
- Good Morning Judge
- You Don’t Love Me
- Stardust Blues
- I May Be Wrong Closing Time Jazz
- Oh Well
- Hard Times
- File size of download(s): 407.6MB
- CD-quality 16/44.1 WAV files of each song
- Includes digital booklet
