I first met Chris when he came in to produce Steppin' Razor, an all-girl reggae band in New York in the mid-eighties. I was the lead guitarist for them. He did our demo tapes but the band ended up working without him and me eventually and then broke up.
Chris is truly one of the greatest guitarists around. I don't mean in the sense of pyrotechnics like an Alan Holdsworth or anything like that, he just goes for this amazing tubey sound reminiscent of I guess, great country and blues players from way back. He can also cop anyone else's styly and I've seen him exchange "licks" with the likes of Jorma Kaukonnen or Nils Lofgren. Where jam sessions have started to look like tennis matches between two players and where Chris always ends up beating the other guy.
As a producer, Chris has been quietly testing the waters and been slowly building his reputation. He has this great pop sensibility tempered with true artist's edge when it comes to his own and others productions.

(written for GG in 1997)

session list