BERNIE MARSDEN has everything except a “Bad Reputation,” yet his record label Conquest Music released a single with that title from the fantastic “Working Man” album a few weeks after the legendary British bluesman passed away, at the age of 72.
The musician, whom we had the pleasure of meeting on several occasions, was among the most personable, modest, and naturally talented artists in all the industry. He was the kind of person who would likely find it amusing to release a single about illegitimacy and disreputability. That’s the kinda guy he was!
The songs on his solo albums generally paid tribute to his blues origins and the artists who influenced his songwriting and musicianship…
Raw Ramp Music Magazine
The majority of rock fans are aware that Marsden performed with UFO in the very early 1970’s then Cozy Powell’s Hammer, and later Babe Ruth. In 1978, following the dissolution of Paice Ashton Lord, Marsden formed Whitesnake alongside guitarist Micky Moody and the (former) Deep Purple vocalist David Coverdale. It’s possible that rock fans are less familiar with the fact that Marsden recorded two solo albums while being part of Whitesnake. The songs on his solo albums generally paid tribute to his blues origins and the artists who influenced his songwriting and musicianship, especially Peter Green, Mick Taylor, and John Mayall.
And when Marsden teamed-up with Conquest Music in 2021 his solo album would be “Kings”, a tribute to Albert King, Freddie King and B.B. King. The album neatly tips into sleek & dandy guitar, flowing twelve-bar blues, and tidy rhythms. “Kings” was a real pleasure… both for new fans of the blues and faithful traditionalists.
“Chess” his second solo disc in a planned series that he described as “Inspirations” paid praiseful homage to the recordings released by the legendary Chicago-based label. “Chess” was recorded ‘the old way’ with a band of truly gifted musicians, over a handful of days. It delivered syrupy guitar, guttural harp sounds, and grapey vocals. It was unashamedly ‘old style.’
Essentially, the legendary Buckinghamshire musician could best be described as an impeccable and passionate bluesman.
His new (and final) album features twelve brand new tracks written by Marsden himself, produced by the great man, and mixed by Dave Eringa (Manic Street Preachers, The Who). “Working Man” is a monument to Marsden’s perpetual musical inventiveness; it illustrates his mastery in songwriting & recording, and it’s an unmatched mastery that continued all the way through to the very end of his creative life.
The song is about finding strength, getting over anxiety, and being the best person you can be in an insensitive world…
Raw Ramp Music Magazine
Despite its jangling guitar and glossy vocals, ‘Being Famous‘ maintains the salty sorrow that many travelling bluesmen feel—that sense of ’missing out’ on ‘ordinary things’ while simultaneously sipping champagne and enjoying a rock ‘n’ roll life of dreams. We’re jealous of them: they’re jealous of us! This song is a spinning thumper about a life spent troubadouring and so it delivers glorious guitar solos and joys in every turning. Stunning!
‘Midtown’ is an enthusiastically resurgent mid-1980s sounding ballad about working hard and accepting success (or failure). Whatever the case, accepting things as they are and moving on. This wonderful track is about taking stock and has poignant lyrical content; on one level it’s a simple hymn about leaving home to find work, but it’s also a more complex and compelling song that seems to be about departing life. Maybe that’s what the itinerant blues musician is meant to do on this earth—he is meant to arrive in a community, belt out a few tunes, then head out of town. Never to be seen again. The song has shining guitars and excellent vocals.
Jaime Kyle performs on ‘Invisible’ which is a heartfelt memory of schoolday vulnerability and conspicuousness and, of course, examines the source of empowerment (feminine empowerment in this case, though it doesn’t matter) and explores it in a rational & motivating way. This song is about finding strength, getting over anxiety, and being the best person you can be in an insensitive world and is expertly and flawlessly executed by Jaime, with incredibly captivating guitar work from Marsden. For Heart (the band) enthusiasts.
‘Working Man’, the title track, is about making decisions and choosing paths. Sometimes these choices aren’t wise or correct, but a working man must take risks for families, for their own mental health, and for salvation. Sometimes the choices and the routes they take are calamitous, if not flawed, but as the lyric in the song suggests, ‘These are hard times for a working man…’
The song itself has a strong country influence; it features tuneful guitar, a cantering pace, comforting background vocals, a buttercream organ, and, altogether, is a triumph of contemporary Americana.
“Bad Reputation” (video shared below) is as sturdy as a Chevrolet pickup traversing a rancher’s track at the Big Bend, and, thus, is firmly and very resolutely riff-driven. It’s a rugged piece of engineering.
Naturally, when listening to this wonderfully gleamy record just months after the artist’s death, one repeatedly hears coded meanings buried in each lyric and in each guitar note and those codes allude to release & passing. However, there is never a feeling of regret or resignation in this album—in fact, quite the reverse. This album is about fresh starts, new moons, sharing experiences, and starting over. This isn’t an act of leaving, it isn’t an album of farewells… rather, this is an album of getting there and getting the job done!
Because of the infectious optimism, vibrancy, and boundless joyful goodness that permeates through all of Marsden’s numbers, this is an album of artistic truth, sincerity, and utter determination. Very highly recommended.
Working Man is out now on all platforms https://slinky.to/WorkingMan
Words: © Neil Mach
Main photo credit: © Adam Kennedy
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