Ed Deane

‘One of the best albums I’ve heard in recent times’  Niall Toner, RTE Radio 2

‘A very, very fine guitarist... lovely playing on 'Harlem Nocturne'  Paul Jones, BBC Radio 2

"This 12 track set is split evenly between vocals and instrumentals (though they are mixed up in the track listing). The former comprises the opening track with its New Orleans-filtered-through-Nick Lowe sound, the political 'Sweat Shop', the soul-tinged country-rock of Dan Penn's ' I Need A Holiday', a country-tinged rendering of Taj Mahal's beautiful acoustic blues 'Queen Bee', an affectionate tribute to Muddy Waters on 'Can't Be Satisfied' and a slow, soul-tinged original ballad, 'More Than Two Steps', a good vehicle for Ed's light but convincing voice. 'It's For You' is the first instrumental of the set, fine slide guitar over a vaguely tango-style backing that sounds like it should be on a vintage 78, followed by an updating of buzzsaw saxist Earl Bostic's hit, 'Harlem Nocturne'. 'Above The Ridge' seems to flit between Scottish music and the African blues sound — very successfully — and the multi-talented Syrian Farid Al-Atrash's 'Nogoum EI-Leil' reflects Moorish Spain. 'Zombie On The Rocks' is moody, slide-laden and a little spooky, and this very fine album closes out with the lush 'Island Bridge', with just a hint of Dave Gilmour."
Blues in Britain, November 2016

"Audiophiles who appreciate variety and musicianship should make space on their shelves for this eclectic and deeply satisfying CD. Deane, a Dublin-born guitarist, has been kicking around as a session player and sometime front-man since the 1960s, so he must be pushing 70. Still, his musical intelligence ranges over a variety of styles: every cut on this album feels fresh and innovative. And Deane’s voice somehow sounds like that of a teenager. Some of the cuts have a carefree, radio-friendly feel. Deane’s age notwithstanding, I Need a Holiday, written by Dan Penn and Chuck Prophet, should be a hit today – people should blast it out as they cruise in their convertibles with the tops down. Just feel-good stuff. The blues are here, too, in the form of covers of Muddy Waters’ I Can’t Be Satisfied and Taj Mahal’s Queen Bee.
Half of the 12 songs on the album are instrumentals, and Deane’s impeccable musicianship shines – from tasty slide to fluidly picked leads to wonderful chord changes. (He is, by the way, one of those weirdos who plays the guitar left-handed and upside-down – weirdos whose number also included the great guitarist Albert King). It’s For You, with its flamenco feel, was influenced, Deane says, both by Robert Johnson and Francisco Tarrega, a Spanish classical guitarist and composer who died more than a century ago. And Nick Lowe, with whom Deane toured in the 1990s, probably influenced the opening cut, Vampire. The instrumental Harlem Nocturne, sounds bluesy but eerie. And Deane describes the mellow closing track, an instrumental in which his relaxed yet emotive guitar ranges over a rich backdrop of instruments, as 'the nearest I’ve managed to get to playing with a string orchestra'.
Always impeccable, always fresh, always innovative, this is a CD you’ll return to over the years. This one will stand the test of time."
M.D. Spenser

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★ ★ ★ ★

Ed Deane is one of the forgotten figures of the early Irish rock scene. I can still see him, long hair falling over his eyes, as, left-handed, he played his right-handed guitar upside-down with Blueshouse. It was an amazing sight, but no less amazing than the sounds he made, particularly when playing slide guitar. He loved the blues, but it has taken him well over 30 years to finally make an album of his own after a lifetime playing for others. It is typically low-key. There is nothing showy about his playing, but the 12 instrumental tracks display his craft, the sureness of his touch and the breadth of his influences. The blues are there, of course, but there are also nods to country and rock ‘n’ roll in a selection of tunes spiced with humour and attitude, eg Surfin with the Mummy, and on which he gets great support from old friend Eamon Murray on sax and harmonica.
Joe Breen, The Irish Times, July 7 2006

First solo album from acclaimed Irish session guitarist features a wealth of moods and styles, from excellent surf and film noir parodies to atmospheric blues and more impressionistic pieces. An impressive showcase for a very accomplished musician.
FRoots Aug/sept 2006

In over thirty years of making a living as a musician, Irish guitarist Ed Deane has been a member of so many different groups, he’s probably forgotten half of them himself. On his instrumental album Slideshow, Ed revels in playing a different style on each tune, and comes up with a moment of magic in the one he calls Way Out East.
Charlie Gillett. The Sound of The World, BBC World Service

The first haunting notes of this album, wistfully bleeding forth from the eerily toned slide guitar on the opening track, Love The Way You Do, are enough to perk the ears and make one’s neck hair stand straight up. This collection of instrumental blues springboards from there, exploring variances in style but maintaining a deep resonance that continuously nods to traditional blues playing at its best. These songs aren’t showy, overly complex or demanding of any fanciful trickery that could only muck up the purity of the form. What they are, and wisely so, are songs of structure and understated depth that are as timeless as they are intelligent. Even a song like Surfin’ With The Mummy, a keyboard-driven surf number that feels slightly tongue-in-cheek, is delivered with such sincere attention to detail that it is clearly based more in homage than parody. It’s one of the many genre-bending surprises that makes this such an easily digestible collection. Each song is unexpected, incorporating different elements from the next, but their common bond is that they’re equally adept at creating and maintaining a tangible mood that is both entertaining and, when it comes to the musicianship, very impressive.
CD Baby