ARTIST: DEVILROUSER
SONG: NECESITO SUFRIR
GENRE: BLUES / ACOUSTIC BLUES
SIMILAR: BLIND BOY FULLER
   
In a world were so much is synthetic - from clothing all the way through to dreams and music - it’s nice to meet a genuine article. You can do so by listening to Devilrouser’s bluesy number “Necesito Sufrir.” Translated the title means “I Need to Suffer” but rest assured you won’t suffer by listening to this offering.

I have listened to the music of Jorge Ubalde (AKA Devilrouser) frequently in the past; he is blessed with a versatile voice that sings pop, rock and blues with equal felicity. He plays the guitar with a comfortable and casual authority. Ubalde’s guitar jangles away effortlessly as it strongly under girds the dynamic harmonica licks of one Claudio Carminati – a man who blows the harp as if the wind came from his soul.

Ubalde sings in Spanish in strong, sonorous tones and with good emotion. Emotion and gusto are the main ingredients of good blues singing. Both are here. Although the lyrics are Spanish the libretto is provided in English. It’s about a man born to suffer - autobiographical, one assumes, but also universal. As the good book say, “Man is born to adversity as the sparks fly upwards…” If the song’s poetry is marred by translation, still the humorous irony survives the process. Of course it does! The blues’ lament is the same in any language, because it speaks a language of the heart – authentic NOT synthetic.

Perhaps the piece is not startlingly original, but it is nice and solid. If its musical paths are well trodden they also are pleasant. I would suggest you have a listen; you can’t have too many real things in your life!

Charisma: 7.00
Technical Skill: 7.50
Structure: 7.00
Interest: 7.50
Melody: 7.50
Lyrics: 7.00
Performance: 8.00
Recording Quality: 5.00
Long Term Appeal: 7.50

OVERALL: 7.10

Now,"Necesito Sufrir" shows your vocal talents. The guitar is a wee bit raw but the vocals took my mind off of that immediately.
"Dirty player" takes a while to get under way but when it does it brings back great memories of London Harp, a small group in the late 90's which has since disbanded. ( intersting lyrics) Well, I love the guitar at the beginning of "Dirty" so dont take that as a negative, its just that there are certain cannons I grew up with about such things. I think the change in pace before the harp was very nice, almost a prelude to the vocals.. You have a great voice, and although you are mainly singing blues based material here I bet you could sing anything pretty well. I'm looking forward to some "experimental" devilhouse ! but if you mainly stay around the blues stuff, I for one think your performance is of a high quality... -Rich Adonis-