The Other Side.
Will Tang’ s fifth album, The Other Side, shows more than one side to his talents. Gone are the electric blues of Out Of The Blue and in comes acoustic blues and rock. He’ s virtually turned this into a one man show, playing guitar and harmonica and writing all 12 tracks. Will’ s blues fans, and new listeners, will love the opener, Travellin’ Man with its slow, stomping beat. Other blues songs include the harmonica instrumentals Sundown and Still Talking, both played to Will’ s high standards and the fast paced harmonica and vocal Time Of The Day on which you can actually hear the effort that Will puts into his playing. There are songs that would sit very well as stadium rock ballads, Everything Changes and Red City Blues and there are Led Zeppelin influenced blues rockers in Your Love Bites and the albums title track. There’ s even a little a capella rock and roll on Shakin’ and Quakin’ . The album closes with To The Sea, on which Will has managed to incorporate a little of Billy Joel’ s song writing style. This is a varied acoustic album that will have a place in many a music lovers collection.
David Blue. 18/01/2005.
He’s Hong Kong’s most talented musician and a blues man good enough to cut it on the international circuit: This album shows you why. British-born William is a multi-instrumentalist who has cut probably the best album to come out of Hong Kong in the last few years. Although still young, he has the musical maturity and vocal soul of his Memphis and Chicago influences. His harmonica breaks are electrifying. The beauty of blues recordings such as this is they possess the raw power of live performances; the interaction and competition between rhythm and melody becomes more apparent and draws the listener deeper into the piece. On record, as on stage, William does this with ease. The brainstorming opener “Walkin’ Round” is a battle between his own harmonica and the chugging rhythm section. “Sweet Little Angel” has all the hallmarks of a great blues instrumental - virtuosity and a desperate lyric. If you can’t get to see William at one of his many gigs around town, fear not. He has managed to amply project his live dynamic onto CD.
Mark McCord - HK Magazine.
Blues from Hong Kong? "Out Of The Blue" is the fourth album from William Tang since 1996, and very good it is too. Born in the UK (Manchester) Tang has been in Hong Kong since 1989, when he originally stopped off on his way round the world. The trip was never completed, and Tang went on to build himself a reputation as Asia's finest harp player. On this evidence, it is easy to see why.
The album was recorded live in the studio, in just one day. This has not had any major adverse affect on the results, however, although one or two of the tracks could have used a little pruning. Of the nine tracks on offer, five are band originals. On balance, the new stuff just outweighs the covers, which include "Born in Chicago" from the repertoire of the Butterfield Blues Band.
The band's qualities are self-evident from the opener ("Walkin' Round"). Tang sets out his stall right from the opening bars, playing in a style that reflects a number of influences, including Sugar Blue. He also handles vocals, singing in a style that sounds a bit like a cross between George Thorogood and Jonny Lang, with the occasional hint of Bobby Bland thrown in. The ensuing "Mercy Blues" has a better balanced arrangement overall, and lets Patrick Murdoch show that he is an accomplished guitar player. Special mention too for the rhythm section of Mark Menezes (drums) and John French (bass) who provide a rock solid platform throughout for the two frontmen. "Mercy Blues" vies with "It's Alrite" and the closing "Go Foo Guy"--which ends rather abruptly--for best track on the album.
"Out Of The Blue" offers further evidence, if it were needed, of the universality of the language of the blues. The overall style is essentially harp dominated Chicago blues, although there is plenty of very fine guitar work too. The album offers an insight into what the band must sound like live. Given that Tang is based in Hong Kong, I suspect chances to see them live will be comparatively rare. In the meantime, "Out Of The Blue" gives you a chance to hear for yourself that William Tang can deliver the goods.
Gordon Baxter - Blues on Stage.
A Hong Kong harp player, you've got to be kidding? Well, I'm not and William Tang has as much right as anyone to express his love of the blues. This album, about 50/50 on covers and self-penned songs, goes a long way to showing how much talent the man has.
The opener, Walkin' Round is excellent and a song that any U.S. blues artist would have been proud to produce. It is a very good introduction to the playing of William and he has surrounded himself with good musicians. This is a 'live' studio album and gives us a feeling of how the band would sound in an intimate club - fantastic. Mercy Blues is full of wailing, top level harmonica and is a slow & moody song, written by Tang himself. Next up is a funky version of Nick Gravenites Born In Chicago where Patrick Murdoch gets to let rip on guitar.
Gonna Make My Way, written by Tang and Murdoch is classic Chicago style blues and the band finds a groove on Sugar Sweet with the funky bass of John French and Tang's lungs of steel. It's Alrite rocks - it's another Tang song and guitarist Murdoch produces some good slide guitar before William goes almost apoplectic at the end. Sweet Little Angel is a B.B. King song and he has done the right thing by not trying to sound like the great man and there is some more strong guitar work from Murdoch.
The Thrill Is Gone is the song made famous by B.B. King but William's voice is not really suited to this but the interesting use of harmonica redeems it. The closing track is Go Foo Guy and guitarist Patrick Murdoch wrote this. It is an instrumental finish to a good album and, like the other tracks, is held together by the tight drumming of Mark Menezes.
This is a serious blues band and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
David Blue - NetRhythms.co.uk
For those who haven't heard of William Tang, he is a singer, harmonica player and songwriter who wails like Robert Plant and plays harmonica like only blues cats can. Tang has been in Hong Kong since '89 and has recently released and independent album titled XYAN. The album is a collaboration with virtuoso blues guitarist Patrick Murdoch, who at age 18, has enough licks and chops to make other professional guitarists feel like going back to school. Murdoch blurs genres in his playing the way the greats did: Clapton, Hendrix and SRV. The album is not strictly blues; it is an ambitious mixture of a number of styles. Blues, rock, funk, acoustica and pop flavors merge into a wonderful disc. The album kicks in with a driving blues "Shoulda' Quit You" and then on to a beautiful & moving ballard "Restless Lady". Notable blues tracks on the album include "Liddle Stella" (acoustic) and "Trouble at my Door" which are both excellent. There are some great quirky lyrics - "Sticky Bones" includes the hilarious lines: "Diplomats in paper hats, stripper on a horses back/You know they change their minds like the weather."
XYAN is more original than imitation, this is solid stuff.
Brandon Ho - HK Magazine
This is local harmonica player William Tang's debut album and it's one he can be proud of.
The album features a number of well known Hong Kong and international musical celebrities including Australian guitarist Tommy Emmanuel, celebrated Hong Kong guitarist Eugent Pao and drummer Anthony Fernandes. But for all the big names, Movin' On is a vehicle for Tang's harmonica talent - it's selling point but also its niggling weakness. Not that Tang is a bad harmonica player, on the contrary, he is extremely talented, it is just that he has other strong points too, which are not adequately showcased here. His singing is the main case in point. Only two of the songs here feature his excellent voice, the rest are instrumental or are sung in Cantonese by local singers. No disrespect to those singers but, Tang could have done a far better job. It is true that the Cantonese language songs may help sell the album in Hong Kong, but that's about all use they are. That said when Tang and his musician buddies smoke on this album they really smoke... the instrumental cover of Cream's Sunshine Of Your Love did not look appetising on paper, but one listen and you know it was a brilliant choice. With Tang on top form on the harmonica, the crack of Fernandes' military precision snare and Pao's exemplary guitar riffing, it's a corker. Similarly, Tang's own Wanna Groove With You is another of the album's highlights. A nicely paced pop number with a hint of blues - Tang's musical motivation - it leaves you wondering why the album isn't all like this.
A talent to listen out for.
Phil O’mullan - TV Times