Not only did
Mark May's 1995 debut,
Call on the Blues, please blues fans and critics, it earned him a tryout with
the Allman Brothers. A mutual friend turned former
Allman Brothers guitarist
Dickey Betts on to
May's album -- and while
May didn't get the gig, he did open for the band on a few occasions.
Betts was most impressed by
May's singing -- and for good reason. Throughout
Call on the Blues,
May's chameleon-like vocals toy with the color barrier, fluctuating effortlessly between a salty redneck drawl and a silky R&B croon not unlike
Robert Cray's. On guitar, he boasts a barbed precision that recalls the late
Albert Collins, the sort of full-on command of his instrument -- equal parts raw feel and technical polish -- that can't be fudged. Maybe that's why
May has earned the respect of
Joe "Guitar" Hughes, a childhood friend of the
Collins.
Hughes even lent his six-string expertise to
Call on the Blues' instrumental tribute to
Collins, "Hail to the Iceman." ~ Hobart Rowland