Right onJune 17, 2006 Bob Liddycoat 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The review on Chris Duarte is the only one that has been bang on. Duarte plays with the passion of Stevie Ray but is much more like Henrix, Beck and Winter -- and Like Jeff Beck he is in a league all is own -- really hard to compare with anyone Live is absolutely astounding -- see Duarte live, you'll never forget it.
Why is he not famous?February 24, 2006 Matthew J. Haynie(Minneapolis MN USA) Chris Duarte is a true wonder of the musical world. He is a guitarist beyond gifted. I have long wondered why Chris Duarte is not more recognized for his mind blowing guitar playing. After all of these years and hearing all of his records I stil have no clue. Get on the bandwagon people! We have an absolute guitar genius in front of us and still he goes unnoticed. This record displays everything that is great about Duarte. His vocals seem to be much improved on this record and his riffs on this record are once again superb! His fretboard execution is flawless and he plays with as much passion an fire as anyone who has ever played. The songs are fun to listen to and the band as a whole is as one musician. Just another great album from Chris Duarte. Three things that we all must do..Buy this CD, See Duarte live once in our lives and tell everyone we know about Chris Duarte in hopes that someday he may recieve the recognition that so many inferior guitarists have already been given.
Chris follows his soulNovember 13, 2004 R. Keesecker(Willoughby, OH United States) 1 out of 2 found this review helpful
If you've seen Chris Duarte live, even if only one time, you know he has a depth of soul that draws you to not only his music, but to him personally. Following the musical development of someone like Chris who is truly unique (a word overused but in Chris' case, accurate) is rewarding no matter what style he may be playing at the moment. The 30-second bites from "Romp" DO accurately represent this CD. If you like Chris Duarte, you will like this CD. If you spend time picking apart blues vs. rock vs. whatever, you don't have a full understanding of Chris Duarte. This CD is dynamite.
A bad CD by a great musicianJune 3, 2004 IndyMATT(Indianapolis, IN) 6 out of 10 found this review helpful
When it's all said and done, we'll look back on Romp as Chris Duarte's weakest effort. It seems all great artists have a time period where their music takes a dive. This is it for Chris. He spends more time trying to be who he is not instead of being who he is. His strength is straight-up blues with some rock dynamics thrown in. Unfortunately, this CD features very little blues. Bb blues is the only song worth listening to on this CD in my opinion. I love Chris and have seen him several times and I don't blame him for trying to stretch out and explore but here's the bottom line....he's world class at traditional blues/blues rock...unfortunately Romp focuses on the skills he is weak at...vocals and songwriting in shakey, undefined rock style. If you like the music on Texas Sugar Strat Magic and his second CD, you will be sorely dissappointed in Romp. CHRIS DUARTE...PLAY THE BLUES.
Smokin!January 25, 2004 John Terry(Kansas City, Mo) 3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Austin guitarist Chris Duarte can't seem to escape the shadow of Stevie Ray Vaughan. Much like Stevie, Chris started young. By the age of fifteen, Chris was playing jazz and blues in Austin clubs. His first few albums solidified his hold on the title of "the next Stevie Ray". The thing is, Chris is worthy of your respect without labeling him the next anybody. Let somebody else be "the next Chris Duarte". "Romp" goes a long way towards showing folks that Chris isn't just another Texan with a guitar. In fact, most of "Romp" recalls Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Winter and Jeff Beck as much as or more than Stevie. Recommended cuts include "Do the Romp", "Fire's Gone Out" and "Bb Blues". Chris explodes on the uptempo numbers and is appropriately smoldering and sinister on the slow stuff. Really fine stuff for those of you who don't insist that he do the same thing over and over again. Check it out!
