Review: Bernie Marsden – Icons
Bernie Marsden – Icons
Format: CD – Vinyl LP – Digital / Label: Conquest Records
Release: 2025
Text: Martien Koolen
‘Icons’ is the fourth album in Bernie Marsden’s inspiration series and the English rock and blues guitarist covers the greats on this posthumously released album. ‘Icons’ features twelve tracks of which ten are covers and two are Marsden originals. Kestrel is a short and gentle song, while the last track of this album Barford Blues is a wonderful instrumental blues song with Marsden playing his guitar like there is no tomorrow indeed.
‘Icons’ kicks off with a rocking version of the Elmore James classic Shake Your Money Maker and Marsden’s version is slightly different from versions of Fleetwood Mac or Johnny Winter. Next up is Bell Bottom Blues and Marsden plays an absolute impressive version of this Derek And The Dominos track, while Marsden’s Purple Haze version is kind of not my cup of tea, as I definitely prefer Hendrix’s original version….
The two Fleetwood Mac tracks, Oh Well and Man Of The World are absolutely stunning, showing the melancholic side of Marsden. Wheels Within Wheels and Calling Card are of course Rory Gallagher tracks and especially Calling Card is one of the highlights of the album as Marsden really makes that track his own. The classic Born Under A Bad Sign is of course something that really suits Marsden’s guitar playing, but then again I have heard better versions of this Albert King classic, like e.g. the Cream or Pat Travers version, but maybe that is just a matter of taste….
Finally, Marsden shows his love for the Allman Brothers Band with a sparkling version of the good old instrumental southern rock classic Jessica. Overall, I would say that ‘Icons’ is a great guitar album which shows Bernie Marsden at his humble best, playing the blues like you are supposed to play the blues.
Tracks:
01. Shake Your Money Maker
02. Bell Bottom Blues
03. Purple Haze
04. Born Under a Bad Sign
05. Wheels Within Wheels
06. Kestrel
07. Calling Card
08. Oh Well
09. Jessica
10. I Like It This Way
11. Man of the World
12. Barford Blues
Website: https://berniemarsden.com/