Rootstime Netherlands Review

https://rootstime.be/CD%20REVIEUW/2026/JUL1/CD16.html 

Hearing Jimi Hendrix at the age of eight shaped the future of Connecticut-based blues-rock guitarist Ryan “Bluwrath” Newman. He left Berklee College of Music (Boston/NYC) because he was deemed “too loud,” but more recently, this young, authentic guitarist gained recognition when the New England Music Hall of Fame (honoring the likes of Edgar & Johnny Winter, Eric Clapton, and Lenny Kravitz) named him “Best New Artist.” His passion for music and explosive guitar style earned him the nickname “Bluwrath.”

This month, Newman made his debut with Wrath of Blues under the guidance of producer Jon Grossbard, who was astounded by the young blues enthusiast's style and technique. The tracklist—featuring thirteen carefully selected songs plus an original composition—demonstrates his mature taste and sound judgment. Newman is no mere imitator; he allows his influences to shine through, filtered by his own prodigious guitar talent.

Newman pulls out all the stops right from the opener with a whirlwind version of the Elmore James classic (originally by Robert Johnson), “Dust My Broom,” before turning inward on his own “Leaving This World Tonight”—a compelling, slow-burning blues lament about lost love. Alongside Scott Spray’s swinging bass, Newman’s guitar is the icing on the cake on Mose Allison’s “Your Mind Is on Vacation.” He takes a breather on SRV’s “Texas Flood,” after which Vic Washington steps up to the mic for B.B. King’s “The Thrill Is Gone.” Washington, Arlene Wow, and Joan DuQuette provide backing vocals on “Oh, Pretty Woman,” while Newman’s guitar once again commands full attention on “Be Careful with a Fool”—another B.B. gem, here infused with Newman’s own signature thrills. Arlene Wow takes the mic for “Let Me Love You,” the electrifying Jeff Beck rocker. Even more exciting news follows with Bob Marley & Peter Tosh’s “Get Up Stand Up” (featuring vocal support from Anita Antoinette), the Mick Jagger/Keith Richards classic “Miss You” (with Arlene Wow again on vocals), and Hoagy Carmichael’s 1942 love ballad, “Baltimore Oriole.” Newman then cuts loose on Earl King’s “Come On” before diving into the Bob Dylan songbook for a somewhat unusual, charged rendition of “Highway 61 Revisited.” Ryan “Bluwarth” Newman wraps things up with Aretha Franklin’s soulful, laid-back “Good to Me as I Am to You,” while his guitar “gently weeps”… We will certainly be hearing more from “Bluwarth”!