We wouldn’t say that British blues guitar slinger and vocalist Andy Fairweather Low has exactly been invisible until now, having spent much of the past few decades playing and touring with Eric Clapton. Keener observers among Slowhand fans might, for example, remember Clapton acknowledging Low at the conclusion of “Hey Hey” on 1992’s Unplugged album, and anyone who saw or heard Clapton’s 2013 Crossroads Guitar Festival either live or on recording is sure to remember Low’s rousing delivery, backed by Clapton, of “Gin House Blues”, a performance that had us, and we’re sure many others, running off to see what other music we could find from this guy already, and kicking ourselves for not having checked him out further the first time we heard Clapton say his name.
But we do kind of see Low’s point in titling his latest album The Invisible Bluesman (The Last Music Company). While we’re sure we weren’t the only ones on whom Low made quite an impression with his 2013 Crossroads performance and many other concerts with Clapton around the world, we recognize that other Slowhand fans might not have had these same chances to see Low singled out. And, truth be told, Clapton is just one of several well-known artists with whom Low has spent time as a member of the band over the decades, along with the likes of Roger Waters, George Harrison, Pete Townshend/The Who, and Bill Wyman, just to name a few. Based even on our own experience (failing to check out Low as a frontman until well after we first knew of him), we can of course understand how Clapton and some of those others might tend to cast long shadows over any of their sidemen, regardless of how talented those band members just might be.
Along the way, Low did of course put out several albums with his own bands, but The Invisible Bluesman is the first to be devoted to the blues, which, it probably won’t surprise you to read, is where we happen to believe Low most excels.
If you missed Low’s smoking Crossroads performance of “Gin House Blues”, you should still be sure to check it out at some point, but, in the meantime, you can find another bang-up version of the song on The Invisible Bluesman, again featuring Low’s powerfully soulful vocals and stinging guitar, along with some blazing horns.
A number of the songs here have a Claptonesque sound, not all that surprising considering how much Clapton has obviously influenced Low during their many years of playing together, from the slow shuffling “My Baby Left Me” that opens the album and “Rollin’ & Tumblin'” that follows to the airy “When Things Go Wrong” and rollicking “Bright Lights Big City” that come a bit later in the program, with the latter (along with “Gin House Blues”) even featuring longtime Clapton accompanist Chris Stainton on keys.
But, don’t get us wrong: there’s plenty here that shows Low can also be very much his own bluesman, including, for example, a plunking “Baby What You Want Me to Do” and rocking “So Glad You’re Mine”, with its intense “Gin House Blues”-level vocals and ripping instrumental reprise. A shuffling “Got Love If You Want It”, jaunty “Matchbox”, and barreling “Mystery Train” also are all worth checking out, along with the spirited instrumental “Lightnin’s Boogie”, with the album closing on a quieter note with the solo acoustic original “Life is Good”.
If you know Andy Fairweather Low already, you can probably guess that this album is a darn good one. If you’re new to Low, The Invisible Bluesman is as good a place as any to start in checking him out. That’s of course if you aren’t able to catch him live during the European leg of Clapton’s 2025 tour, where this time he’ll be playing not as a part of Clapton’s band but in the coveted (and much-deserved) opening slot, which, along with this new album, should help immensely in helping to bring Low’s extensive talents as a bluesman to light.
(Here’s Low’s version of “Gin House Blues” off the new album:)