Will Tang

Wow. Cow bells, harmonica, a driving repeat on the bassline, and rapid fire breakbeat drumming – it’s hip-hop
meets soul meets funk meets god knows what. And he comes from Rochdale??
Will Tang does the blues in a similar vein to Captain Beefheart (in his clearer moments of thinking). Forget what
Gomez thought was the blues. You can even by-pass the 22-20s take on the genre. If you want a fresh
interpretation of the blues, look no further than this.
What Votel has done on the two remixes here is recognise that blues is roots music. As is hip-hop. As is garage.
He’s twisted Tang’s grungy blues to create some funked up block rockin’ beats on Your Love Bites, and has gone
for a sleazy, trippy mash up on Travellin’ Man.
Your Love Bites has sozzled my brain like a rough Kentucky bourbon. It’ll make you dance like you’ve got ants in
your pants. – Jan Hargreaves. - Angryape

Somehow BM! missed (Rochdale-born, Hong Kong-superstar recognised) Will Tang's "The Other Side" in 2004 but with the release of the remixed 'Love Bites' we are able to make amends...and we really do have a lot of making up to do. It's no understatement to say this is the kind of album British Blues is in desperate need of currently, and surely this is the kind of artist BM! should be championing? Those who are familiar will already know what an inspired harp player Tang is - rarely, if ever, can I listen to a minute's unaccompanied harp ('Still Talking') without inducing a headache but in line with his vocal delivery Will is able to deliver with gentle consideration...

- Blues Matters

Guitars. Loud guitars. Loud guitars played with feeling and maybe even ferocity. That's a great sound. Always has
been and always will be. Done right - as is the case here - and you wish you could play just like him. Who is he?
He goes by the name of Will Tang and you should take a note of this name right now as your record collection (or
your iPod) is not going to be complete without him.
Nearly forgot. Will Tang does a ferocious harmonica thing as well. Flames and fury, you know what we are talking
about. "The Other Side" slaps you hard in the face. That guitar riff is heavier than weapons grade plutonium. Will
Tang's vocals are big and impassioned. You couldn't describe them as whiskey soaked just yet but you have to
think that is the way his voice will go. Remember how Robert Plant used to sound before he got old and tried to set
up house with Alison Krauss? That's close enough. Will Tang's voice isn't raw but he sounds like he is raw inside.
Red raw.
"Whole Lotta Love" - keeping "The Other Side" company on the flipside - is deconstructed into a hard, harmonica
powered piledriver of a blues song which is probably how Led Zep thought of it before they had played it 10,000
times. Hear you neighbours beg for mercy (or hear them call for the police) as this is definitely not a song that you
can play quietly.
Oh yes, this will do very nicely indeed! Only one thing would make it better and that is a vinyl release.

Review by: Bluesbunny
Rating 5/5
Best enjoyed with beer, whisky and beer! - Bluesbunny

:: Will Tang ::
02 September 2007 / Centro / Manchester
By Cath Aubergine
Sunday night and the Centro basement is largely full of the loud chatter of
what looks like the tail end of a rugby team's weekend pub crawl. A quiet
and polite young man stands behind a microphone, armed only with an
acoustic guitar and a harmonica. Fazed by the potentially difficult crowd?
Not likely - how many local singer-songwriters can claim, genuinely, to have
worked with Jackie Chan? Will Tang has a rather more interesting back
story than his youthful looks would suggest. As a young man, he left his
Rochdale home and headed east to chase the Chinese side of his heritage,
where he ended up playing sessions for all manner of pop and film stars and
releasing five albums. So a few rowdy lads in sportswear aren't going to put
him off.
From the first notes of his finger-picking, foot-tapping blues it's clear he's
pretty talented. His vocals are a little more high pitched than your average
bluesman, more Dylanish rasping than the Muddy Waters whose influence is
apparent in his songwriting - breathless even at times, like he's racing
against himself. And then he plays his ace, steps forward to the mikestandmounted
harmonica, It's nothing short of stunning; virtuoso standard. I didn't
even know it was possible to get that many notes out of one. And this he
accomplishes whilst looking almost effortless, finishing the tune with an
intricate guitar flourish. Forget the fresh face, this is definitely a man who's
paid his dues.
"Everything Changes" is probably the most commercial song in this short
showcase set; troubadour acoustic folk-blues that's at the same time tuneful
enough for mainstream radio. "Coldplay" mutters one of the short-hairs,
which we think might actually be a bizarre form of compliment, although I
don't see it myself. Yet Tang is a man who could have a broad appeal - even
in the space of five or six songs he's stamped his own touch on a myriad of
styles. "Lay Your Troubles Down" starts like Mojave 3 country-indie before
soaring off into a soul-searching crescendo, whilst "Red City Blues" is a
more traditional story of a young man coming to the big city to find himself.
Yet for all his remarkable talent, he seems very much down-to-earth. Just an
ordinary lad from Rochdale with an extraordinary tale to tell, and one I think
we'll be hearing quite a lot more from. - MCR Music