1216. The Jeff Healey Band / See the Light. 1988. 3/5

Jeff Healey had led a remarkable life prior to the point that the band under his eponymous name came to write and record their debut album. Adopted as an infant by a Candian fire fighter, at the age of one Jeff was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare cancer of the eyes, and lost his sight permanently. Indeed, His eyes had to be surgically removed, and he was given ocular prostheses in their place. He began playing the guitar at the age of three, utilising his unique style of playing the guitar laying down on his lap, and playing the strings like a keyboard. He began playing in bands from the age of 15, and also hosted a jazz and blues radio show in Toronto, where he was known for playing from his massive collection of vintage 78 rpm gramophone records.
Shortly thereafter he was introduced to bassist Joe Rockman and drummer Tom Stephen, with whom he formed a trio, the Jeff Healey Band. The band made their first public appearance at an upstairs diner in Toronto, and soon enough were discovered by a couple of pretty fair guitarists themselves in Stevie Ray Vaughan and Albert Collins. The band was signed to Arista Records, and set about writing and recording their debut album, which was to be titled “See the Light”.

This album begins terrifically, with “Confidence Man”, a song that appeared in the movie “Road House”, and “My Little Girl” which is written by Healey himself. Both have that great energy and drive that for me at least isn’t always a part of blues songs, but most definitely appear here. It announces the band from the beginning. “River of No Return” comes back to a more circumspect typical blues track to follow the opening assault, and is followed by another Healey written track “Don’t Let Your Chance Go By” where he is definitely drawing inspiration from the muddy depths of deep south blues sound.
“Angel Eyes” was the band’s best performing single from the album, but given it is truly a ballad rather than having any blues involved in the song at all, it feels as though it was aimed at the commercial radio market. The result because of this is that it stands out amongst the remainder of the album, and doesn’t really fit within that framework. No doubt there are fans out there who like this song and enjoy it. For me, it really is like a sore thumb. “Nice Problem to Have” is the only song here that is credited to all three members of the band, a complete blues instrumental that not only returns the album to the genre of its making but that would have the fans clapping away in the bunker blues clubs.
The good vibes return in full swing on “Someday, Someway”, with the tempo ratcheting up again and Jeff’s honey smooth vocals coming to the fore along with a solid guitar solo through the middle of the song. ”I Need to be Loved” is a simple straight blues rock track written by Healey himself and performed solidly. “Blue Jean Blues” is a cover of the song by the blues rock masters ZZ Top from their “Fandango” album, the highlight of which here is Jeff’s great guitar soloing through the middle of the track. “That’s What They Say” is another Healey penned track, and is more country than blues in structure, and sounds in a more commercial bent as a result, without his traditional hard blues guitar in the song. “Hideaway” is another blues music instrumental that incorporates all of those typical elements of the genre. The album concludes in a great way thought with the title track “See the Light”, where the band attack the song with gusto, all of their instruments being strung and hit hard, and the real shining light of the band comes forth, as the rhythm of drums and rumbling bass hold fort while Jeff lets fly on guitar and sings with passion. The bookends of this album are the true highlights, and it is a great finish to this album.

You would be correct in assuming that me listening to, reviewing and enjoying a blues album is a very rare event. I accept the blues rock that infiltrates many of the great hard rock and even heavy metal bands of the world, and the influence it has had on them and their music. I even enjoy some stuff, more particularly Gary Moore’s initial foray into the genre following his hard rock and metal years. But overall, straight blues is not something that I am a huge fan of.
The fact remains that like many people of my vintage I discovered The Jeff Healey Band through the movie ‘Road House’ which starred Patrick Swayze, where The Jeff Healey Band played as the house band at the club that was the centre of the storyline, and Jeff himself acting in a small role in the film. The energy of the band in that movie gave those scenes a real kick, and so I decided I needed to check out this album as a result. And, for the most part, I really enjoyed it. So much so that when they announced they were touring Australia on it, I went and saw them in Sydney at the Enmore Theatre, and they were simply superb.
It has been a long time since I listened to this album. I lost my vinyl copy in a flood over 20 years ago, and it has taken me a while to re-purchase another copy. Almost without fail, I like to listen to it straight after I have re-watched “Road House”, which wasn’t possible for a number of years. Reliving it over recent weeks, I find that I still enjoy much of the album. There are certainly some tracks that I would be happy skipping over if it was in a certain situation, but the album overall still has that great quality that it had on release 35 years ago. Its freshness at the time still leaps out of the speakers at you in songs like “Confidence Man” and “See the Light”. For lovers of blues music there is a lot to like here. For those who are ambivalent about the blues like me, I still think there are songs here you will find enjoyable.