There have been blues prodigies in the past, young kids who defy their age with a sound conveying wisdom, experience and other abilities which suggest the passage of time. But quite how Knox managed to ingest the anima of a 60-year-old in a 17-year-old’s mind/body is part of the mystery that makes this LP so compelling. Had you heard the album before being told this, his interpretation of Willie Dixon’s ‘You Need Love’ would have you convinced the guy had been playing juke joints for decades. When you realise that he composed nearly all of the material, you’ll want to see his birth certificate .  Exquisite guitar-driven blues that promise much for the future.

Sound Quality: 90% Ken Kessler Hifi News

 

Man Child is the title of Marquise Knox's 2009 national debut and for good reason! Yes, he was just 16 years old at the time of its recording, but no, this is not another one of those guitar-hero, someday-my-vocals-may-mature, I-might-one-day-write-my-own-material records. This kid is flat-out for real! This is a man-sized offering of serious, mature blues.

In fact, it's the maturity that provides the shock value here. Sixteen years old?! Listen to that voice and you'll swear he's lying about his age. Guitar licks that are tasty and restrained, none of this hyper-active, self-absorbed speed metal that somehow gets confused with blues. Even blues greats like B.B. King, Henry Townsend, Robert Lockwood Jr., Big George Brock, Bob Margolin and Sam Lay have sung his praises so we're not talking about some novelty act here.

To top it all off, he's an original. All but one of the tracks on Man Child were penned by Marquise, and most of them were written in the studio, on-the-fly, a skill learned at least partially from one of Marquise's main heroes, Henry Townsend. This is a 16-year-old, inner-city kid who somehow has decided to become a dead-serious bluesman of the old-school variety. That just doesn't happen anymore. Clear the way for the Man Child!

“Already poised, confident, and brandishing an arsenal of powerful, no-nonsense vocal and guitar skills that projected not only way beyond his years, but way back to the spirits of the blues masters of yore.” - Jim O’Neal/Founding Editor of Living Blues Magazine


2010 Living Blues Award Winner for Debut Artist
2010 Blues Music Association Nominee for Best New Debut Artist
Marquise Knox Man Child Track Listing:

 

Musicians:
Marquise Knox, vocals, guitar, harmonica
Michael Burks, guitar
Wayne Sharp, Hammon C3 organ, piano
Don Garrett, bass
Chuck "Popcorn" Louden, drums

1.  Love Making Machine
2.  You Put Me Down
3.  She's the One
4.  Sometimes I Wonder
5.  Problem
6.  Juke Joint Blues
7.  You Need love
8.  I Go To Work
9.  Clock on the Wall