Out of the Woods, the debut album by Canadian guitar maestro David Wilcox, is a unique, semi-bizarre listening experience – not to mention a still-undiscovered treat for millions of guitarists living outside of Canada. It encapsulates that stupidly rare combo of wit, imagination, raw energy and hooked-filled blues-rock, and it delivers it all with a side of manic slide guitar.
Crank open your mind and prepare to get gobbled up by Do the Bearcat, Bump Up Ahead, Bad Apple, A Little Chunk of You and – the absolute best of the bunch – That Hypnotizin’ Boogie.
It starts off as a sinister, funky head-bopper in Bb and quickly morphs into an insanely catchy slide-guitar freak-out in G. Keep an ear out for Wilcox’s mid-song tuning-peg hijinks (when he detunes his 6th string in a deliberately melodic way) and thick-as-sludge Fender tone. Seriously, how is this song not better known? It came out 40 years ago!
Note that there are two artists named David Wilcox – the Canadian rocker (this guy) and an American folkie – so be sure to seek out the Canadian (not that there's anything wrong with the American guy!).
You can watch a live version of the track in question below, and the original, awe-inspiring studio version above.
For more info on Wilcox, take a look at our feature on why Canada is home to some of the world's most exciting hard-rock players.
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