ROYAL TREATMENT

Blues phenom Eric Gales returns with the album he was born to make: Crown.

- MARK MCSTEA

ERIC GALES' NEW album, Crown (Provogue Records), is a serious statement of intent. So is its lead-off track, I Want My Crown, which features a showdown with blues-rock maestro Joe Bonamassa, who co-produced the record. Some years back, Gales and Bonamassa were teen prodigies, with the kind of chops that the average guitarist could spend a lifetime trying to obtain, but their careers took a different trajectory. Bonamassa's career has gone from strength to strength, whereas Gales lost direction during years of struggle with substance abuse.

I had been aware of Joe's progress, and was a little frustrated that my career hadn't kept pace, due to a lot of self-destructive behavior, Gales reflects. Maybe if I hadn't taken a left turn when I did, things would have been different.

Now five years clean and making the best music of his career, Gales is hungry to make up for lost ground. The idea of hooking up with his peer came to Gales after jamming with him several years ago, when Bonamassa told him he wasn't fulfilling his potential.