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Laith Al-Saadi Gives Cumberland Sly Musical Medley

by Becca Ramspott

Laith Al-Saadi, a 2006 Guitar Center “King of Blues” finalist and fixture of the Detroit blues scene, treated Cumberland to a night of fast fingers and sly musical medley when he played at Windsor Hall Sept. 6.

A singer/songwriter who has been playing guitar since he was 13 and singing since he was four, Al-Saadi served up a nice combination of pure virtuosity combined with a growly, soul-tinged voice that kept things from being too nice and neat. His fancy fretwork was bright and quick and often melded several riffs from various tunes into one, long guitar solo, pulling heart strings in a variety of genres along the way: blues, rockabilly, funk, jam-band rock n’ roll.

Saturday’s set was full of lots of tried-and-true favorites to please local fans, including Carlos Santana’s “Black Magic Woman,” Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues” and Led Zepplin’s “Hey Hey What Can I Do.” Indeed, in many ways the evening’s performance and the audience attending it embodied the words of Led Zepplin’s Robert Plant: “In the bars, with the men who play guitars
singin', drinkin' and rememberin' the times.”

Perhaps one of the most intriguing highlights of the night was when Al-Saadi offered interludes of his own original work. “Breathe,” a bluesy number off of his latest album, “Long Time Coming,” that closed the first set, was particularly memorable and good, with honest, open lyrics about that moment when you realize you’ve got a good thing going with someone, and you want to slow down and savor it.

With plenty of talent to adlib his way through time-honored guitar classics in creative ways and enough of his own salt to make his own sounds, Al-Saadi gave Cumberland a promising performance that will stay with listeners for a long time.

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