This came out in 2000 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Ace session guitarist and former Pretenders sideman Robbie McIntosh has long been one of the fastest and sharpest hired guns in music — just spin his staccato, chiming solo in Middle of the Road if you need proof.
And his debut solo disc Emotional Bends makes it abundantly clear why spends so much time backing artists from Paul McCartney and Joe Cocker to Cher and Celine Dion: It’s because as a singer and songwriter, he has no musical personality of his own whatsoever. This tremendous disappointment consists of a dozen toothless country-blues and roots-rock throwaways, with McIntosh making like a poor man’s Ry Cooder while a cadre of his session-man cohorts groove with too much precision and too little passion. Aside from McIntosh’s always wondrous guitar playing, Emotional Bends is an emotional flatline. One piece of advice offered with love and respect, Robbie: Shut up and play yer guitar.
