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):
Singer/guitarist Coco Montoya is living proof that the blues recognizes no geographic boundaries.
This Los Angeles native spent a decade backing up British Bluesbreakers leader John Mayall — but on Suspicion, his fourth solo CD, his fiery style and sound seem to come straight from deep in the heart of Texas. Maybe it has something to do with the years Montoya spent apprenticed to Albert (Iceman) Collins. Or maybe it’s because Montoya’s gritty vocals and choppy, funky fretwork often recall another Texas blues legend — Stevie Ray Vaughan. Not that Montoya deserves to be lumped in with the legions of Vaughannabes out there these days; he’s just as capable and comfortable laying back behind a Memphis-style Stax/Volt groove, for instance, as he is burning down the juke joint with a Jimi Hendrix-inspired solo. Call it a suspicion, but I suspect we’ll be hearing a lot more from Montoya.
