Chris Beard’s third CD, “Live Wire”,
produced by Chris, was released in May 2005. A compilation of
two “live” performances in Grand Rapids, MI and
Chicago, IL which contains six new songs and bonus studio tracks.
Here's a recent review of "Live Wire":

You could say that Chris Beard likes to play guitar -- the
nine minutes o fretboard pyrotechnics that make up the opening "Born to Play the Blues" make that all too apparent. This is a full-on electric blues
(mostly) live disc, full of scintillating lead guitar (check out the inspired
"Tribute to Luther Allison"), backed by a top-notch band, whose players
also get a good workout, like keyboardist Alan Murphy on "It's
About Time." But the inevitable focus is on Beard's massive
skills. He's a good singer, if not outstanding, but he's a dynamic,
inventive guitarist who seems to be at his happiest when dazzling
an audience. Those cuts have an immediacy and energy that's
missing on the three final studio t racks -- even the aching
"Lock My Dreams," where he makes his guitar cry, lacks
that energy. Having already established his reputation with
his previous work, Beard cements his stature with this record,
and sets himself up to take a place among the contemporary blues
guitar greats.

(Chris Nickson, All Music)

His blues have plenty of soul and sweat and show no signs of
letting up. Beard is equally relentless.

But this past summer Rochester's "Prince of the Blues"
had to readdress his intensity.

"I do everything as far as my career goes," Beard
says. "I do most of my own booking and then talk about
being on the road, driving, playing music. It's crazy. The stress
got too much for me."

On June 7, Beard had a mild stroke.

"I woke up at 9 o'clock in the morning," he says.
"About two hours later I started noticing I was feeling
drunk. I hadn't had a drink in 14 years. I didn't know what
was going on."

Beard ignored it and set about his day. He ran errands, including
a stop at Fed Ex to send out tour promo material.

"I went to fill out my name and I couldn't," he says.
"That scared the shit out of me."

Beard spent three days in the hospital. The stroke affected
his speech and the use of his right arm. So he took a month
off. One month.

He had just released Live Wire, his third release and first
for NorthernBlues Music. It was a real lid-blower, with mostly
live cuts recorded in Chicago and Grand Rapids. Beard and his
band needed to tour and push it, live.

Determined not to lose any of his hard-earned momentum, Beard
hit the road with a second guitar player to fill in his gaps.

"I was going to therapy and stuff," he says. "And
my therapist tells me, 'Look Chris, guitar playing isn't normal.
We can get you back to doing normal things. The only person
that's going to get you back to playing guitar like you were
is you.'"

So Beard dropped the second guitar player.

"Finally I said: Look, I gotta do this myself,'' he says.

Today, the 48-year-old bluesman says he's recovered 90 percent
of his ability while also rediscovering what's at the heart
of his playing.

"I've turned a negative into a positive." he says.
"When I was growing up, I used to listen to Buddy Guy and
the players that played fast. And I used to tell my father,
[Rochester's King of the Blues Joe Beard] 'I want to play fast
like so-and-so.' He said, 'Just keep playing and the speed will
come in time.'"

It came. And how.

"But somewhere along the line of me speeding, trying to
get fast, and listening to other players," he says, "I
kind of forgot about the feel of the music and the thing about
trying to get as much out of the note as I possibly can."

"So me being in a place where my right hand wouldn't keep
up with my left hand," he says, "I had to concentrate
on getting as much out of that note. It's made me a better player."

Beard continues to tour. His annual schedule is back to where
it was, about 200 dates across the US.

He refers to his stroke as a "wake-up call from God"
and has taken steps to alleviate the stress. But he can't quit.

"When you get to one level, you realize you can't stop
there 'cause there's more and there's better," he says.

And he'll prove it, too. He plans on releasing an all studio
album of new material in the spring.

"My speed is back," he says, "with that slow
perspective."

(Frank De Blase, City Newspaper)