It’s only a couple of years ago that Henrik Freischlader announced his retirement, going out with an album and a farewell tour in 2014. Since then he’s concentrated on production duties for his Cable Car Records label, releasing albums by Tommy Schneller and Layla Zoe. The good news for guitar fans is that he’s back, with the new album “Openness” and a tour to support the album. He’s back to working in the power trio format with Carl-Michael Grabinger (drums) and Alex Grube (bass) and sounding as good as ever. There are some clues in the lyrics as to the reasons for the sabbatical but, hey, it’s good to have him back; there aren’t many players who can boast his technique, power and soul.
The album’s opening song, “Openness”, sets the scene perfectly with a huge funky riff, a rasping blues vocal and a lyric about escaping from the past (he’s ‘overdue to be back on track’) and a squalling solo beginning and ending with waves of feedback. There’s a downshift for the second song, “Early Morning Blues”, which shuffles along through some interesting chord runs with a languorous vocal and a clean jazz tone for the solo. You know you’re in the presence of a master, and there’s confirmation when the ‘dust my broom’ reference heralds a blistering slide solo in “Lord Have Mercy” and in the chugging, overdriven riff of “Business Straight”, leading up to a wah wah solo that builds through slow chord runs to single notes flying out in squalls and flurries.
The album’s next three songs develop the lyrical themes of rebirth, redemption and responsibility that permeate the album, particularly the jazzy “Master Plan” with its unpredictable solo and rhythmic switch and walking bass towards the end of the song. The slow ballad “Never Really Left You” demonstrates Henrik’s powerful soul voice and could be addressed to a lover or the audience he gave up for a short time, while the riff-driven “Nobody Else to Blame” talks about ‘falling in love with me’.
“Techno” is a plea to bring back more of the raw edges and imperfections to life, driven along by a massive riff and emphasising the rawness with a clanging, atonal solo and “High Expectations” is a power trio blues about the difficulty of living with a professional musician, while the funky “Today I’m Gonna Change” channels the great Albert Collins with jazzy chords and a cleanly-picked solo. The two slower songs towards the end of the album, “Senses” and the resonator-backed “His Love” suggest that Henrik’s found a meaning or a purpose, whether it’s a god or something else to believe in and give meaning to his life.
Whatever he’s found, it’s working really well for him. “Openness” shows all of Henrik’s versatility as a guitar player, singer and songwriter. Welcome back; we’ve missed you.
“Openness” is out now on Cable Car Records (CCR 0311-47).
Layla Zoe blurs the distinction between rock and blues; although this live workout has shades of quieter emotion too (“The Lily” for example, which brings out the sweetness in Zoe’s voice). The set relies heavily on her most recent work, 2014’s “The Lily” and unfortunately, the Belgian crowd seem unfamiliar with those tracks. However she kicks off with ‘”I’ve Been Down” where she sings ‘… gotta get my act together…’ in what could be a tribute to either Janis Joplin or The Doors (“Been Down So Long”), she then seamlessly slips into forward gear with a 180 degree turn to “Pull Yourself Together”, a vehement musical rant that shows Zoe’s voice to full effect. Another angry highlight is “They Lie”, ‘They’ being the political establishment; if not exactly nailing her colours to a particular mast, Layla and band remind us that there are plenty of reasons to wake up and protest and you can almost hear her long hair whipping the microphone.
The difference between this album and the last is not just its alive quality, but that “The Lily” co-writer and axeman extraordinaire, Henrik Freischlader is absent, instead replaced by Jan Laacks. It would have taken a skilful and confident guitarist to audition for such an intricate set of tunes, but I have to say, if I had doubts previously, Laacks more than manages lead guitar duties, even if he tends toward more straight-ahead rock sensibilities on the whole.
It’s a big listen, clocking in both discs at about the same length as a feature film, and maybe a brave release given its coverage of her most recent album, only a few of older tracks and ending with three covers (Lennon/McCartney’s “Let It Be”, “Yer Blues” and James Brown’s “It’s a Man’s World” with a more relaxed jazz vocal in places; it’s twenty minutes long). But thankfully it’s not a “Greatest Hits: Live” which can so often result in overworked arrangements to stop the band nodding off. “Live” is a great listen but you might want to take it in in halves. As often happens, with live sets, three of the tracks come in at over ten minutes, for which you maybe had to be there. However, this outing on disc certainly makes me hope that she does a dedicated UK tour sometime soon.
It feels like this release is more of a confirmed fan’s date; newcomers should certainly dip into this album, but I’d probably recommend an earlier studio session or to just buy a ticket and get lost in the bluesy world of Layla Zoe.
“Live at Spirit of 66” is out now on Cable Car Records (CCR 0311-46).
It came as a bit of a shock last year when Henrik Freischlader announced that he was undertaking his farewell tour in support of the “Night Train to Budapest” album. To UK fans, the announcement seemed to come out of nowhere but whatever Henrik’s reasons are, you have to respect them and make the most of the fairly substantial legacy that’s already out there. As a parting shot, he’s pulled together some live recordings from the final tour for release as “Night Train to Budapest Farewell Tour – Live 2014” which is released on Cable Car Records on Friday March 27th.
I was quite critical of Henrik’s previous live CD, mainly because it was spread over four CDs and felt a bit unfocussed. “Live 2014” is very different. It comprises ten tracks on one CD and it’s all (apart from a small excerpt) original material. When you’re a supremely gifted player like Henrik, it’s tempting to throw in a cover as a crowd-pleaser but it can be a distraction; there’s none of that here. As you might expect from the title, songs from “Night Train to Budapest” predominate; “A Better Man”, “Everything is Gone”, “Point of View” and “Gimme All You Got” all feature, while there are two each from “Get Closer” (“Too Cool for Me” and “Keep Playin’”) and “The Blues” (“Disappointed Women” and “She Ain’t Got the Blues”) and one from “Recorded by Martin Meinschäfer”, the slow, powerful closer “Desert Love”.
As a closing statement from Henrik, it’s pretty good. The band are excellent throughout, Dirk Sengotta (drums) and Theofilos Fotiadis (bass) providing a solid platform for the melodies and improvisations of Henrik and Moritz Fuhrhop (keyboards). The songs showcase Henrik’s voice (very under-rated, in my opinion) and his guitar mastery across a variety of styles from the straight raucous blues of “She Ain’t Got the Blues” through the funkier “A Better Man” to the slow controlled power of “Desert Love”. He nails the fast stuff, but his mastery of the slow and soulful is complete; there isn’t a modern guitar player I would rather hear playing slow and emotional. Because this is a live set, the emphasis is very much on the playing (which is exceptional) and sometimes the songs and the vocals lose a bit of value. I would have loved to hear something from “House in the Woods”, which was a very strong set of songs. Maybe “Breaking my Heart Again”, a powerful song with a great vocal.
I’m sorry that Henrik has decided the band thing isn’t working for him but it’s good that he’s still involved in Cable Car Records as a musician , writer and producer. If the label continues to release artists as talented as Layla Zoe, Linda Sutti and Tommy Schneller, then he’s still making the world a better place.
“Night Train to Budapest Farewell Tour – Live 2012” is out on March 27th on Cable Car Records (CCR 0311-45).
You have to wonder how Henrik Freischlader spends his spare time, or if he actually has any. Over the last twelve months, he’s released two self-produced studio albums, a four-CD live set and he’s produced albums for singer-songwriter Layla Zoe (“The Lily”) and now this album from saxophonist and singer Tommy Schneller. He also plays guitar drums and bass on “The Lily” and “Cream of the Crop” while providing the music for Tommy Schneller’s lyrics. He’s done a few tours in support of his own albums as well.
Tommy Schneller’s “Cream of the Crop” is a few steps away from Henrik’s own blues/rock material, with a much greater emphasis on influences from the early rock and pre-rock years in the playing and the arrangements, particularly the use of the three-piece horn section. This album feels a little like a Tommy Schneller showcase, demonstrating his instrumental ability as well as a gruff blues voice, both of which work well across the wide range of styles on display. The album is built around some superb arrangements (particularly for the horns) which sound authentic in each of the styles tackled. Henrik Freischlader’s guitar, bass and drums are augmented by Gregory Barrett (organ), Gary Winters (trumpet), Dieter Kuhlmann (trombone) and a cameo appearance by Moritz Fuhrhop (organ) on the opening track.
The album opens and closes with the straightforward slow blues songs, “Hands in the Air” and “You Don’t Seem to Care” which feature the quality of blues playing we’ve come to expect from Henrik. “She’s So Good to Me” and “Super Hero” are both big seventies-style tunes with classic horn arrangements by Gary Winters which wouldn’t sound out of place on any of the early Southside Johnny albums. Sandwiched between these songs is the title track, a swing pastiche with bragging lyrics which don’t really belong in the twenty-first century. “Ain’t No Maybe” and “What Did I Do” push the funk buttons quite effectively but there are three remaining songs which all stand out for different reasons. “Isn’t it New” is a great pop song complete with a perfect sing-along chorus, while the minor key “Your Somebody Else” (and that’s not a punctuation error on my part or Tommy Schneller’s) features some wonderful guitar lines in the style of Albert Collins and a breathy sax solo from Tommy. “Higher and Higher” has a funky, almost seventies disco, feel and a completely mad instrumental section with the horns having great fun ripping through several stlyes and a trucker’s gear change before leading back in to the verse.
There are some great moments on this album and I certainly want see the band live on the strength of this; the musicianship is flawless and it feels like the musicians are having fun. There are a few great moments but I think the album would be better if Tommy Schneller was looking forward rather than back and if the band were doing what they want to do rather than showing what they can do. If you like your songs served up with Hammond and horns, this is definitely worth a listen.
Out now on Cable Car Records (CCR 0311-43).
You certainly can’t accuse Henrik Freischlader of taking time out in 2013. After the release of the superb “House in the Woods” in September 2012, he took his band on tour over the winter to support the album. When that tour finished he went to live in the studio for a few months to produce his four-CD live album, play virtually all the instruments on, and produce Layla Zoe’s album “The Lily”. After that, he went on to record this album, “Night Train to Budapest” which was released in December 2013; he did some shows to promote this album as well. Henrik is self-taught and plays guitar, bass, drums and organ; he also has a great blues/soul voice and writes powerful songs in a second language.
Following the “live band” approach he adopted for his previous studio album, “House in the Woods”, Henrik has reverted to his favoured studio approach with “Night Train to Budapest”, playing all the parts himself with the exception of keyboards which are played by his live collaborator Moritz Fuhrhop. The album begins in the way you would expect, with “Point of View”’s blistering riff and powerhouse solo before shifting through a wide variety of blues-rock stylings and even a ballad, the acoustic-led “Caroline”, which would sound at home on a 70s American west coast album, although it really didn’t need the trucker’s gear change for the last chorus.
There are a few funky blues tunes, “Gimme All you Got” and “A Better Man” (which has more than a touch of Ike and Tina’s “Nutbush City Limits”), the mid-tempo riff-driven “Down the Road”, “Everything is Gone” and “Shame” and the reggae-tingedf “If This Ain’t Love” with its clean chords and over-driven lead guitar.
There are a couple of slow blues songs which demonstrate the control and finesse of Henrik’s vocals and playing. “Thinking About You” is a relationship breakdown song with washes of controlled feedback as the song builds to a climax, while “My Woman” is very slow with a minimal arrangement held together by Moritz Fuhrhop’s Hammond chords, leaving plenty of space to emphasise Henrik’s powerful, clean guitar work. The album closes with the slow, brooding (almost one-chord) menace of “Your Loving was so Good” after just over an hour and eleven very good songs.
It’s a very good album, but that’s what you would expect from a Henrik Freischlader studio effort. His songwriting seems to be taking a more introspective direction over the last two studio albums, with an increased emphasis on loss and loneliness in the lyrics, but it is the blues after all. If you like blues and blues/rock, then I’m pretty certain you’ll like this. If you don’t like those styles, it’s still worth a listen because of the quality of the performances and the songwriting.
Out now on Cable Car Records (CCR 0311-42).
It’s been an exciting year, particularly for live music, so my high 5 features 4 live acts, 2 of which I’ve previously reviewed for Music Riot, apologies for any repetition. Here goes (in no particular order):
Angelique Kidjo Live at the Brighton Festival
Angelique Kidjo has taken over the mantle of Queen of African music, from the late, great Miriam Makeba and with today’s media has probably spread her reach further, having collaborated with dozens of Western bands and musicians. The festival concert at The Dome was the first time I have seen her in an indoor venue and the containment worked very well for the atmosphere. Kidjo criss-crossed between traditional forms and pop styles to great effect singing in four of her fluent languages, with an easy wit and story-telling in English. As well as her extensive back-catalogue, she covered Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child” and Santana among others, but it was Makeba’s “Pata Pata” that got the crowd to their feet and she had them dancing for the rest of the show; everyone left with a smile on their face.
Lucinda Williams Live at the Brighton Festival
Lucinda Williams at the Brighton Dome was a very different proposition, intimate and largely downbeat. She took to the stage with her ballad book from over the years and largely stuck to it. With a backing band of just two, her guitar playing was a feature as well as her husky voice. Although, she somehow managed to avoid playing my favourite tracks I was introduced to others from her catalogue and it was a great show for the festival goers, many of whom were not long-term fans. Those expecting the most recent album ‘Blessed’ were disappointed however as she skipped it completely, this was a festival set, but one that left you with the sense of what a fantastic veteran singer-song writer Lucinda is.
Coco & The Butterfields Live at The Blind Tiger Club
Coco & The Butterfields are a newish delightfully up-beat, festival-ready band of real musicians from Canterbury. They feature a unique blend of instruments including banjo and violin; percussion and drums are played entirely by vocal beat-box. They played a lively and eclectic set, featuring tweaked covers from Dolly Parton and Supertramp to Flo Rida & T-Pain. But it was their set of original material, such as ‘Astronaut’ and ‘Warriors’ that got the locals dancing. The energy was huge for a small band in a small venue with, sadly, a small audience. Let’s hope C&TB reach further in 2014…
Layla Zoe – The Lily
The Lily was the first material I had heard from Canadian Blues trooper Layla Zoe and what an introduction to her 7-album catalogue. This album is a collaboration with Henrik Freischlader, a German multi-instrumentalist and guitar trail-blazer, whose searing blues is the perfect accompaniment to Layla’s original voice. Although it is very positive and reflective blues, an interesting development for the genre, this album is very deeply felt. Tracks include those about ex-lovers and her Father as well as a couple of cover versions. Layla is planning to gig here in the UK in 2014 and I’m planning to see her beautiful blues live then.
Boy George Live at the Concorde 2
Boy George has certainly lived the life, from drug-use to DJ to internment and it shows in his husky voice, which surprised me by sounding stronger live than it sounds on “This Is What I Do”, the new album he was promoting in this compact but versatile venue. He and his band, including brass, played the entirety of that album of country-tinged, low-slung reggae as well as most of the Culture Club hits that made him famous in the 80’s. A very tender version of ‘Victims’ was almost sabotaged by the noisy crowd and I’ve seen George in a better mood, but overall this was a concert offering variety and depth. It was great to see George out from behind the decks and back in the limelight.
OK, so do you want the good news or the bad news? Bad news first, it is. Sorry, but I just don’t think a four-CD live set is a good idea. With a few notable exceptions, I’m not really too bothered about live albums generally. I can understand that if you’re recording all of the shows anyway (and it’s quite easy to do that now), you might want to release some of the material for your fans. I can also understand that, to be authentic, you might want to present a whole show from introduction to encore. You might also want to showcase material from different tours; I just don’t believe that two complete shows spread over four discs is the best way of doing it.
Again, this is only my opinion, but I’m not keen on songs that last for nearly half an hour either. Let’s get all the negativity out of the way now, shall we? As a live act, the Henrk Freischlader Band has a huge dynamic range from pin-drop quietness to jet-engine loudness and you just can’t capture that on CD; try listening to this set on driving on the motorway or the autobahn and there are huge chunks that you just can’t hear. So, it’s fair to say that I’m not keen on the concept, but that certainly doesn’t mean that it’s all bad news; after all, this is Henrik Freischlader.
Throughout the set, the musicianship is exceptional and that’s not just Henrik; Björn Krüger and Theofilos Fotiadis are a rock-solid rhythm section, while Moritz Fuhrhop’s Hammond adds another powerful solo instrument to the mix. It’s great to hear musicians improvising creatively, but the songs which work best here are the ones where the improvisations and extensions are kept to a minimum. The opening tracks “The Blues” and “Still Frame Replay” work well and the selections from the “House in the Woods”, particularly “1999”, House in the Woods” and “Breaking my Heart Again” all sound great in a live setting. There’s also a good selection of covers from Peter Green’s “I Loved Another Woman” to the Beatles’ “Come Together” via the almost inevitable Hendrix of “Crosstown Traffic” and “Foxy Lady”.
For committed fans of Henrik Freischlader, this will be an essential album; there are plenty of powerful performances here and some very good songs. If you’ve seen the band live, you’ll know that Henrik is a very gifted player and has a superb raw, soulful blues/rock voice and this set captures those qualities perfectly. For the uncommitted, however, it might suffer from “Sandinista” syndrome; the infamous Clash triple album could have been a magnificent single album. If this set was edited down to a third of its current length it would make a superb memento of a Henrik Freischlader live set.
If you want to hear Henrik at his best check out “House in the Woods” (reviewed on MusicRiot) released earlier his year, go out and see him live or have a listen to the wonderful new Layla Zoe album “The Lily” which Henrik produced as well as playing guitar, bass and drums parts. I’m already looking forward to his next studio album.
Out now on Cable Car Records (CCR 0311-40).
For the uninitiated, Layla Zoe is an accomplished Canadian singer-songwriter who has conquered much of Europe with her unique take on the blues. But there is none of the ‘poor me’ blues here, the writing is both spiritual and positive –even when dealing with ‘bad love’; “But I’ve learned all I could from the drugs and from the booze/ Now I’m learning to love myself with a new way to sing my blues” (“I Choose You”). Zoe opens with an a cappella version of “Glory, Glory Hallelujah” and this sets the tone, if not the content, to “The Lily”. She was raised on her father’s diverse record collection and first took to the stage at only fourteen. Since then Layla has been widely praised for her emotional performances that have been likened to Janis Joplin, although her voice is not so raw.
She has even gained praise from Jeff Healey after working his club in Toronto: “All the compliments, comments and credos going around the city about her are not unfounded. She is wonderful.” Clearly though, she has become more than merely a local phenomenon. This, her seventh album sees her team up very successfully with German guitar hero and multi-instrumentalist Henrik Freischlader, who also plays drums and bass and takes production credit. The songs are co-written with Layla providing the lyrics and Freischlader, the music, with the exception of the traditional gospel of the opener and Neil Young’s ‘Hey, Hey, My, My’ –a song she fills with the rock ‘n’ roll verve it requires .
There is range and variety with this album; she can soar, she can swoop, essential qualities of a blues singer, but there is real soul here too whether she is chasing down the beautifully sculpted guitar or balladeering. Every song here has something to offer whether it’s the writing, instrumental, vocal or delivery and more often than not all of these which amounts to quite a high hit rate. My personal favourite, “Gemini Heart” is a slow burning blues about her own Gemini heart and that of a sometime lover; Layla is a strong believer in astrology and although the track is about a rather one-sided love she affirms “Cause I’m just a strong, sensitive, strong, kind of woman/ Just a Gemini heart.” Another slower-tempo track, ‘Father’ gives free reign to Henrik’s lead guitar, mirroring the bitter-sweet pain of the love of her father. Her writing is strong and she has even written a self-published book of poems “Diary of a Firegirl”, proof, were it needed, that her lyrics can also stand alone. Most of the tracks weigh in at well over five minutes but that’s just how long the songs are, not because of ambling, self-indulgent production, and it helps you to feel that you are getting good value. “The Lily” is certainly not an ear-busting listen.
Although she is yet to play live in the UK, Layla Zoe said she hopes to come next year as a guest of Freischlader, where I’m sure both will receive a warm welcome but you can catch her on tour in Europe throughout September and October this year at various venues and festivals. Layla says this is the album she is the most proud of and I’m certain it will garner both critical and popular acclaim, it’s certainly on my list for album of the year.
Out August 30 on Cable Car Records.
