Two for the Road finds Tim Lothar and Peter Nande, two of Denmark’s finest roots music artists, traveling back in time to capture the essence of pre-WWII American acoustic country blues.
This is foot-stompin’, front porch stuff, featuring nine original tunes and three tasty covers that showcase each man’s gift for capturing the currency of a vintage musical style.
Two for the Road finds Lothar and Nande wielding primal tools of the trade – the human voice, guitar, harmonica, washtub bass, and feet, made for stomping – to craft music that is true to another time and place, but also true to human experiences that are timeless.
Listen to the elegant “Poor Boy,” for example, and you can almost hear the crunch of worn, leather-soled shoes, walking step by step over gravel roads, almost taste the dust and feel the relentless sun on the back of your neck.
Hear the restless mix of hope and regret in “Done Left You” – regret and lament in the lyrics, hope in the prospect of a new start – set to an infectious Bo Diddley groove. Hear the anticipation in the hard-driving “Slow Train,” as a man awaits his lover’s return: “There’ll be no more blues, no more feeling sad, I feel so good, my girl is coming back...”
It makes sense that this would work: Guitarist/vocalist Tim Lothar was named Blues Artist of the Year at the Copenhagen Blues Festival in 2008. Harmonica player/vocalist Nande had won the same award in 2007. Lothar has years of experience as a drummer, currently drumming in Nande’s band. He brings a rhythmic constancy on guitar, drums, foot-stomping and percussion that is essential to a successful acoustic duo. Nande’s harp work, influenced by the likes of Sonny Boy Williamson (Rice Miller), “Little Walter” Jacobs, “Big Walter” Horton and others, is resplendent in this acoustic milieu. Listen to his tasteful, slinky lines on “Rough Ride” and on James Harman’s “You Got To Choose.” Impeccable.
California-based producer and blues artist James Harman, in fact, is the producer of this recording, as he was on Nande’s band releases Big Boy Boogie: California Sessions Vol. I (2006) and Jelly Bean Baby: California Sessions Vol. II (2008). Drawing on a career that began in 1962, Harman knows what to do and what not to do to create a great blues recording with an authentic vibe, and brings out the best in artists he produces. On Two for the Road, he’s done it again. He also co-wrote two of the songs here, and sings on three, including the irresistible “Pa-tainin’ ta’ jook-jernts,” in which he recreates a set of drunken directions he received from a fellow standing on a Mississippi roadside, circa 1967.
Harman wouldn’t invest his time in artists or in a project that he didn’t believe in. “I’ve seen several really good sit-down retro blues duos lately in a dozen countries myself,” he writes in the CD liner notes, “but I think our boys here really have somethin’ special goin’ on.” Indeed.
Rate This CD!
Review or comment on this CD!
Comments page 0 of 0
Click here to add a comment
There are currently 0 comments to display.
<>
01. Slow Train
02. Can't Get That Stuff No More
03. Ain't Too Old
04. Baby Blue
05. Late Again
06. You Got To Choose
07. Done Left You
08. Rough Ride
09. Still On Hold
10. Poor Boy
11. Confessions
12. Pa-ta-nin' Ta' Jook-jernts
>> Play CD >>
CD PRICE - UK £9.99 In Stock - Buy Now!
Low-price Worldwide delivery
We can ship your CDs without cases to save you
even more money on postage. You can choose this option when you check-out: delivery prices
home | view basket | help | contact us | sell your CD | myspace
