CD Review
Sky High
Freedom
2002 Grooveyard Records #GYR007
by Robert T. Murphy
Review date: July 2004
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This CD is another release from Groove Yard Records which highlights rockin blues guitar. This particular item is from Sweden and contains sixteen (sixteen....count them!!!) tracks of high energy blues/rock music in the tradition of Hendrix, and a ton of heavy blues players from Texas. I have to admit up front that I love guitar based blues music and the more guitar the better, so this release scores high on that point alone. Clas Yngstrom has been putting out records in Sweden for over 17 years and knows his way around the fretboard of his guitar. He has the blues/rock genre pretty much nailed on this CD. Sweden has some really great players who are never heard of in the USA. With the current state of musicianship on the radio today, this CD is a breath of fresh air. This release has strong elments of Texas blues, Hendrix inspired rhythms and lots of great solo guitar work. All but two of the tracks are self penned by Yngstrom with the title track, Hendrix's 'Freedom' and Dylan's 'All Along The Watchtower' as the only exceptions. According to the liner notes, this CD was recorded "live' in the studio. It certainly has a great vibe to it.
'Back To The Start' opens with a strong Texas shuffle, ala SRV's Pride & Joy. Hendrix inspired guitar work is all over this song. 'Boogie For Peace' leans towards a more rocking sound with a boogie beat. Hendrix's 'Freedom' is a fairly straight forward cover of the original with solid production. 'Jimi' is a song dedicated to Hendrix and contains many of his stylelistic trademark sounds. I would call it a little bit of several songs including 'Little Wing', 'Angel', with wailing lead guitar interfacing with the vocals. 'Bluestown' is a slower song, telling the story of a town that died when the factory shut down. Again this song has some great guitar lead in it. 'Blues For The Green'is a slow, almost 'Texas Flood' type speed, but with a flowing guitar line backing the song, and a great clean guitar break in the middle of this song. This would be a great bar song. 'I'm Still Rockin' has a total rock vibe to it, reminding me a bit of Ted Nugent or similar artists. The first solo is a bit strange changing beat before returning to rock form. 'You Can't Breat Me' stays in solid blues rock territory with a driving bass beat and rock rhythm. 'Evil Eye' leans towards Z.Z.Top territory with a slower boogie beat. It's back to slow blues with 'Money Blues', which works the tried and true formula while adding a more interesting vocal to the formula. 'I want You' mines a John Lee Hooker beat before going into an onslaught of blues/rock guitar. 'All Along The Watchtower' contains a lot of the familiar themes, and is a solid cover song. It's not a bad version by any means, it's just that the other songs seem to have more energy. I'm sure that in a live setting, the audience would be going nuts over this song.
Bottom Line: The musicianship is excellent throughout this CD with a solid blues/rock vibe. The vocals are good and work very well in this context. If you like the Hendrix influenced instrumental music, Chris Duarte, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and other purveyers of Texas blues, you should like this release. It's a keeper.... I give it a solid three out of four stars.
If you like heavy guitar music, check out the releases available at Groove Yard Records at the web site listed below. They have a good variety of great blues/rock CD's by some great players.
Clas Yngstrom - guitar & Vocals
Ar4ne Blomqvist - bass
Mats Ostensson - drums
Guests:
Thomas Larsson - guitar on 'Bluestown' & 'I Ain't Beggin'
Web sites:
www.skyhighblues.com
www.grooveyardrecords.com
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Copyright © 2004 Ray M. Stiles & Blues On Stage All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author. Blues On Stage is a ® Trademark of Ray Stiles.
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