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BLUESMOVE
BEAT 'N' TRAK REVIEW -
BLUES NEWS MAGAZIN GERMANY - Nr. 34 Juli-Sept 2003
Die Trommel setzt sofort ein: Für
den Bruchteil einer Sekunde stehen die Schlagzeug-Töne allein
im Raum, ehe sich einvorwärtsschiebender Bass-Groove hinzugesellt.
Darüber lagert sich ein eingängiges Gitarrenriff und
die Hammondorgel quitscht im Hintergrund.
Die Füße, hypnotisiert vom Basslauf, fangen unwillkürlich
an, im Takt zu wippen. Der Kopf senkt und hebt sich fast unmerklich.
In den Augen zeichnet sich pure Freude ab. Und am Ende hat der
treibende Shuffle "If Love Was A Train" den ganzen Körper
erfasst. Ein gelungenerAuftakt. Beim zweiten Stück "Get
Out Of Jail" nimmt BluesMove das Tempo ein wenig zurück.
Und in den folgenden 48 Minuten dehnen die vier Engländer
aus Leicester das Zeitmaß an einigen Stellen noch weiter.
Sie drehen mit Genuss und Wissen am Geschwindigkeitsregler. Und
noch viel wichtiger: Blues Move variiert das Blues-Motiv. Die
Künstler unterfüttern es mit Rock'n'Roll, Rock und Artverwandtem.
Dadurch entkommen sie der Langeweile-Falle, in die viele andere
Bluesmusiker tappen. Diese Kunst haben Julian Grudgings, Michael
Hellier und Graham Lacey als Sidemen von Mick Pini perfektioniert.
Bevor der Gitarrist 1997 seinen Lebensmittelpunkt nach Deutschland
verlegte, knüpften sie den Rhythmus-Teppich, auf dem Mick
Pini sich austoben konnte.
Jetzt steht dort jemand anders: Howard Smith, ehemals Kopf von
The Razors. Er ist wie Mick Pini kein Selbstdarsteller, sondern
stellt sich in den Dienst der Band. Davon profitieren die zehn
teilweise selbst komponierten Lieder. Und vielleicht ist dies
auch der Hauptgrund, warum "Beat'n'Trak" vom ersten
Schlagzeug-Ton an überzeugt.
Ralf Baur
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BLUESMOVE
BEAT 'N' TRAK REVIEW
This is truly blues with an edge. No lazy "going through
the motions" playing - everybody is on their toes, very much
connected to each other. Tremendous interplay, very live feeling,
lots of closeness in the sound: these guys are playing up a storm
in your living room! Five originals, five 'covers'. First out
is "If Love Was A Train" by Michelle Shocked (not yer
average 12bar blues purveyor! Full points for that!), a fast'n'furious
"take no prisoners" shuffle. Followed by "Get Out
Of Jail" with a good-timey intro, tinkling piano, sliding
guitar. A jerky New Orleans rhythm changing gear into a glorious
free-for-all. "Diplomat" is a funky workout with wahwah
guitar: Ben Sidran meets Jimi Hendrix. "Slow Train"
opens up with a solitary slide guitar figure, becoming the backbone
of this little masterpiece. A bit Dylan-ish, not only in the song
title. Beautiful tone in that ringing guitar. "Remington
Ride" makes you hum along, tapping your feet. Good set opener/closer
I'm sure. Strict playing at first, then the wahwah goes pedal
to the metal. "Rhythm Of Life" has a playful rhythm,
wahwah guitar again, tinkling piano, great chord sequence and
a nice series of false endings. "Brand New Friend" gives
you a beautiful twangin' guitar across the prairie land. Wistful
piano, impassioned guitar. "T-Bone Shuffle" is well
executed. A blues bar standard in my neighbourhood: perhaps that
song is a bit worn as CD material. "She's A Burglar"
has a great guitar intro, lots of Hammond power, funky bass and
drums and a finely developed guitar solo. "Good Thing Is
About To Run Out" (yes, it's the closing track!) has good
dynamics: a menacing atmosphere, tremolo bar & wahwah guitar
and hell-for-leather playing. Stand back! Good solid vocals all
over the place - but I was so stunned by the sheer musicianship
that I missed to pen that obvious fact down! An amazing album
this one which (like Hershey's new one) should not be kept a secret
on the blues shelves. And the live feeling of this CD spells out
forcefully that they must be even more overpowering on stage than
in my living room! Do not miss out!
Christer, June 18 2001 (from Fridhammer.com)
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BEAT'
N' TRAK REVIEW by Chris Simmonds for Blues Matters Magazine
It has to be said that the 5 track CD which
BlueMove were touting around last year didn't really do the band
justice. Having said that, it was just a demo. Here, on their
first full length outing, they are captured in full flight with
a 50:50 split of band originals and covers, and it's a stormer.They
kick off with Michelle Shocked's "If Love Was a Train",
and it's Howard Smith who shines on guitar. On the band's own
"Get out of Jail", Julian Grudgings leads the line on
a keyboard riff that's straight out of the Little Feat catalogue.
It's a great swinging tune underpinned by Mike Hellier and Graham
Lacey who, it has to be said, are among the tightest rhythm sections
around. Julian becomes Bill Payne as they motor to the finish
line. Next up are two of Howard's songs, "Diplomat"
and "Slow Train", both of which appeared on last year's
demo but have been revamped. "Remington Ride" is an
instrumental shuffle, with Mike jollying it along as Howard goes
wah-wah crazy."Rhythm of Life" sees the band heading
into Steely Dan territory before Howard unleashes an emotional
performance on "Brand New Friend". As the title suggests,
"T-Bone Shuffle" is ahem... a shuffle. A British band
playing two shuffles on one album? Unheard of. But then, very
few British drummers can play a decent shuffle. Mike Hellier could
play one in his sleep. Again Howard plays a blistering solo over
some rollicking good boogie woogie piano and crisp rhythm. "She's
a Burglar" has some lovely Hammond playing and builds up
nicely, even if it does have j*zz timings and leanings! The albums'
closing track is very apt - "Good Thing is About to Run Out".
But then you just press Start and you get it all over again. It's
not a difficult decision to make.The band sound like they had
fun making the music. I have fun listening to it. It sounds fresh.
What more could you want?Catch them on tour in Scotland in July.
Stop them and buy one. You know it makes sense.
Chris Simmonds
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