Regular readers of the blog will know that I am not that big on blues. Infuse that with rock, and it gets another story. Especially when the guitar player loves Jimi Hendrix and has a great tone in his finger to show it. And reading through the press sheet, I understand why; as it turns out, mister Granfelt is one busy dude and has already released 15 solo albums before this, played with Wishbone Ash and Leningrad Cowboys to name a few, and thus has been making his living from music for over 30 years!
And now onto the songs. There are 10 on the album, clocking in at a good 40 minutes. First song Weight Of The World already shows that strat tone that reminds me of Hendrix. And somehow it also reminds a bit of Toto’s Steve Lukather. Very good moody soloing too. On This Is Love (PJ Harvey) his wife Jasmine takes over on lead vocals and does that very adequate. They share vocals on Fuel To Burn, and that works great as well. The title track is blessed with more great playing and melodies that lift the song up. A Better Place is another gem with great riffs and an upbeat energy that is hard to resist. And on My Heroine the lead vocals are handled by Bryn Jones, whose smokey tones add nicely to the mood.
So even when some tracks are deep into the blues, the overall sound and energy and especially the great playing makes me enjoy this very much. A damn fine album in the genre!
