Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
The art of the story-teller is never lost, no matter what genre of music they decide to put their words too and no matter what way they choose to express their thought; there is always something that elevates their opinions, their desires or their own particular truth above the meaningless and the lyrically destitute that really on the overbearing rather than the message to carry their thoughts across.
Danish Blues superstar Ole Frimer has no such qualms about the communication that he urges his words and the guitar to convey to the listener. His words may seem to carry the Blues standard with a grin and the soaring ambition of a man with much to say and put across but captured for all to hear in Live at Blues Baltica. The music sways like a dusky maiden wrapped in silk in the heat of the desert sun, the significance of beauty and Time wrapped in the same statement of intent all too clear and blistering to the touch.
For the Ole Frimer Band, the night in Eutin as part of the Blues Baltica Festival is one that really frames the music and the group, comprising of Ole Frimer, Palle Hjorth, Jesper Bylling and Claus Daugaard, as being a vanguard of the modern Blues staple which is highly appreciated and without the need for selfish and self serving apologies thrown into the mix.
The live album combines the unique feel of the band’s own illustrious work and the lively readings of classics such as the fabulous rendition of Johnny Winter’s Hustled Down In Texas, it is a heady mix that is gratifying and utterly compelling. Tracks such as I Can’t Keep Myself From Crying Sometimes, the truth that lays blindfolded and alone in Workin’ Too Much, the excellent cover of Hob Wilson’s Black Cat Bone and Sheltered Roads make this particular live C.D. something of a treasure trove to guard with all your might lest it escapes like a butterfly headed to the Sun, the feeling never to be re-captured in the same way again.
Live at Blues Baltica is an absolute must for any lover of The Blues, a rip roaring foray into the mind of one of Europe’s greats.
Ian D. Hall