Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
To be called prolific is normally reserved by those who are unsure on how to best describe the mountain of extraordinary work put in by an artist, the writer, the musician who keeps the style intact across volumes of their own imagination, their own fierce stamp on the world, for to be called prolific is both a sense of admiration, and a side swipe, what would be a finer and more desirable term is high volume creativity, or in the case of Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado, inexhaustible excellence.
It has always been abundantly clear that the band pierce the sides of the ineffective that stands in their way and seek the most electric and positive direction in which to enthral the listener, to draw them into the world of the mutually beneficial and worthy movements that music can provide.
In the band’s eighth studio album, Navigation Blues, that direction is is once more signposted clearly and with abundantly valuable precision, this is not a haphazard mile marker on the road to somewhere indiscriminate, this is an accurate and concise map drawn by the greatest of cartographers.
The pleasure of hearing new Blues and Roots standards is always an appealing one, but as tracks such as Watch The Sun Go Down, The Way You Make Me Feel, Taking The Good With The Bad, Something To Hold Onto, the finale of Headed For The Stars, and the album title track of Navigation Blues, the majesty of Denmark’s Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado takes on the spirit of the long distance runner who has found not only a rhythm that makes others envious, but the grace in which to cajole and inspire others to find the best route, to navigate the full distance.
High volume creativity, inexhaustible excellence, the choice of praise is up to the listener, for there is no end to the deliciousness of the music on offer, and for all the Blues in the world, to be navigated by real stars is always a delightful way to enjoy the musical scenery.
Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado will release Navigation Blues on September 30th.
Ian D. Hall