Thorbjørn
Risager was an unfamiliar name to me prior to hearing his spectacular
new album, Too Many Roads, recorded
with his band, the Black Tornado.But
I can tell you this much, I will remember his name from now on.This eighth release from Risager, is a
sheer delight and is sure to be a reckoning force on the blues scene this year.In a nutshell, it’s twelve well-crafted songs
delivered via a tight group of musicians operating together like a well-oiled
machine.
Risager
grabs the listener and pulls them in on the first few bars of the lead song, ‘If
You Wanna Leave”, with gritty guitar riffs, reminiscent of GeorgeThorogood
, Eric Clapton-like vocals and soulful hornaccompaniment.
Title track, “Too Many Roads”, follow.I
feel like I’ve been dropped on the corner of the Crossroads in Mississippi when
I hear this song about making the right choices.The way it oozes that endearing swampy sound…
it doesn’t get much better than this.
I love the way Risager’s strong gravelly vocals
rides atop the killer guitar riffs in “High Rollers”, all with the attitude and
energy of the Rolling Stones.This
track, about taking a chance in the game of love, makes me wants to break out the
air guitar and play along.
The beautifully remade “China Gate”, from the 1957
film, takes the listener to a quieter and more solitude spade.Pouring emotion into every note sung and
played, Risager and the Black Tornado make this exceptional song stand-out.
With a touring schedule that consists of 80 – 100 shows
a year, all that’s left to do is cross our fingers and wait for a U.S. leg of
the tour.
2014 - Luke Tuchscherer
& The Little Red Recording Company
By Phillip Smith;
June 7, 2014
Alt-rock
drummer Luke Tuchscherer of the Whybirds, has ventured out with a
little help from his friends, to record a dozen wonderfully written and
beautifully performed treasures on his debut album, You Get So Alone at Times That it Just Makes Sense.Its title so aptly named after a book of
poetry by Charles Bukowski, the album
consists of extraordinary songs about ordinary people with ordinary thoughts
and problems, performed in an alt-country, rootsy story-teller fashion.
Tom Peters keeps a steady bass drum
beat running in the background, while Chris
Corney tackles dobro and banjo, accompanying Tuchscherer who plays acoustic guitar on opening track “(Lord
Knows) I’m a Bad Man” about infidelity and maneuvering around the guilt-filled
baggage tagging along. I love the thick swampy sound the dobro and banjo bring
to the song.This one is definitely one
of my favorites.
Tuchscherer shows off his song-writing
chops on “One of Us” as fellow Whybird,
Dave Banks joins in with both mandolin
and banjo. Tom Petty’s “Mary Jane’s Last Dance”, comes to mind when I hear
this poppy bluegrass tune that tells the despairing tale of an innocent youth
from a broken home and the twists and turns which will lead him to a gangster’s
life of crime.
I
love the ironic way Tuchscherer can set
lyrics seemingly delivered by a henpecked, sad sack drunk directed at his nagging
fishwife, to such a pretty melody. This
song of self-awareness, pent up feelings and unconditional love, “I Don’t Need
You to Tell Me” features Edwin Ireland
on cello and Zoë Robertson on both
violin and viola.
Tuchscherer walks a fine line between alt
country and coffee-house rock. I hear a
lot of influence from The Traveling
Wilburys, as Tuchscherer sports the
songwriting skills of Bob Dylan and Tom Petty, and possesses a voice that is
somewhat of a cross between Roy Orbinson
and Jeff Lynne. With credentials
like that, you can’t go wrong.
