By Monk
I must admit that, despite being possibly the most blues-oriented member of the ÜR team, the name Henrik Freischlader had more or less passed me by until now, when this CD – a follow-up to an album recorded back in 2009 with the producer name-checked in the title – arrived as part of a double package from the man himself, complete with a thoughtfully messaged postcard, which got me thinking than I must have some more of his stuff buried deep in the HQ’s archive, as a similar item is propped up on one of my CD-burdened shelves… But, with a mental note that I must go hunting for any criminally overlooked previous submissions, for the moment I’ll turn my attention to this newest offering.
It’s personal touches such as this which always encourage hardened old hacks such as myself to actually take the effort to listen to such a submission, and on this occasion it is a touch which reaps huge rewards for the artist concerned, as further exploration of its grooves is equally rewarding for the listener.
In terms of guitar sound, there are references aplenty, from BB King to Carlos Santana, Gary Moore to Jeff Healy, Robert Cray to Eric Clapton, as Freischlader explores the mellower, more lyrical side of the blues rather than the more rock-oriented stylings which have dominated the genre in recent years. That’s not to say that Herr Freischlader cannot rip up the fretboard with abandon, as he more than ably proves he can do so on the likes of ‘Aware Of Things’ and ‘Hall Of Shame’, which features the sort of solo that just drips sulphuric acid off the strings; but, by and large, this is one of those “lazy blues” albums, one which evokes a feeling of comfort and ease
Vocally, Freischlader’s style matches that of his guitar playing perfectly, smooth and laconic in equal measures, with some deeper intonations accentuating the fluidity of his picking, especially on the likes of ‘I Wanna Go’ and the acidic, reggae-tinged ‘Wasting Our Time’, on which his sense of despair flows effortlessly from both his instruments.
My personal highlight track is ‘The Question’, purely and simply for its Gary Moore-evoking intro, with the guitar soaring over an all-too-brief organ riff, before the whole thing kicks back into a beautiful symphony of laconic sonics, emphasized by the series of beautiful solos.
I’m definitely going to be raiding both the ÜRHQ archives and piggybank to dig out more from this immensely talented and impressive artist. A true revelation of an album, and one which is going to be proudly sitting very close to the top of my “22 Of 22” list in just a few short weeks’ time.
- ‘Recorded By Martin Meinschafer II’ is out now. You can get your copy HERE.
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