The Fried Okra Band (DENMARK)
This Is Your Chance, France Baby!
©Gateway Music 2007
Morten Lunn : Vocals, guitar
Thomas Fodberg : Guitars, harp
Thomas Crawfurd : Drums
Kaare Joensen : Bass
Soeren Boejgaard : Bass
Well, Well, Well...
The blues of North Mississippi are surely the foundation of This is Your Chance, France Baby but the members of The Fried Okra Band are just as sure Copenhagen-born and raised. Yet the first album from the danish band consists of twelve tracks which salutes the Blues style that has sprung from the Hill Country in North Mississippi.
The album presents very personal interpretations of songs by such artist as R.L. Burnside and Robert Belfour among others. The band follows the line of one- or two chord songs played raw and with as much energy as possible. On top of that producer Jarno Varsted hasn'´t been afraid of adding a sampling, odd organs or just a weird noise here and there. And that's the point! The Fried Okra Band admires and respect the american artists but believes it is in their spirit to add a personal touch. The sound of the entire record is therefore raw and electric recorded partly live and partly in the studio.
A few times on the record the band moves down from the North Missisippi hills and into some swampy blues. This happens on the Tom Waits penned Get Behind the Mule and High Fever by Corey Harris The latter is sung by guest singer, guitarist and piano player Troels Jensen. In 2006 this "grand old man" of Danish Blues released his own album Cheap, Fast and Dirty made in the USA together with Kenny Brown - the long time guitarist of R.L. Burnside. (Later in 2007 The Fried Okra Band will play a gig with Kenny Brown in Copenhagen)
Some would call this record Nu-Blues or alternative Blues, others just Blues in some form -– we don´t know, but as Mr. Burnside put it: Blues ain´t nothing but dance music!!
Review or comment on this CD!
|
