Lars Haavard Haugen - The Truth and Six Strings - the interview on the album

"You know, Tony, that's it. We spend all those years playing, to finally be ourselves."

And so it is, was, and always shall be. The humble words of any great musician who has accomplished the ages old task of discovering, learning, and mastering their trade to becoming not what, but who they are. There are no shortcuts to musical greatness, and Lars Haavard Haugen has taken all the steps necessary, and has achieved said greatness. This is reflected in his many years, and records with Norway's Hellbillies, and never more so than on his first solo outing, Six Strings and The Truth.

You most likely do not yet know Lars, or his work if you are an American reader. If you're reading this in Norway, you've probably been enjoying Haugen's work since the early nineties. On January 31st, Six Strings and The Truth will be released by EMI Norway, and hopefully available to American listeners via iTunes. Here is the official video of Landscapes, the album's first single:

I spoke with Lars yesterday at some length about a great many topics, but we started with his new record.

Lars Haavard Haugen, "I have been thinking about this for many years, to record a solo guitar record. I worked on my writing and playing for a long time, and finally felt that it was time. I began recording this in January of 2007, and worked on it between tours, records, and my other work as a producer and session player."

It was a little surprising to hear that the record was tracked over a three year period, as it sounds so coherent, and spontaneous that it could have been tracked in a month. While the range of styles and technical skills involved are tremendous, the record is an amazingly easy and enjoyable listen. Haugen had this to say about the process:

"That is probably due to the fact that we recorded it in my studio, using basically the same equipment throughout, the same rhythm section, and mostly the great engineering of my partner at the studio, Lars ( he laughs, and doesn't give a last name, and I forget to ask). Lars handles all the technical end so as that I can focus on writing, and playing the guitar.

"We cut the record mostly live, though I did on several tracks record the guitar separately, mostly to utilize our large room, and play very loudly, utilizing various microphones and techniques. Sometimes, on tracks such as The Drone, I played in the control room, and recorded the amps in our room to capture a huge sound."

One listen to The Drone and you will instantly hear what Haugen is saying. Utilizing a Jerry Jones twin necked 6 string/baritone, the opening of this tune is as big a sound as I've ever heard captured, as if Haugen had channeled John Entwistle's huge bass tone, and combined it with his own unique guitar voice that evokes everything from Brett Mason to Jimmy Page, but always manages to sound like Lars. The man has his own unique presence, quite apart from his influences.

"Back in the seventies, my brother returned home from studying in America, and he brought with him many American albums. I was taken by the Dixie Dregs. They greatly influenced my playing (I was in my teens at the time), and the way they changed directions within tunes really stuck with me. I have tried to incorporate that into my work. I like to keep things interesting for myself, and the listeners."

Haugen also mentioned Albert Lee, Brett Mason, and some other seminal pickers as early influences. Certainly their influence made an impression on not just Haugen's playing but also on Lars' guitar choices:

"I recorded a great deal of the album with my Tom Anderson Hollow-T. I really like its big, full tone, but it still retains great Tele tones."

For those unfamiliar with the Tom Anderson Guitar Works magic, here's a few words from the maker:

"To be able to consistently deliver this mystical tone, Tom Anderson Guitarworks created the Hollow T Classic. The hollow chambered body nurtures a healthy fullness without giving up the twang factor. In their July 1993 issue, Guitar Player Magazine conducted a monumental guitar test. They called it “Tele Visions.” The banner on the cover of the magazine read “Shootout! 32 Telecasters & Tele Copies Rated.” They compared 32 “Tele”-style guitars from all different manufacturers. The winner was the Tom Anderson, Hollow T Classic. They concluded their write up of the Hollow T Classic by stating, “In our humble estimation, it just doesn't get any better than this”—very nice of them to say so," Tom Anderson Guitar Works.

Haugen adds, "I also used my PRS David Grissom model which I enjoy playing a great deal, a Collings L-35 that I used on parts of The Drone, and the Jerry Jones double neck with the baritone neck on the bottom, and six string on top."

I commented on the tremendous, dulcet tones on the re-recording of an earlier Hellbillies title track, Urban Twang, asking Lars which guitar he used for the lovely Bigsby sounding trem work. He looked at me with some surprise and laughed quite heartily. Then he spoke:

"Ha, there is no tremolo bar on the album at all! All the bends are just bends as I played them," He said with a rather large grin, "I am a big fan of Albert Lee, and especially of Jerry Donahue, do you know of him?"

Then it was my turn to laugh. Jerry Donahue pops into my life from time to time, I have worked with Jerry on several occasions, and he is a dear friend of my editor, and of course, I have enjoyed his playing since his days with Fotheringay, and Fairport Convention. If I'm not mistaken, I think I also consulted on some early beta testing of the Whirlwind JD-1 preamp pedal that Donahue designed.

Lars continues, "All of the notes are my bendings. I love pedal steel, which I play some, and have always sought to emulate, and integrate pedal steel bends into my regular guitar work. It adds to the expression."

Urban Twang (Slight Return), is destined to become this year's big guitar instrumental track. Classic in the same sense as Cliff's of Dover, Surfing With The Alien, and dare I say, the Santos and Johnny classic, Sleep Walk. Yes, it is that good. Its melody, poignant, and heartfelt will remain with you - expect to be humming its refrain for some time.

I first became familiar with Lars through his relationship with 65 Amps.  He had attended an amp unveiling party just prior to NAMM ( a few months, actually), and their attention towards him garnered my interest. I asked him about how he discovered 65 Amps:

Lars, "I was introduced to 65 Amps by their Norwegian dealer, VINTAGE GITAR. I believe I bought the first of their amps in all of Europe, a Marquis model (no longer in production). It was simply the best amp I had heard. I have owned and played many amps, Dr Z, Matchless, Big Cat, and they are all great amplifiers, Tony, but the 65s, they just have something extra, that smack. It's hard to explain, but it sounds the best, just brilliant.

"Then, I came to America with this dealer, and I had the opportunity to go to the NAMM show, where I met Dan Boul, Peter Stroud, and Myles Rose, all very great guys. So, for a long time I was using the Marquis, and the Royal Albert as my main stage amps, always in tandem. They offer very different sounds that when combined make a huge tone.

"But now, I have changed my live rig over to a Monterey 22 watt model, and a Tupelo 20 watt. This is to reduce my stage volume which had become just too loud. The Monterey is very warm, and has great bottom, and the Tupelo is brighter. I have had to adjust to having less headroom due to the lower wattage, but they sound fantastic together."

 I asked Lars if he used the 65 Amps Monterey on one setting, or employed its channel switching capabilities?

Haugen says, "No, I use the channel switching. Unusual, because this is difficult for many amplifiers, but with 65s it works very well. They sound great."

Actually, 65 Amps don't employ conventional channel switching, but rather they employ their unique proprietary Bump technology - from 65 Amps website:

"The Monterey is designed with the purpose of delivering classic American amp tones with a greatly enhanced vocabulary that extends across the Atlantic to Britain. The Monterey can go from classic warm and hot American tones to a wide palette of modern, rich boutique distortions at the flip of a switch.

"All of this is done without the normal sacrifices that one associates with classic American amps. The bass response stays tight and composed throughout the tonal spectrum of the amp. Distortion is robust, complex and unhampered by the normal shortcomings of traditional circuits. This means: no flabby low-end, no shrill top-end; a pleasant, detailed rendition of your favorite 6V6 vocabulary with many new voices, American and British, added.

"The Monterey employs our trademarked Bump™ control. The Bump™ control is a much more effective alternative to traditional channel switching. The Bump™ allows the user to both gain-up and re-slope the amp's tone stack allowing much more midrange to flow through the circuit; thereby gaining up the entire amp naturally and not inducing false preamp gain that creates fizz and buzz. The end result is the effect of having two amps in one."

Lars goes on to talk about his equipment, "I always use my Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive, the green Line 6 delay pedal (DL-4), two compressors - a Keeley Classic Compressor that I use for single coil guitars, and a Diamond Compressor for humbuckers. The compression is always in line, I use it almost always. Compression for me removes the harshness, and smooths out my tone, while giving some extra push. Thank you for noticing it, it is a big part of my sound!

"I used an Empress Tremolo pedal on the track Closing Time, I like its sound, and it has a tap feature that I really like having available to me to use whenever I like!"

Haugen plans on playing some festivals, and shows around Europe throughout 2011 to promote Six Strings and The Truth before he reconvenes with his regular band of the last few decades, Hellbillies, a Grammy winning act in their home country of Norway.

Hopefully, Six Strings and The Truth will awaken American audiences to the talents of Lars Haavard Haugen. He has succeeded in recording a truly great guitar instrumental record, and that is a mighty feat. So often, guitar records are the result of a player's ego, as opposed to a result of their creative gift. Haugen has proven the exception, and produced a record for the listener, one that will stand up to repeated listening and may be destined to become a guitar instrumental classic.

Lars Haavard Haugen is a great guitarist, of this there is no question. His playing is tasteful, chops laden, and his tones are superb. He also has developed great compositional skills, and his songs are just that - not just frames on which to hang a thousand cool licks (which he does have), but memorable tunes that are full of great imagery, and emotion. As I said in my earlier review of Six Strings and The Truth, you should hear this record not for Lars' sake, or because I said so, but rather because as a listener and lover of music - You Deserve To Hear Music This Cool!

Thanks to Lars Haavard for his generosity and time, to Libby for her expert editing, and to all my friends who may happen upon this. Namaste.

Hayes Amplification - Perfecting Pure Guitar Tone, One Amp at a Time

"I have seen many Fender Tolex amps over my time working with amps, and the work by David Hayes is arguably the best I have seen." - Myles Rose, from The World's Best Amps

David Hayes? Myles Rose? You may ask, just who are these fellows?

Myles Rose may well be America's guitar amplifier guru, having served many years at Groove Tubes as a designer, head tech, product development specialist, as well as being the co-author and technical editor of the Groove Tube Amp Book. After this distinguished service, Myles became a consultant to such amp builders as Dr. Z, 65 Amps, and many others. Mr. Rose is also the moderator for Guitar Player Magazine's online technical forum, Ask Myles Rose. When not running his current company, Guitar Amplifier Blueprinting, Myles can be found almost daily feeding homeless families in Los Angeles, and blogging eloquently about their plight.

David Hayes happens to be one of Myles's favorite amp builders. When asked about David's work, Myles says, "I try to avoid talking about David too much, because once the subject is on the table it is hard to stop. I could talk for 30 minutes on his construction alone."


Myles continued to say, "His work on restoration is not restoration at all, he takes things to the next level. Think of the Petersen Automotive Museum, where you see cars from decades ago in conditions exceeding that which they were in when they were originally driven out of the factory. David's Fender-style amps are always way above what was factory produced.

"I thought it was great when David started a slant on his own take on the classic amp circuits adding his own twist to things. All the magic of the past with a lot of new magic that fits into the total picture."

I take great pleasure in owning one of David Hayes's amplifiers, a creation he calls the BF-5E3. I call it, my Little Red Corvette.

David's designation perfectly describes the amp head. It is basically a cloned, updated circuit of a 50s era Fender Tweed Deluxe with the power of a newer blackface Fender Deluxe. It encapsulates all of the tones found in the amps used by such luminaries as Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, Neil Young, and Billy Gibbons on so many great rock records, but adds the horsepower necessary to drive a band on a loud stage. David says this amp probably is pushing 30-40 watts when peaking. I will add that it is a very loud 40 watts.

I have already discovered that within this gorgeous red Tolex cabinet several brilliant single channel amps reside. I started off using the amp as shipped, with a NOS Philips 5U4 rectifier tube. This produced the tone of the gods, a corpulent and clear voice that sagged wonderfully, producing tones that, depending on which guitar I used, would range from a very Stonesy rhythm tone with a Fender guitar, to a picture perfect ZZ Top grind when I utilized my Les Paul.

This amp made me realize that I had to play up to its expectations, and not the other way around. Most generally, a player will play through an amplifier and try to coax the sound in his head to come out of the speakers. Not so much with the Hayes. It instantly made me try to play as well as the amp sounded. The tones were exactly what you visualize in your mind's eye, and it simply asked that the player play. This amp is an instrument in its own right, as much as any guitar.

Amazingly responsive, the BF-5E3 is brutally powerful, yet when the volume is backed off on the guitar, it cleans up beautifully and becomes a sophisticated blend of shimmering highs and warm lows. I found that the amp was brilliantly intuitive, almost as if it was getting to know my playing, and responding like a lover more than a machine. Then I had the misfortune that will sometimes befall everyone who seeks prime tone. The amp's 50 year old NOS rectifier tube gave up the ghost. Yes, sometimes when a New Old Stock tube is used it will simply fail. This tube died of a bit of dryness that caused a crack in the plastic housing on its underside. Simply a tragedy of time, no reflection on the tube's capabilities, just old age. I could not find a suitable replacement as quickly as I would have liked, so I opted for what was available, a very desirable high end GZ34 replacement rectifier tube. Rectifier tubes are notorious for having the ability to completely change the sound, feel, and response of an amplifier, and never more so than when the amp is top notch.

Incidentally, when I removed the rear panels to replace the tube, I was astounded by the neatness, and the beauty of the amp's interior. I have never seen more artful work, nor careful attention to detail. The beautiful point to point wiring, and the careful braids that had been tied were not only precise, they were also gorgeous.

Lo and behold, with the installation of the new tube, a new amp was born. Where previously I was engrossed by tones that harkened back to the vacuum tube glory of the halcyon days of Leo Fender, I was now thrown into the realm of the ultimate Bluesbreaker, Eric Clapton. The wonderful sag of the 5U4 had been replaced by a tone that jumped out of the amp with belligerence and a significant increase in midrange wail. Much closer to Jim Marshall's original update of an old Fender Bassman, the Little Red Corvette was now one of Big Daddy Roth's hot rod creations.

The amp still retained the ability to clean up when the guitar volume was reduced, still maintained the subtle nuances of the player's right hand, and still asked me gently and kindly to be a better musician. And, it is unquestionably loud enough to be a commanding voice on any stage short of Metallica's. While it is loud, beefy, and forceful, it probably wouldn't be fair game in the metal realm, but for any other style of rock, blues, country, or jazz - I cannot imagine a more toneful amplifier.

Myles says of Hayes's builds, "His one off pieces are works of art, and use top notch components, and an attention to detail of workmanship that is second to none."

I asked David Hayes about this amp's history, and he replied, "The BF-5E3, funny story. I had a 5e3 chassis but no tweed transformers and it was one of those days when I was in between builds and bored. Well I just happened to have a full set of Blackface Tone Clone Mercury Magnetic transformers and I said if the power tranny will fit, I can make the rest fit. It did, and so I started building to pass time and occupy myself. I figured the blackface transformers would be too powerful for the standard 5E3 circuit, so I made some upgrades right away. First I installed over-sized filter caps and upgraded the values of some of the resistors and caps. I had no idea what the amp would sound like or if it would even work, but when it was done I brought it up on the Variac and plugged it into my 1964 2X15 Fender Bandmaster cab and it blew me away. I could not believe how it sounded. I then hooked it to the 2 JBL D-120F speakers in my Fender Twin Reverb restoration and made a little video. Myles saw and heard this, e-mailed me, and said that to him this amp was the iconic example of true tube amplifier tone and that I should make a CD of this tone and sell it. That was all I needed to hear because Myles is to me the best tube amp guy on the planet."

David Hayes is a fiercely devoted man. He is relentless in his pursuit of guitar tone, and his desire is to build the best amps possible, one at a time - strictly to bring out the best in the music.

"I try to use the best quality parts that are available, such as transformers, resistors, and capacitors, and I am in this for the music and the guitar player more than I am for the money," said David Hayes.

When asked why his name was relatively unknown, and unseen on the pages of the industries many great publications, David had this to say:

"As for how I remain out of the pages of magazines, I turn down offers of free advertising and interviews, which is also why I haven't become a factory type builder, mostly because I want to stay small enough that I don't have to have anyone else building my amps like so many other amp companies. You see I care more about my amps being "My" amps so I can control fully each and every build and kinda choose who I build for and try to make the amp fit the player. I care more about music, tone and quality than I do money!"

David built two BF-5E3s. I have one, and he kept the other. I have heard a great many single channel amps over the years, and can honestly say that this amp sounds better than any other I have heard. David's words are not marketing rhetoric, they are his heartfelt mantra.

Not knowing the Hayes story, I asked David how he came to be an amp builder/restoration specialist. The tale he tells is straight Hayes - classic, rustically elegant, and to the point.

"How I became a builder? I have always been a repair guy - from a very early age I was fixing clocks, radios, TV sets and a lot of other things. In my teens it was cars, amplifiers, and most anything - then in 2004 I started buying old amps and rebuilding and restoring them to sell on eBay, and soon the word spread around middle Georgia that there was a guy that could repair tube amps, and I hooked up with a few local music stores. Well, my friends and customers said my work was second to none and I should do this full time, but I had no confidence in myself and was working in a junkyard doing mechanic work, welding and driving a big wrecker. This was a job to make up for the pitiful V.A. benefits that I was trying to live off of, as I am a disabled Veteran. One day my wife Jennifer said, "You need to quit that junkyard and stay home and do your amps." I told her I didn't think there were enough broken amps around to make ends meet that way, and she said, "Then build your own - all of your friends say that the amps you restore sound better than anything out there. I have a good job. We will be OK, and I believe in you." So, I picked the name Tube Master, dedicated my favorite amp to my wife by naming it the Hayes Tube Master "LIL JENNY," and said goodbye to the junkyard. Long answer, but this is what happened !"

Hayes Amplification is a small company, dedicated to one thing only - building great amps, one at a time. In addition to his classic remakes, and updates on legendary Fender amps, David also has built a series of Hayes Plexi's, including a recent delivery to one of rock and roll's greatest guitarists, Steve "The Deacon" Hunter. Hunter is, of course, the guitar star who played the lead licks on Aerosmith's Train Kept a Rollin', and wrote and recorded the classic intro to Lou Reed's Sweet Jane, with his cohort Dick Wagner

I asked Steve Hunter about his Hayes Amps, and he took time out of his busy schedule to tell me this, "The first thing you'll notice about Dave's amps is the workmanship, especially if you get to peek inside the chassis. It's a work of art. But, no matter how pretty things look on the inside, the amp still has to sound great. And Dave's amps do. They just plain sound great. Warm rich tone without ever being too harsh which is precisely the type of sound I always look for. Not excessively loud but they always manage to hold their own in just about any situation. Excellent with pedals. A true tube amp in every way, that will respond to your playing."

David speaks on the Plexi, and Hunter, "The Hayes Plexi came out because I had repaired a lot of Marshall amps and heard so many people say they wished they could find a Plexi like the first ones made, so I took what Jim Marshall did, and added a little more Leo Fender to it with the outside of the chassis, filter caps, and a cap pan like the Fender amps have, and added a little Hayes in the mix.

"I actually met Steve on Facebook. He liked my amps right away, we became friends and talked quite a bit about amps and music. At first I didn't make the connection that this was actually The Steve Hunter, "The Deacon of Rock & Roll," and one of my heroes on guitar that played with Alice Cooper. He had been one of the people that I considered a guitar god since I was 17 going on 18. I loved the song Eighteen, so this was like a dream come true, and such an honor to be doing anything with this man (who is one of the most humble, down to earth, nicest people I have ever met in my life).  Now, Steve has two Hayes amps - the Plexi, and the first "Purple Hayes," which is an amp that was built just to please my friends, who had said that with my name I just had to build an amp and name it that. I took my Tube Master "LIL JENNY" head with a 2X12 cab that was designed for Joey Thigpen, which is called the Hayes Tube Master LIL JENNY JT212. Anyway, I took this amp and made some changes in it to give it a little more growl, a little more punch, and a quicker breakup so it would be more aggressive and fit the name Purple Hayes!"

When I said that David is devoted, that is exactly what I meant. Sadly, several years ago, the real "Lil Jenny," was felled by a massive stroke, and David has added the job of full time caretaker to his resume. In addition to his work load of amp building, repairing, and restoration, he cares for his wife in every sense, and her recovery is always his first priority. That may be why Myles Rose had this to say:

"David - you are a great "amp" guy. I don't think anybody that has seen your work or played your amps could not easily see that and hear that with their own eyes and ears. What might be missed by some by casual observation is what a great person you are as well."

Even in speaking with Patrick Selfridge at Mercury Magnetics (the makers of the best guitar amp transformers on the planet), what was said about David Hayes was half amp worship, and half praise for the man, and probably a good place to wrap this up.

Patrick Selfridge said, "David Hayes is building some amazing amps. He is not building simple vintage clones like so many builders, but instead is making amps with his signature tone. David really sweats all the details, and it shows with the end result every time. We here at Mercury Magnetics are very proud to be a part of helping David shape his tone amp by amp. Most of all, we are proud to be associated with a great person on top of it all!"

It would be unwise of me to not thank David for allowing me to write about his work, as it would be to not write about what is the best amplifier I have ever played, let alone owned, The Hayes Amplification BF-5E3, my Little Red Corvette.

Lars Haugen - Six Strings and The Truth

Lars Harvaard Haugen might be the most recorded, and best guitarist you've never heard of. Hell, I had never heard of the man, and I like to think of myself as rather well informed on such issues. His first solo album, Six Strings and The Truth, may help to rectify this situation.

Six Strings and The Truth is the rarest of records, a guitar based instrumental album that doesn't have you running away in tedious boredom at any point. In fact, it makes you rather glad that his brother Aslag, the lead singer of Lars's day job of the last twenty years, Norway's country rock legends Hellbillies, chose to take some time off.

Hellbillies. Why haven't we heard of them? Well, the main reason is that the fellas sing in the dialect of the Hallingdal region of their home in Norway. Funnily enough, if you take one listen (and you will) to any song by Hellbillies, I believe you'll know what the song is about, the band being just that good at conveying emotions, and meanings via melody. They put me in mind of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, or maybe The Band - they are that good. They suffer no comparisons - I'm guessing they are The Eagles of Norway. Aslag Haugen has a beautiful and telling voice, and Lars is as a good a right hand man/guitar star as has ever picked up the instrument. Don't listen to me though, go straight to YouTube and fire up any Hellbillies track and you'll be a convert, a fan.

This album leads me to believe that every guitarist who thinks he would like to record an instrumental solo album should first make a dozen long players with a vocal band. From beginning to end, Six Strings and The Truth is filled with not riffs, but rather songs. Every track is a soundscape that will have you conjuring up images in your own mind.

Filled with somewhat familiar tones, and sounds, Lars's first outing as a solo act will have you reigned in with a great combination of familiarity and uniqueness. Kind of like reminiscing with a stranger. Haugen plays with a wonderfully relaxed passion that keeps you on the edge of your seat without hearing the anxiety that most instrumental guitarists display. He's not saying, "Please love me," but rather, "Don't you love this?"

Before I get into the tracks I have to mention some gear issues. Haugen came to my attention this summer through connections with two of the absolute best instrument builders in the world. Dan Boul whose 65 Amps power Lars's tones, and Michael DeTemple,and his amazing guitars, which I believe are also utilized. You'll see 65 Amps displayed proudly in Hellbillies newest videos such as Denne Red. I'm not certain which guitars, and other instruments Lars is playing here, but he seemingly has a penchant for Paul Reed Smiths, Les Pauls, and other classic guitar styles. His tones are immaculate, and always very well chosen. He covers a tremendous amount of territory across the record, stylistically speaking, and always chooses the appropriate tones, avoiding another misstep that entraps so many instrumental guitar records.

A Walk in the Park starts things off, and it moves at a brisk pace that draws you in, and will have you toe tapping and wishing that Eric Johnson's records were this song oriented. Eric is brilliant, we all know that, but he often loses listens with his sheer technicality and sophistry. This is more accessible, and I use Mr. Johnson as a point of reference, not in any disparaging sense. The rhythm section percolates solidly behind Haugen as he calmly takes us on a brilliant tour of his chops, and musicality. If there were still real rock radio, this would be this year's guitar instrumental hit single. He plays so damned well that you almost don't notice his dizzying technical skills - the ending will have every guitar player scrambling to the woodshed. It is an instant classic.

Next up is a jazzier outing entitled, How Low Can You Go, a loping trot that takes some fusion down to Texas. This features some powerful clean chording, and he uncoils chorus after chorus of cool licks and riffs, making great use of some wonderfully sophisticated turnarounds. This one, while not as immediate as the opener, will certainly grow on you as you realize how cool the playing is, and the way in which he revoices and conceptualizes the main theme throughout the song.

Urban Twang retraces some steps, being the title track to Hellbillies 2001 album. I initially wondered why Haugen had chosen to go back over the past, but quickly realized that a decade later, he has taken the song to a new level of emotional immediacy. Its poignant and bittersweet melody evokes an instant memory of a love, perhaps lost, and not soon to return. There is a militaristic, and funereal bent that brings to mind a million lost soldiers and their loved ones. That is certainly just my take on the beautiful melody, but is that not the point of a piece of instrumental music, to take the listener on an emotional journey? Too many musicians have forgotten this in the race for chops supremacy, but Haugen reminds me that music is made to move the listener. His notes and melodies pop out so sweetly that a tear comes to my eye. Midway through the tune the mood changes to a more uplifting and positive forward movement, maybe remembering the good times of the past before he returns to state his eloquent case again at the end. Lars puts on a twang bar display on this one that is on par with Jeff Beck's, and I don't mention this cavalierly or casually, but with studied respect, and awe. This is magisterially majestic - a masterpiece.

If an American guitarist had recorded the title track, Six Strings and The Truth may have been called maybe Three Yards and a Cloud of Dust. This hard charging number gets to the goal line after pulling out every trick in the coach's repertoire. Telecaster masters such as Bill Kirchen, and Redd Volkaert come to mind, as Haugen pays tribute to the art of American roots guitar playing, before going into a bolero of jazz/rock pop - how's that for genre bending? Well, that's as best as I can describe it using the tools at my disposal. It has great chops, great tones, and stunning musicality. He even conjures a little early Rush in towards the end before driving out of town in his hot rod Lincoln. Another mind-bender.

Rock rears its head proudly, and loudly on The Drone. This one will put the educated ear on a path that has King's X being dragged from Nashville to Austin, before Haugen uncorks the best bit of psychedelic guitar that you might hear in 2011. He starts of with some backward sounding licks, and then proceeds to stake his claim on turf that is more familiar to Sweden's Johan Dahlstrom (guitarist and visionary of The First Band From Outer Space). Lars has obviously digested tremendous chunks of the history of the electric guitar, and has remade them into his own. Never does he sound like an imitation, or follower - he is his own man at all times.

Haugen pulls out the acoustic weaponry for All Alone, and again he has mastered the ground he chooses to cover. This tune is wistful, and dreamy. Filled with great imagery, and melodic invention, he treads carefully between composer, and guitar star. Technical wizardry is on display in spades, but never at the expense of the song.

Speaking of songs, Landscapes comes in sounding the most of any track here like his band Hellbillies. I can literally imagine what brother Aslag would be singing over this Haugen composition. Hellbillies tunes are always melodic, and well thought out, and this is no different save for Lars filling more space with his tasteful, and lyrical chops.

Knuckle-busting chops are all over Pick It Up!, in which the Nashville sound is everywhere, displaying that Haugen could have made millions doing session work in Tennesee. The cleanliness of the tone and the picking will have you scratching your head, and maybe wondering why some of us bother. Actually, Lars makes it sound so easy that maybe if we all work real hard....

Heavy tremolo is saved for the end, and I'm guessing it is born of a 65 Amp, as Lars Harvaard Haugen rings out his first full length solo album with another example of why I feel he is one of the best guitar players most of us have not previously heard of. Beautiful motifs jump in an out of this one, at a stunning rate, and it is evident that in the twenty years that Hellbillies have been producing hits in their native Norway, Mr. Haugen was thinking about maybe making himself a record.

So there it is. This is going to be a very hard record to beat for 2011, whether instrumental or vocal. I am rather given to raving about what I like, and I make no apologies. I am not a critic - I am a fan, and a friend. I do not write about that that I do not love, but damn, I do love this record and would all but beg you to buy a copy. Not for Lars, not for me, but rather for you. You deserve to hear music this good.

I will try to follow this up with an article on the gear Lars used for the record, and his thoughts on its making, but I feel a certain sense of urgency in getting the word out about this, the first great record I have heard in 2011.

Great thanks, and congratulations to Lars Harvaard Haugen,

The Perfect Age of Rock 'N' Roll: This Movie Could Be Your Band

Prescient moments....this year has been full of them.

I'm on the phone with a friend who is in Southern California to see a collection of America's greatest bluesmen together onstage. The bluesmen are a part of a documentary film in progress, a piece entitled, Once and For All, and it's got plenty of star power from a band made up of Pinetop Perkins, Hubert Sumlin, Sugar Blue, Steady Rollin' Bob Margolin, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, and Bob Stroger. It may well end up being the next Last Waltz.

My friend tells me she's having a chat with the film's director - she thinks I should talk to him. I think she's right, but the time is wrong. I think to myself that it's not quite time to write about the documentary as there's too much left to be seen, such as, will Keith Richards make a cameo at some point? But I do know my friend is right.

Filmmaker Scott Rosenbaum is about to be a very hot property. Turns out not that he's just making a documentary that may rival Scorsese's brilliant film of The Band's epic final performance, but that prior to this he made a little movie called, The Perfect Age of Rock 'N' Roll. It's a fictional account of a rock band, its members, and the foibles of this thing called rock and roll. I call it a little movie, but it paints a huge picture of the life of rock and rollers.

To be honest, about the last thing in the world I want to watch is a movie about rock, rock bands, or rock stars. There just haven't been many worth watching, and the film industry at large hasn't been blowing my skirt up of late, so I'm kind of cringing when my friend suggests I see the film and write a review. My gut is telling me to follow this trail that leads to Rosenbaum, but I hadn't known the movie was what it was. So, I cringe, and I wonder what the hell I'd gotten myself into this time.

I did a little research and found out that the movie had won an award for Film Achievement at the Newport Beach Film Festival in 2009, and had gotten raves from audiences at the CMJ Film Festival. Still, concerns existed about how much I'd enjoy this type of film. I've been in, around, and of rock and roll for the last 35 years, and I knew that Hollywood was generally miles off the mark when it took on rock and roll.


Let me cut to the chase here, and say, this is one hell of a movie. It rang so true that I wondered if Rosenbaum had been down some of the same roads I'd traveled. I had feared a cliche ridden drama, but instead got a very realistic portrayal of the betrayals that all too often lie at the heart of the dream. Sure there are some broadstroke moves, but that's because they ring true. The too long in the tooth road manager, the two timing rock moll, the ego'd out lead singer, a crooked record exec, and a rhythm section that is so pedestrian that it's almost transparent. These are cliches because they exist. And they exist here. 

Kevin Zegers plays Spyder, a burnt out shell of an ex-superstar who walked across the soul of his best friend to make his dream come true. He made it, but it was all built on the songs written by his childhood friend Eric Gensen (played by an excellent Jason Ritter). Spyder had taken his friend's songs, claimed them for himself, and become a star as his friend toiled in anonymity as a school teacher back in their hometown, embittered by his punk-rock legend father's death, and his own fears of grabbing for the brass ring.

After a failed attempt to replicate the success of his pilfered debut, Spyder returns to his childhood home to rouse his old friend from a nasty pill addiction, a suburban existence, and the pain of teaching school children musical rudiments. He's accompanied by an aggressive female manager (Taryn Manning) who is desperate to return to the top at whatever cost is necessary. She's balanced by a grizzly old road manager (Peter Fonda), who is her seeming opposite, being concerned with the legacy of Gensen's father (his old boss), and genuinely caring about the music and the musicians. It turns out that they're really not so far apart, they just come from different genders and generations.

The character of lead singer Spyder is portrayed eerily accurately by Zegers. His startling good looks are interrupted by a blind eye and scars inflicted by his abusive father, but his disfigured face lends a Marilyn Manson-esque visage to his glam rock antics. He's angry, self destructive, maniacal, chemical, and egotistical, yet there is a glimmer of vulnerability that reveals the mask he wears to hide his pain and shame. He knows only too well who and what he is, and it is revealed to the careful eye by his choice of reading material in his home. The tomes of Daniel Pinchbeck and William Cooper, 2012: The Return of Quetzequatl and Behold A Pale Horse - books that reveal the essential corruption of mankind by tyrannical forces and point the way to redemption - are displayed casually in his living room, but told me reams about his character. A brilliant move by someone - this is great filmmaking, when even a subtle set design gives greater meaning to a character's character. Spyder is torn by this split reality of the egotistic star and damaged child - the makings of many a great rock and roll frontman.

Spyder cajoles Eric Gensen back into the fold, but Gensen insists on doing it his way, writing a record while on the mythical path of Route 66. The organic, soulful nature of such a sojourn is an anathema to the jet set style of Spyder and his manager, who are under the gun to get a record out yesterday. Their urgency clashes with the ideals of Gensen and his father's old friend, and the tension is such that a love/hate scenario manifests and threatens to derail the partnership.

Under the direction of a less knowledgeable, less skillful  artisan this could lead to the movie being just another standard cut drama, but I'm thinking that screenwriters Jasin Cadic and Rosenbaum have seen their share of broken bands and maybe even the deaths of a few rock dreams in their own travels. It rings so true I was a little unnerved at times, having either been in or around so many nearly identical situations. I've had the honor and pleasure of working with or for a great collection of musicians, including Iggy Pop, Bobby Womack, Michael Schenker, and Robert Pollard - I know a bit  about the minds, actions, and spirits of great musicians and tortured souls, and this movie shows the gritty underside brilliantly.

The nature of a theatrical film demands that a whole bunch be crammed into a little space, and Scott Rosenbaum has done a masterful job of conveying a tremendous amount of goings on into a brief space, and doing it without being overly sensationalistic, or far-fetched. Everything that happens here I have seen happen.  I've had friends so addled by ego and addiction that they could only make 18 shows in 16 years, then return to see greater productivity than ever and true redemption. I've also seen a young guitarist go through a few million and end up dead of AIDS and heroin in a space of ten years. Without giving up an ending, I will say that what happens here will surprise the hell out of you, but it is by no means unlikely.

Rosenbaum even manages to place the band in the age old situation of joining a blues band for a jam while driving through the Delta. And he does it in a way that had me shaking my head and saying, "I've actually done that, and he pretty much nailed it."

Movie cliches and generalizations are a lot like the licks that make up rock and roll and the blues. There is only  a slight difference between the great and the mediocre, but it may as well be a million miles. Scott Rosenbaum is the Muddy Waters of the music movie set. He's taken what could easily have been a terribly hackneyed story, and infused it with the soul and reality of greatness.

There are a couple of performances here, namely Zeger's, Fonda's, and Ritter's that could be beckoned for Oscar duty. Luke Haas is also excellent in a brief role as a journalist from Revolver magazine. This is an awesome debut for a filmmaker, and while this movie hasn't yet been released, I can't wait to see where Rosenbaum goes next. The best directorial debut since Liev Scheiber's Everything is Illuminated.

There are several plot threads that I have left out for fear of giving up too much to those who will eventually see the film. The mysterious third record, the love/sex scenario that always rears its ugly head, in film and life, and whatever happened to Eric Gensen. Just let me say that it all rings true, but still makes for a helluva story. Yeah, this is the way it really happens. There is nothing in this film that made me cringe due to unreality - it is the real deal, not always pretty, but hey, life's like that.

I knew when my friend called me from the lobby of that Santa Ana theater that something was happening, and it turns out again that I have been honored to preview a great piece of work before its general release. I'd like to thank Scott Rosenbaum for having the nerve to send a copy of a rock and roll film to a guy who hates rock and roll films, and Libby Sokolowski for the phone call, the invitation, and the introductions. I gotta tell ya, I was sweating, hoping that I wouldn't hate this guy's film. Thank goodness it's a brilliant movie, and I can again say, this is great art - support it.

http://theperfectageofrocknroll.com/
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/group.php?gid=68453815913&ref=ts

GLENN HUGHES - "Hello. This is a Rock Band"

.

                             "Joe and I were looking at each other going,

                                       what in the world is going on?

                                Joe and I have NEVER had a problem."

Black Country Communion were almost relegated to the scrap heap before the echoes of recording had ended in Kevin Shirley's home studio, The Cave, in Malibu, California.  Rumors had managers, and lawyers killing off the band before they ever had a chance to even consider logos, album covers, press junkets and tours.

"We're getting on famously," says the legendary Glenn Hughes, speaking from his Southern California home, waiting to begin a two month extended press tour that will see the singer/bassist chatting up journalists across the globe in expectation of the September 21st release of Black Country Communion, the new super-group's first record.  Black Country Communion is comprised of Glenn Hughes, Joe Bonamassa, Jason Bonham, and Derek Sherinian.

Hughes continues,  "All that crap you saw on the internet about two months ago was something so silly. And let me tell you, it smacks of very early Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, or The Black Crowes, what with all the in-fighting. 'They're fighting!'  Well, that sells magazines....I've gone through that my whole career, 'Is he too heavy, is he on crack, is he gonna jump off the building naked?'  It's all the controversial stuff, I'm not mad that they put that out, it does sell magazines - rock and roll is not always pretty and sweet.  Let's just say that at the time there were too many cooks in the kitchen. Look....J and R Adventures (Bonamassa's management company) is gonna run this, and I certainly don't mind, they've done a great job for Joe.  J and R, my manager, and I, we're all on the same page."

Glenn goes on, "You need to know this, Tony.  Everybody's great pals, everybody loves each other, and we're just dying for the next thing. I'm going to be everywhere, talking up a storm, and the most important thing is that on September 21 this thing is gonna jump out."

Hughes is the point man for BCC press campaign, and it's hard to imagine a better man for the job. The singer explains, "I've been kind of the unofficial spokesman for the band, for the obvious reason that I'm the one who's available to do it.  I'm from the rock side, and I'm naturally a media person. I keep saying that there's no mistakes in God's world, but there's no mistake why I'm doing this."

Hughes's enthusiasm for the project has been typical of the great passion and energy he exudes.  In our first discussion of the band in February, he spent almost two hours discussing the group's potential, when only a few backing tracks had been laid down.  His desire to return to his rock and roll roots was undeniable, roots  which were born in the Black Country of England, home to himself and an old friend named John Bonham, the late drummer of Led Zeppelin, whose son Jason mans the drum throne for this super-group.  Hughes was adamant that this was a calling, a place in time in which his mission seemed clear.

Hughes goes on, "There was no doubt about it when Kevin Shirley suggested Jason Bonham, y'know?  I'm supposed to be playing with Jason Bonham. His dad was a great mate of mine, and Jason all these years later has become a huge fan of that music. There's this big connection between the Bonhams and the Hugheses, and I'm privileged and honored to be part now because Jason has become a close, close friend to me. We get along famously."

Almost eerily, at this point in our discussion the phone rings. It's Bonham.  "Oh hang on....It's Jason, now.  Jason, hey, let me call you right back, I'm talking to a friend but I need to talk to you - yeah, I'm doing the interview.  I'll me call you back in 15 minutes, all right?

"Jason is just amazing on this record, Tony.  I've waited for him to make a great record, and he has too, mate, he has too.  I'll say it ten times over that this is by far the best playing he has done.  One of his best friends told him, when he heard the tracks a few months ago, 'This is what waiting for 25 years for the great drum track has amounted to'.

"Y'know, I told him right after we cut the tracks, I said, 'Jason, this is the best you've played, mate. Yeah....really man, this is the shit!"

Truer words were never spoken, indeed, Bonham's playing on Black Country Communion is spectacular, elevating his playing to the levels of the Moons and elder Bonhams of the world.  He plays brilliantly throughout the record, driving the band like a tank commander.

Many fans have wondered and speculated about what Black Country Communion means for guitarist/vocalist Joe Bonamassa's solo career, so I asked Glenn about this.  He replied in a matter of fact manner.

Hughes said, "See, the thing is, Tony, you can't really get around the fact that Joe has his solo career. Joe is going to be a solo act for the rest of his life.  I'm not resentful of that at all, I think he's great - he's gonna be playing the blues and doing his thing.  I said to Joe when we started this project, I said, 'Joe, I want to be in a band, I want to go out and rock.  And he said, 'Absolutely.'  So, I think what'll happen with our band is this - the album IS what it is, and it'll go viral, it'll just be everywhere.  It'll be undeniable that we gotta play.

"Listen, I don't want to spend the rest of my career playing to smaller audiences in smaller places, to funk and jazz aficionados, which you know I really love doing, but I want to go out rocking.  People call me 'The Voice of Rock, the great rock singer from the 70s,' and the fact of the matter is - I kind of woke up to that.  When I play live, Tony, I get into the funk, the grooves, but it always comes down to the heaviness and the funk - it's really dark and really nasty, and I wanna play with a great drummer who can play the grooves with me, and I wanna play with a great guitarist that plays organically.  And Joe Bonamassa's that guy.  

"You see, Tony, Joe just wants to play.  He doesn't especially want to talk about it, he doesn't especially want to talk about my new leather jacket, or fashion, my new suit.  He does want to talk about his new guitar - and that's Joe.  He's great.  I'm the fashion/rock guy, and he's the blues guy that kind of wants to be like Jimmy Page, so we're a match made in heaven.  A good point is that I don't want to work with people I don't genuinely enjoy.  Why would I?"

I asked Glenn about touring, given that he was about to embark on a long press junket that would seem to indicate more than just a one-off vanity record project.  Instead of stating with any sense of certainty whether Black Country Communion would or wouldn't be going out on the road (though some web sites are stating this as fact, I have yet to hear it from any BCC insider), he spoke of touring America in a more general sense.

"It's a little embarrassing to say this, but I haven't really toured in America since '94 when I did 15 dates with Trapeze.  America's a big, big animal.  America is a place where I want to do it right, I want to play America appropriately.  The right album, the right band, the right agent, and organization.  It's too big an animal otherwise.  I have an amazing hunger for playing live and always reinventing myself.  I was never the guy to get comfortable, just kicking back and making albums.  I'm the guy to be totally ensconced in working on brand new material.

"My manager gets it, and I'm sure that Joe does too, 'Can Glenn come play a session, can Joe do a session? - and it's great to know that I can do a session any day of the week, but I don't want to do that now.  I want to be investing my time in this band."

After listening to the record, and given the fact that Glenn Hughes is taking the summer off from touring to do a major intercontinental press tour, I'd be rather amazed if a tour didn't become an unavoidable inevitability.  The record is such a powerful rock and roll statement - I'd almost go so far as to call it the new rock and roll mission statement - that I believe the listening public will flock to it in huge numbers and continue to carry Bonamassa up on the amazing upward spiral that has become his career, taking Hughes, Bonham, and Sherinian with him.

We carried on our chat with Glenn speaking of how his past lead to the present.  

Hughes, on the path from Trapeze back to the Black Country, "I came busting out of the gate in 1969 as a rock singer and a rock bass player, and now for the rest of my career I've just got to concentrate on being that guy that came busting out of the gate and this particular project is a cornerstone of that belief.

"It's difficult to tell you how excited I am, because most musicians will go on and on and on about how great their new album is, and you've heard it all before, it's like....

"I gotta have you hear it.  I've just got off the phone with Roy Weisman (Bonamassa's manager), and three months later he's still on a pink cloud.  He cannot believe what a great record this is.  Kevin Shirley (the band's producer) just e-mailed me, and he just got off the back of doing Iron Maiden and Journey, and all he can do is talk about our record.

"I been doing this a long time, and I knew going into it what kind of record I was going to write, and I knew that Joe Bonamassa could do that with me.

"There's nothing out there like this (Black Country Communion's album), it's such a big album sound-wise.  And as I've said, this album was made in hours, man - I sang the vocals in a matter of 10-12 hours, and there's no rhythm guitar, Joe's playing one guitar and there may be one or two overdubs, and that's it.  Live solos, live Hammond, and maybe a few overdubs - that's really it."

In listening to the record, I was repeatedly impressed with Glenn and Joe's vocals, which sound like the result of months of work, but are actually a product of less than twenty-four hours of recording. Glenn had this to say about working with Bonamassa and super-producer Kevin Shirley.

"When I got 'round to doing the vocals with Kevin, just with Kevin and I, well normally I don't really like having people around when I'm singing -  but people seem to always want to come and watch me sing.  The beauty of working with Kevin is that it was just me and him - no second engineers, nothing, and we got on a roll.  We did five the first day, four the next, and then I went back to England, came back and finished it up. First take, second take maybe, but never really a third.

"I'm getting a feeling of how Joe Bonamassa makes records, I sort of understand it now.  It's like Joe goes in with Kevin, and it's like they get together, get the guy from New York - the guy from Letterman (drummer Anton Fig), Carmine, and Rick, and they just go sorta live; and Joe records live, and he solos live, and I'm goin'....OK.  I didn't realize this.  We're cutting live, are we?  I'm really playing on this album, there are no fixes on the bass.  Just exactly live, and I'm going....'You know something? I like this!' I haven't done this for 25 years!"

I asked Glenn how the band went about learning the songs, as they developed the tunes live without benefit of rehearsals.  His reply. "Joe's really great, because we played guitar together.  The first time I had to play guitar in front of him was when I showed the band One Last Soul.  I came in - the first production meeting with almost no time.  Sitting in front of Joe, and I didn't know Joe too much, we'd had dinner a few times.  So I'm sitting in front of Joe and I have to play Joe Bonamassa my new songs - you gotta be twisted.  But we got comfortable.  He looks at me, and says, 'Wait a minute, what's that chord?' He just makes you feel real comfortable.

"This one song, No Time that I had written, it was more, I guess....I had written it as a kind of a lazy drop D thing.  He made it sound Jimmy Page rather than Tony Iommi, which was very interesting.  And he had my song Beggarman, that you'll hear, that I just love....it's the same riff I wrote, but Joe bent the crap out of it, and I just went, oooooooh, that's great!"

I asked Glenn about the sensational title track, Black Country.  The song is an instant classic, the kind of song people will know from now until the end of rock.  

He laughed a bit, then said, "That track....and when you hear that track in it's entirety - and this is difficult to tell you until you hear it -  that's the best rock track I have ever written.  It's a Glenn and Joe track, but it is the best thing I have ever been involved with.  That's our Immigrant Song, that's our Burn, our Highway Star, that's our Start Me Up, it's our, 'Hello. This is a rock band.'

"Tony, we're all super happy, we're all very excited.  This is difficult because you two haven't heard it (I was assisted in this interview by Libby Sokolowski), but you've gotta get it tonight if possible, contact Rachael now and see if you can still get it this evening. You've gotta hear this to get what I'm saying."

Glenn's final thoughts. "It's awesome.  There are certain things in life that are givens.  I was telling Joe.  I told Joe Bonamassa, I said, 'Joe, let me tell ya, buddy - this is a sure fucking thing.  Trust me when I tell you this - you're young.  This is a sure thing."

He wasn't lying.

Black Country Communion coming September 21, 2010.

tony conley and libby sokolowski

a note on photos: Given the paucity of available images, I pulled these photos from Google Images. I know several are the work of the legendary Robert Knight, and several are from Libby Sokolowski. If any others remain uncredited or if anyone would wish their photos not be used, I will gladly comply with all wishes.  Thanks, tony conley.

Black Country Communion - Debut Album Review

                                                               

                                           "I am a messenger,
                                            this is my prophecy....
                                            I'm going back,
                                            to the Black Country."

That's where it all begins, following the most memorable intro to a rock and roll song that I've heard in way too long.  It's the intro to Black Country, the lead track of the debut record by Black Country Communion, the super-group comprised of Glenn Hughes, Joe Bonamassa, Jason Bonham, and Derek Sherinian.  Hughes's amazing bass line kicks off the tune like a clarion call to arms for rock and roll, and he's quickly joined by Bonham doing some nifty cymbal work before Joe Bonamassa fires off one of the coolest riffs ever to grace a rock record.

Let's get one thing straight.  If you want to hear comparisons to Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Free and The Who (and I'm not saying they wouldn't be favorable), you're gonna have to go elsewhere.  What I will say is that this record is the best debut disc I've heard by a new rock band in the last twenty years.  To waste our time trying to find comfortable reference points is to sell everything short - this project stands on its own and neither wants nor requires aid to describe the brilliance it contains.  Regardless of the context in which you place it, it delivers the goods.

I first heard the record described by Glenn Hughes back in February, shortly after I had written an optimistic blog stating that this combination of players could produce the sleeper record of 2010.  Glenn initially spoke with a confidence and pride that had me reeling backwards, hopeful, but wondering if it really could be as good as he described.  Subsequent to that initial interview, I began hearing comments from various sources who had heard material at producer Kevin Shirley's studio, or on the Bonamassa tour bus, and their comments were as powerful as Glenn's.  Bonamassa bassist Carmine Rojas raved when we spoke in early May, after having just heard the final mixes, and Red Hot Chili Pepper and sometime Hughes confrere Chad Smith also waxed enthusiastically of the album's excellence.

Black Country continues with Hughes belting out a veritable mission statement when Joe Bonamassa unleashes a furious wah infused solo that invokes much that we have nearly forgotten to expect from a rock record.  I found myself laughing out loud at the power and beauty of it all.  I hadn't gotten a goosebump from a new song in too long, had all but given up on the probability, yet there they were.  Instantly Bonamassa assumes the title of rock guitar god - the world will have yet another accolade to heap upon the young guitar wizard when the record is released on September 21.

Coming out of the solo section, Hughes sings the chorus a cappella with Bonamassa answering each line with a scorching retort that compares with the greatest call and response moments in rock and blues history before Sherinian takes the reins and leads the band out of one of the most memorable introductions I've ever heard.

It's clear that the Black Country signifies to Hughes his early rock roots; this is firmly entrenched in the earthy depths of the soulful sounds he had described to me back in February, when he passionately described the kinship he felt for his homeland roots, where he had grown up with Jason's father, Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham (a huge fan of Hughes's early 70s band Trapeze), and how vitally important it was to have Jason in this group.

If there were still singles, at least in the form that most of us recall from the halcyon days of big budgets and vinyl jukeboxes, One Last Soul may have been the record's first 45 rpm.  Most readers are already familiar with this track from the YouTube videos that appeared when the band made their live debut at a Bonamassa show in Southern California a few months back, but for those who aren't, this is a powerful piece of classic hard rock that sounds at once familiar and yet brand new.  It struts with a confidence that recalls the days when men in rock bands didn't look at their shoes, tuned their guitars, and looked like stars.  This is a song made by men who travel in jets and drive fast cars, and don't mind who knows it.

Joe Bonamassa is well known by his fans for his melodic slow blues numbers, and The Great Divide kicks off with a sexy, sultry single string attack that soon gives way to some very sophisticated music making from the entire band that belies the speed with which this record was made.  Hughes tells this tune's tale with great ethos and passion.  While many speak of Glenn's vocal abilities in terms of powerful histrionics, his subtlety, range and superb phrasing is the real story here.  He sings of the beauty of the great divide, and I can't begin to doubt it.  The man sells the song spectacularly.  This is why many call him The Voice of Rock.

Bonamassa's guitar solo on The Great Divide starts as a slow builder with a reprise of the tune's intro before he bursts into a conversational confession of silky sweet melody.  Jason Bonham is brilliant here, as he is across the whole album - he's finally made a record in which he drives the band and fully displays his awesome skills.  His playing is his and his alone, with no mention or reminders of his vaunted past being necessary.   

Next up is Down Again, which swaggers wonderfully as Hughes sings a classic tale of the need to keep rocking and rolling along.  The chorus has a wonderful reprise with great harmonies singing, "I'm Down Again," as Hughes assures us that, "It's not all over," and indeed it's not, as Joe Bonamassa rips off yet another sizzling hot solo before Bonham and Sherinian bring the band beautifully back into a repeat of the chorus.  This is yet another tune that sounds like it could have been months in the making instead of a few short days.

Beggarman has Bonamassa working his wah pedal hard on the intro to this sophisticated piece of rock writing that mixes elements of rock guitar god maneuvers, sleek funk and gritty rock.  This is a very modern take on a very classic sound.  It puts me in mind of much great rock history, yet sounds very new and exciting.  The guitarist performs a blinder of a straight ahead rock and roll solo filled with acrobatic pentatonics and cascading crescendos bringing to mind Steve Vai's best work.  Smooth as silk but still edgy and thrilling.

Singing a lead vocal on an album that features the vocal talents of Glenn Hughes is a task that not many people would attempt, and I will admit wondering how Joe Bonamassa would fare singing side by side on a record with one of rock's greatest voices.  His vocals have improved with every new release, but this was a whole different venue, singing big rock beside the legendary pipes of Mr. Hughes.  The Bonamassa penned ballad Song of Yesterday shows the pupil holding his own very capably, and when Hughes does join in, it only adds to the beauty of this soulful number.  Derek Sherinian, a keyboardist of amazing technical skills, displays his awesome ability to melodically enhance a vocal performance, with some tremendously empathetic work that supports Bonamassa's singing before Joe takes the tune to rock riff city and Hughes joins in on the vocals.  While this song would not sound out of place on a Bonamassa solo record, Hughes, Sherinian, and Bonham's assistance render something brand new out of an already successful formula.  Bonham and Hughes push Bonamassa's solo to higher and higher ground - you can hear them listening to one another very closely, and Sherinian keeps showing up in the perfect place, playing the perfect part.

Jason Bonham kicks off No Time, which features another great Hughes vocal performance, enhanced by a powerful unison riff played by the guitarist and bassist which somewhat puts me in mind of the vastly underrated King's X.  This is a tune that shouts out that it wants to be played loud and live.  It rocks along very solidly until Sherinian throws the band into a moment that I can only call a Zeppelin-esque raga that leads the band into a vaguely flamenco sounding refrain with Bonham supplying a perfect snare drum recital before a thunderous fill that takes the band back into another passionate Hughes chorus.  The hooks on this record are huge and frequent.  Expect to hear yourself humming and singing along almost immediately.  Isn't this fun?  A review of a record that is not only wildly enthusiastic, but also completely accurate?  I'm having a blast writing this.

Medusa.  This song is nearly as legendary as its namesake, and once again, I had a bit of trepidation in my head and heart when I heard that it would be included on this album.  Too many times, classic rock acts have re-recorded old standards and almost always disappointingly.  One more time, my fears have been obliterated as Joe Bonamassa takes ownership with a great tremolo'd intro, Gilmouresque slide fills, and a sledgehammer heavy riff-o-rama.  Glenn Hughes sings this track as if he knows it is finally going to get the listen it has always deserved.  Bonamassa and Hughes sound as if they have been playing together for a great many years, not a few precious hours.  Another example of a great band of musicians who are expert not just at their instruments but also at listening and sensitively supporting one another.

Nine tracks in, and no slow down in sight.  I can't remember the last time this happened.  It's been many seasons since a record held me hostage for nine songs straight.  How glorious.

In fact, The Revolution in Me, another Bonamassa lead vocal, had me riveted as Joe sang and played as if his very existence were dependent upon his performance.  This is simply great hard rock - heavy as a hammer and with great support from Derek Sherinian's Hammond B-3 organ, and Jason Bonham's awesome display of tub pummeling.  Midway through, Sherinian switches to an electric piano sound that evokes the Michael Schenker era UFO, and Bonamassa reacts with a very Teutonic bit of melodic soloing that will have fans of heavy rock smiling wildly and thrusting fists to the heavens in staunch admiration.  From beginning to end, Bonamassa is stretching into new horizons and doing so with grace, power, and beauty.

On Stand (At the Burning Tree), Hughes again takes the microphone on the track that most closely resembles his funk informed solo work.  Echoes of very European sounding riffage by Bonamassa conjures the rock ghost of a certain side-burned, black wearing six stringer, and the shadow is a pleasant shade of purple.  Very gypsy, but this gypsy is sophisticated, and Hughes knocks at the doors of Stevie Wonder and other smooth, soulful vocalists before slipping back into a powerfully rocking chorus.  More brilliance that is made even more so when one realizes that this was recorded almost on the fly, in a matter of days as opposed to months.  While Hughes great vocal chops get the lion's share of attention, his songwriting and bass playing are both stunning throughout this entire album.

Containing rock and roll that brings to mind Australia's Young brothers and sleek sophistry, Sista Jane switches gears seamlessly as Hughes and Bonamassa trade lines back and forth before returning to the straight ahead rock of the chorus, yet another great hook.  I've never heard Joe Bonamassa sing quite this well.  Obviously singing next to Glenn Hughes has elevated his game, and he's again proven his mettle, and defied any lingering doubts that could exist concerning his vocal skills.

While I have attempted to avoid direct comparisons, discussion of the end of Sista Jane must speak of The Who.  The band pay loving homage to the glory days of Keith Moon and John Entwistle, as Bonham and Hughes throw down rhythms that serve as reminders of exactly what it means for a bassist and drummer to be called a rhythm section, and finally Sherinian brings the message home with a loving dose of Who's Next keyboarding.

The record ends with an epic jam entitled, Too Late for the Sun.  Clocking in at eleven and a half minutes, Hughes and Bonamassa sound like 21st century outlaws in an arid showdown at the OK corral.  Two soul cowboys; a modern day, rock and roll Butch and Sundance.  This track is one that would become larger than life when played on stage.  Sherinian shines very brightly on this song - his B-3 cuts through the mix like a knife and allows Bonamassa the luxury of getting a bit atmospheric and experimental, whilst Hughes and Bonham joust with understated brilliance.

So there it is, I've said it.  The best debut by a new rock band in several decades.  The rumors have proven to be sometimes true, sometimes false.  Yes, the band is astounding and the record got not just made, but made startlingly well.  Talk of dissension and tension?  Well, that's essential for great rock and roll, isn't it?

I must thank everyone involved in this project, and for this first glance/listen: Joe Bonamassa, Glenn Hughes, Jason Bonham, Derek Sherinian, and producer Kevin Shirley (who I didn't speak of nearly enough in this review), for creating such an amazing piece of music; Roy Weisman and Carl Swann for their cooperation and granted access, as well as Roy's fantastic enthusiasm for Black Country Communion; and Rachel Iverson at J&R, and Erin Podbereski of Jensen Communications for their help.

Very special thanks to Libby Sokolowski, who has graciously assisted me in so many ways, and finally to Glenn Hughes, who has been so wonderfully helpful and generously given me hours of his time and attention.

tony conley

June 11, 2010

All Photos by Libby Sokolowski