Cable Car [Release date: 28.10.13]

It says something for Henrik Freischlader’s ability to captivate and enthral us with his guitar led, groove laden blues-rock that he is confident enough to release a live 4 CD box set.

He’s already released live albums in 2008 and 2010 and this weighty effort feels like an on going musical journal, culled from what sounds like desk tapes, with the audience giving him distant but enthusiastic support.

CD one – or ‘Show No.47’ – comes from his ‘Still Frame Replay’ tour and ‘#27’ from the later ‘House In The Woods’ tour. The two don’t so much suggest an incremental progression as simply reflecting a certain time and place, where Henrik laid down his own in the moment style.

The ‘Live In Concert’ CD’s succinctly showcases Henrik’s ability to get inside a song and stretch it to breaking point, before re-shaping it to his own ends through some intuitive interplay with his band. Organist Moritz Fuhrhop plays a significant role, and the rhythm section of drummer Bjorn Kruger and bassist Trefoils Fotiadis gives Henrik plenty of options

Henrik is a guitarist with all the essential requirements of a warm tone, a fluent playing style and real feel, who understands the potency of harmony singing and a layered wall of sound, over which his guitar rises gently like undulating wave. This is especially so on the ‘Still Frame Replay’ title track of his 2011 tour, while on the stuttering, riff driven funk of Longer Days’ he is much more taut, focussed and dynamic.

The 16 page booklet is full of sepia tinged photographs from both tours and has a work ethic feel to it. Both full length shows illustrate his versatility and spontaneity and while he may not be a great song-writer, he still impresses with the fluency of ‘The Bridge’, his delicate and cool Peter Green touch on ‘I Loved Another Woman’, the caustic funk of ‘What’s My Name’, the sledgehammer dynamics of ‘Bad Dreams’, and the heavier rocking of ‘Do Did Done’.

He constantly surprises you with his ability to slip into contrasting styles, but given the excellence of his band it’s really no surprise. Keyboard player Moritz cuts loose on the up tempo ‘The Wrong Way’ before Henrik again changes the mood and pace of the set with more Peter Green style guitar work on the dreamy ‘The Memory Of Our Love’.

Much like the opening disc, ‘Show 27’, he opens with a sumptuous groove ‘1999’ on which the layered sound makes up for his lack of clear diction. ‘Nowhere To Go’ is slightly sludgy and ponderous, but he digs deep for emotion on the organ led ballad ‘Breaking My Heart Again’ and kicks ass on the second version of ‘Longer Days’.

A Henrik Freischlader show is a musical trip back to the early 70’s, but refracted through a contemporary lens. He seems happiest when building both songs and solos from the ground up, as evidenced by ‘Two Young Lovers’ – one of his very best songs – and the stop-start, riff led ‘Sisters’, which combines sizzling solos with an expansive hook.

Inevitably the centre piece of the project is the 20 minute plus, jam of ‘Break Out’ which features some essential muscular guitar and organ interplay and finds Henrik in his element, exploring every possibility the groove offers him.

The aptly titled ‘With The Flow’ features the classic HF technique of establishing a groove and topping it with a layer of feverish guitar, while ‘House In The Woods’ takes us back to tightly wrapped funk, mumbled lyrics and a hook led resolution.

Henrik considers both Gary Moore and Roy Buchanan as important influences, but the closing ‘Won’t You Help Me’ is another example of the enduring spell Peter Green has on him.

Henrik Freischlader’s ‘Live In Concerts’ is probably slightly over ambitious, if only because two full shows, back to back, is a lot to digest in one sitting. The fact that all the discs also repeat the same concert again, is perhaps a minor inconvenience, but highlights the fact that his impressive ability might have been more succinctly served over two discs.

However, having listened to Henrik’s two concerts, you may well find yourself hooked by a band routed in the retro jam band tradition, but who offer plenty of fresh ideas and intense playing to make their mark. ****

Review by Pete Feenstra

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