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Metal Horse Records & Media [Release date 21.04.23]
It’s just over 20 years since Rob Orlemans struck out on his own with his Half Past Midnight band after being mentored by the late Curtis Knight (he of Jimi Hendrix fame).
And all through that time despite the changing trends, Orlemans has stuck solidly to his own philosophy of “We are what we play.”
In doing so he expresses himself through the intensity of his licks and relentless boogie, driven by a dirt sounding tone and the honesty of his musical approach.
As Orlemans has said; “You don’t need a lot of words or chords to explain what you want to bring or say to the people.”
In other words you let the music speak for itself. And in doing so within a rock and boogie blues format, he’s preaching to the early 70’s guitar band converts, or and perhaps rekindling a flame.
This is certainly the case of a magisterial version of his hero Alvin Lee’s “Love Like A Man”.
He gives it a muscular make over with tough riffing, husky vocals and a pounding rhythm section, before the song takes off like a psychedelic jet plane.
How to follow the above? Simple, you get back to the basics on a track like ‘Moonlight Rumble’, a boogie stomp with lashing of sinewy guitar lines over a thumping tom-tom.
The album opens with ‘Boogie On Down The Line’, a track that sets the template for an album bursting with tough boogie-rock.
It is well served by a husky vocal and a crunching guitar tone, over the pile driving rhythm section of drummer Ernst van Ee and bassist Piet Tromp, always framed by cool dynamics.
There an unmistakable retro musical lineage running through the core of this album stretching back to Lightnin’ Hopkins, John Lee Hooker and perhaps even Bukka White and Furry Lewis for the ‘Shake ‘Em On Down’ title reference?
Then there’s the more obvious Canned Heat, ZZ Top, AC/ DC and even Rose Tattoo.
Happily the band’s own material makes the cut, albeit with a heavy hint of Billy Gibbons singularly and ZZ Top collectively.
They sludge things up on the “alone with the shadows” atmospheric ‘Into The Night’, on which Orlemans tone rings true in a fierce Billy Gibbons manner, as each nuance fills the track with true grit.
Orlemans has forged his own style on the back of his tonal dexterity, tough vocal phrasing and a power trio that revels in grooving behind their leader’s fiery licks.
Listen for example, to the title track on which Rob uses a thinner tone and relies of his rhythm section’s lighter touch, while his own vocal is mixed back in the manner of early Ozzy in Sabbath.
Orlemans’ ability to work the dynamics of a song by building up a tension and then resolving it, is best exemplified by his edgy staccato solo on the hard rocking boogie ‘A Dirty Shame’.
But it’s the quality of his intricate guitar work that pulls the track out of a deep seated groove and takes it up to another level of intensity.
The music on this track cleverly evokes rough idea of the song title, which he tells us is: “If you keep shaking a tree, something will always come out.”
Musically speaking this is the key to the album as a whole, built on relentless boogie, but also all the elements that the primal beat leads us to.
It’s an album that rocks hard with plenty of variety and contrast, but is always anchored by heavy blues and great playing.
He really step up to the plate on ‘Song For Erik’, which opens with a southern rock feel, but struggles to overcome a poorly mixed acoustic, which initially almost sounds like a kazoo, or synth.
The song might have been better served by a B3 or subtle synth, but such is the quality of Rob’s extended solo that he once again triumphs with some feverish repeated notes and a big toned climax.
And just when you think they’ve hit a peak, they crank things up again with the hard rocking ‘Nadine’ (not to be confused with Chuck Berry).
It powers it’s way to a sing-along hook over repeated organ riff, as Orlemans extends his vocal range to nail a rocking track that at times evokes early Uriah Heep!
The album closes with ripping two bonus tracks, of which the live ‘JL Boogie’ restates the band’s boogie credentials, while special guest Michael Katon trades licks with Orlemans on his own ‘Red Moon Rising’, which is the kind of gruff boogie they were both born to play.
In fact it’s the perfect celebration with which to round of a rocking album. ****
Review by Pete Feenstra
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.
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David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 7 April 2024.
UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 2 April 2024.
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KAROBELA Get Hard (indie)
KATH & THE KICKS Neptune (indie)
THE BEE TELLERS River Poem (Black Sand Records)
LAUREN FREEBIRD Like A Bomb (indie)
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09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023
14:00-16:00 KATARINA PEJAK – Pearls On A String (Ruf Records)
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