Second album out by the guy who’s something like the BILL CHAMPLIN of Sweden. We’re talking about ANDREAS ALEMAN, a Stockholm guy with a splendid voice that fits westcoast/soul perfectly. If you liked his debut album (“This Is Life”, Eidolon 2008) all you need to do is open your wallet and buy. Yes, it’s that simple!
As always, there’s a fine share of funk mixed into Andreas’ songs, and it shows already in the opener “Power”. MICHAEL McDONALD wouldn’t have done it better. Anyone into AIRPLAY? OK, lend an ear to “If it’s a dream”, where you get a cool collaboration between the lead guitar, the horns and the rest of the ensemble. This is music that’s carefully crafted – each song and arrangement has been thought through before recordings. The nice variations on this CD are accentuated by “Right out loud2, since it’s more like ERIC GADD but with a more interesting production. Actually not too far from OLE BÖRUD’s stuff either. And boy, it swings! I could go on with every son here, but I won’t. The slight “Georgy Porgy” beat in “Helplessly in love” shall be mentioned, and this tune has a lot of AL JARREAU vibes! TOWER OF POWER pops up in my mind when I hear “keep on keepin’ funky”, and I’ll finish here. This is a really good CD that every westcoast fan must have.
Great musicians once again, with real instruments all over. Songwriting is mainly involving ALEMAN and his usual suspects, and by that I mean BRIAN HOBBS, ADAM FIETZ (ACT), STEFAN GUNNARSSON and a few more. Keep ‘em coming, Andreas!
Rolling Stone guitarist “Brian Jones” died while swimming laps alone in his pool! A closet health-nut, Jones had “narcolepsy” and fell asleep during his workout.
