Dr. Helander & Third Ward – Shining Pearls
Blue Light Records
10 tracks – 39 minutes
Finnish trio Dr. Helander and the Third Ward feature the twin burning guitars of Ikko Helander and Esa Kuloiemi and drums by Leevi Leppanen. While Ikko tears up the songs with his lead guitar work, Kuloiemi plays a mean slide guitar and doubles up on bass. This is the trios third album which contains eight original songs firmly set in the Chicago and Delta blues style with two well selected covers.
The slide guitar immediately accents the lead song “I Don’t Wanna Wake Up from My Dream”. as Ikka powers his guitar behind the rhythmic drumming. On “Unwanted Person”, he notes that “I cannot do nobody good” “Everyone I talk to turns their back on me”.
Listening to the guitar work of the two men can certainly lead your thinking of Lightning Hopkins, which makes it only right that the first cover is Lightning Hopkins’ “War Is Starting Again”. The song was originally written as Hopkins was viewing the start of the Korean War, but it certainly fits the issues facing Europe today as he sings ” The World is in turmoil, I got news this morning that they need young men.” Mississippi Fred McDowell is listed as one of the inspirations of the band and therefore the second cover is McDowell’s “61 Highway.” (“Highway 61” in the US).
Leevi Leppanen plays organ in addition to drumming and Panu Syrjanen guests on sax on “Cemetary Wall” as he says the wall is “waiting for my downfall”. “Your Old School” emphasizes the slide guitar again as the good doctor says, ” I tried to teach you better, but I’m no fool”. On the title song he notes that “Shining Pearls” “won’t make you happy, diamond rings will make you frown”. “No matter what I try, you try to drag me down.”
Next Ikko declares I am going to build me a “Bridge To Freedom” “…and get a brand-new start” with Esa again ripping on the slide guitar. Syrjanen joins the trio and Serko Niemenen adds harmonica as Ikko declares “You Don’t Care”. The album ends with “Rollercoaster Riding” which compares his life to being on a roller coaster speeding along up and down.
The album features constantly driving electric guitar blues. Ikko’s voice is certainly suited to the older traditional style of Chicago blues.
