Joakim Tinderholt and His Band – Deadlines
Big H Records CD2301
10 songs – 29 minutes
Based out of Oslo, Norway, Joakim Tinderholt and his band have been one of the most popular units in the Scandinavian music scene since playing their first gig at the city’s Muddy Waters Blues Club in 2005. It took them almost a decade before they released their first CD, the rollicking You Gotta Do More, and ten more before this it’s been another ten more years since fun-filled follow-up. But give it once listen and you’ll agree it’s been worth the wait.
An experienced five-piece unit, some members previously toured with Louisiana Red during European tours while others were members of the Billy T Band, a group that won Norway’s Spellemannprisen, the nation’s equivalent to the Grammy, in both 2010 and 2012. They produce a hybrid sound that contains both the West Side Chicago appeal of Otis Rush and a rock edge akin to Little Richard at his bluesiest.
Tinderholt fronts the band on guitar and vocals with backing from guitarist/executive producer/label owner Håkon Høye, keyboard player Kjell Magne Lauritzen and a rhythm section composed of bassist William Troiani and drummer Svein Åge Lillehamre. Recorded by Atle Aamodt in Langesund, Norway, they’re augmented by Daniel Eriksen on slide guitar and Frederik Mustad on Hammond B4 organ. Sax Gordon Beadle provides horns on the set, which was mixed and mastered in California by Kid Andersen. He chips in keys and backing vocals along with wife Lisa Leuschner Andersen.
Five originals interspersed with an eclectic set of covers culled from Ike and Tina Turner, Robert Ward & the Ohio Untouchables – precursors to the Ohio Players, Chicagoans Eddy “The Chief” Clearwater and Tyrone Davis and country superstar Tom T. Hall via Bill Haley & the Comets, the album races out of the gate with the original rocker, “Deadlines.” It’ll have you heading straight to the dance floor as Joakim announces that “working under pressure is the only way for me…don’t give me time, give me deadlines.”
The original slow blues, “Don’t Look Now,” is fueled by Sax Gordon and comes with an early ’60s feel full of fat guitar riffs as it advises a lady to glance in another direction because the singer’s headed for trouble that she shouldn’t see. It flows into the pleasant rocker, “I Ain’t Rich,” which carries the admission that Tinderholt’s carefree life includes spending money like a millionaire.
Ike and Tina’s “(I Know) You Don’t Love Me” begins a run of four well-conceived covers. Delivered at a medium tempo and with a soulful rock feel, it gives way to the Untouchables’ “Love Is Amazing,” which is delivered atop a Latin rhythm, something that works even though the original came with a distinct Asian feel. Then it’s on to the Windy City for a traditional take on The Chief’s “Hillbilly Blues” and a pleasant reading of Tyrone’s “Can I Change My Mind,” which enjoys choral enhancement.
The original “Too Late” is a clever, driving blues that finds the singer “too late to come home early and too early to come home late. Another drink or two…what damage could it do?” A true-blue version of “How I Got to Memphis” is as soulful as the song can be thanks to the Andersens backing vocals. Give it a listen and you’d probably never know that it was written by Hall when he was a young Music Row tunesmith in Music City and has pretty much faded into obscurity since Haley made it a ’50s rock anthem. The feel continues with the soulful original closer, “Love Is a Four Letter Word.”
Joakim Tinderholt captures lightning in a bottle every time he steps into a recording studio, and that’s the case here. It’s short and sweet, and an effort well worth your ear.
