Max Wolff – Placemaker
Self-Released
11 Tracks – 40 minutes
Self-taught Danish guitarist Max Wolff released his first album, I’m Bonafide, in 2003 and his 2nd, Got You On My Mind, in 2008. In addition, he also performed with The Low-Budget Brothers, who released two albums. Now fifteen years later, he has finally released a third solo album. Over the three decades, he says he has been on the road performing “at venues where people truly listen to music, and in places, where the music is just meant to make you feel good.” And with that statement he establishes his objective with the presentation of this album.
Max plays acoustic finger-style guitar and provides vocals on eleven self-penned songs, seven of which are instrumentals. He brought in several friends of his from the Denmark music circles including Peter Friis on upright bass, Niels Ulbrandt on keyboards, Wurlitzer piano and mellotron, Lars Pedersen on drums, and Bo Johansen and Mikkel Uttrup providing percussion.
Max’s style can be compared to guitarists such as Stefan Grossman and Leo Kottke. The opening cut “Eight O’clock Dream” is a light guitar solo with jazz hints roaming through a Piedmont style of picking. On “You Don’t Blow My Blues Away”, Max sings that he has been “gone too long and need to go back home to stay”. “Blue Nights & Beige Nights” offers some unique bottleneck slide guitar work with Niels’ keyboards underscoring the music. Next, he sings about all the good things he could do if “I Would Be King” including spending money if ” I were king, and you were queen”. “Eating Beef Late” is a light ragtime era sounding guitar solo.
The jazz returns as Lars’ provides a steady backbeat to Max’s guitar on “Gary’s Garage” (listed on the cover as “Picking Gary’s”). “Just Asking” is a very subdued, quiet tune with a slight bounce. “Little Kingdom” welcomes you to his little garden while his “guitar plays the blues” and this is “where I am king”.
“Sleep Over Rag” (called “Oversleeper” on the cover) has a bit of a Chet Atkins feel as Peter slaps the bass. “Oxford Jam” opens with a cathedral like organ leading into Max’s smooth guitar work and builds as it proceeds with the bass and drums kicking in. He ends the album with a positive cheerful statement “here we go in a world crazy and wild” but “After All” “we are all the same” and “after all I will play you the blues”.
Max’s songs venture frequently into jazz with a blues feel. The songs are never less than pleasant and would serve well as a quiet background for your listening pleasure. But listen well as he offers some fine guitar work throughout. As stated above, he wants to play music that makes you feel good, a goal he certainly accomplishes.
