This set is SUPERB! Hailing from Sweden, this brilliant combo deliver us a set of 'yester-now- tunes that will appeal to everybody. On listening to this CD, one can hear so many influences...Stax, Hi, Motown, and is totally in sync with 2010's finest proponents of this great sound - think Eli "Paperboy" Reed or Al Supersonic & The Teenagers. There isn't a single bad track on here, although one or two stand up above the rest. Needless to say that all instrumentation is real, the horns punch and have real inflection, the sax is gritty and the drums perform with real precision. There's soul here, funk and blues in equal measure...I would LOVE to see this band perform live as they must really be something to behold in full flow! Vocally these guys may come from as far afield of the Delta, Detroit or Chicago as you can imagine but they have real SOUL in their bones and know exactly how to execute it. Vocalist John Németh is the first vocalist to appear on the mighty "Walk A Mile In My Shoes", and totally takes control of the track with his powerful vocals with more than enough of a Stax flavour to keep me entranced. This could easily be an unreleased gem from 1967! Plenty would be fooled, I can tell you! Sven Zetterburg's brilliant bluesy guitar is amazing on "Drowning On Dry Land" and his vocals not too far removed from Dr. John are a perfect companion to this horn-drenched, funky number. Again, there is no mimicry here...Big band Splash deliver THE REAL ARTICLE. So...why the hell can our US cousins no longer do the same...come on, guys...get weaving!!!!The beautiful Greta Bondesson gives us a sexy vocal performance on a song that is worthy of a standing ovation..."I Had A Fight With Love" is the epitome of class...sexy, cool and totally sophisticated this has to be one of THE songs released in 2010. A phenomenal song that I cannot stop playing...truly in a 60s mould that could easily be another unreleased Stax gem from the 1965 - 1968 era...the set is rendered mandatory for this song alone - all other superb cuts are a magical bonus as far as I am concerned! Never did I imagine that I would be sat here in 2010 listening to brand new music as if it were recorded 45 years ago!!! And yet it is timeless, totally modern and contemporary at the same time. But, of course it is...it's soul music! Fans of Jackie Wilson's vocal style should appreciate Marino Valle's energetic vocal workout on "That's What Happens" and the funky brassy instrumental "Another Apple" will appeal to fans of the Dapp Kings. "Valerie", again, features Marino Valle on vocals, supported by the gorgeous Bondesson sisters and runs along a similar groove as Jackie Wilson's "Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher And Higher" and I really must give a shout to the final song, "Looking Up" which sounds very live to me, and is criminally short! It does, however, contains some brilliant guitar work and I wish we had a MUCH longer version 'cos 94 seconds just ain't enough!!! This is a no-risk purchase and lovers of real, decent, brilliantly performed music should own a copy.
Barry Towler
The Vibe Scribe
