Hans, with co-producer Colin Linden, has effectively integrated elements of delta blues, New Orleans rhythms, country, folk and gospel on each track. Ironically, this exquisite great american roots music was originally tracked in Munich!
Fluent in six languages, Hans brings great songs and the coolest phrasing to Call Me.
Special guests include a veritable who's who of roots music: Jon Sass, The Colin Linden Band, Bobby King and Terry Evans, The J.B. Horns (Maceo Parker, Fred Wesley and Pee Wee Ellis), Morris Goldberg and Rick Danko, Garth Hudson and Richard Bell from The Band.
Produced by Colin Linden and Hans Theessink
Hans Theessink uses strings by Dr. Thomastik. Jon Sass plays tubas by Wenzel Meini.
The words of a lovesong
are hurting your soul
Your lover has left you
standing out in the cold
Call me - Call me
bridge:
I can't bring you the rainbow
promise you silver nor gold
But darling - I can reach out
a hand to hold
You can't tell
your visions from reality
Like a clown that keeps laughing
to hide all his tears
Call me - Call me
You're walking a highway
that got no return
Ain't no way back
all the bridges are burnt
Call me - Call me
bridge:
You can count on me - Call me
You can count on me - Call me
Call me - Call me
You can - Call me
With his most recent release, Theessink has composed nine of twelve titles, and also collected around him some outstanding musicians and singers. The presentation and packaging of the sleeve is very lavish and beautifully designed, and similar can be said of the music. The collection reveals a side of Hans that we have not yet seen in Britain where he has a large backing, often including a horn section and backing vocals.
Hans often performs in concert with Jon Sass and there cannot be many bands which include a tuba in the line up! One of the most unusual and dynamic combinations appears on "Soul of Song," composed by Jon Sass, which opens with a solo acoustic mandolin and is then joined by the tuba; it works to great effect.
A song that I have enjoyed greatly performed live is "Call Me," and here it is beautifully produced, with the added bonus of having Bobby King and Terry Evans providing some soulful vocal backing. Both men have made very successful albums in their own right but they are also respected for their work with Ry Cooder. Hans is a great admirer of Ry (aren't we all?) and some of his influence is most obviously suggested on Woodie Guthrie's classic song "Ain't Got No Home." This is a wonderful interpretation, losing nothing of the original biting protest and greatly enhanced by some atmospheric alto sax from Morris Goldberg.
This is a very creative collection and Hans Theessink illustrates that he is willing to experiment with new sounds and techniques. As always he has chosen with integrity some very interesting material and selected some fine musicians that are sympathetic to his approach. This is an enjoyable collection but I hope now and then that the will return to his roots in the country blues. I am sure he will. Highly recommended.
Folk Roots (Sept.'92)
Call Me - Hans Theessink
By: Mark Gallo
Hans Theessink, born in Holland and currently residing in Austria, isn't the first name that comes to mind when the blues is the subject at hand, particularly given his signing to Deluge.
Like Ry Cooder, to who he's bound unavoidably to be compared, his forte is a generous mixture of gospel, delta, and country. He's a first rate slide player, amazing band, anchored by the superb tuba playing of Jon Sass, and does the coolest version of Chuck Berry's "Mabeline" ever recorded.
James Brown's horn players, Fred Wesley, Pee Wee Ellis and the great Maceo Parker, are along for the ride, as are The Band's Garth Hudson and Rick Danko. So are the long-time Cooder vocalists Bobby King and Terry Evans.
Oh yeah, this is an amazing disc! What else do you need to know.
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Last Update: March 27, 1996 12:15 PM