|
Richard Smerin knows the true worth of a good song and is full of respect for the great Blues and Ballad composers. Before performing any songs of his own, he renders numbers by Little Walter, Randy Newman, Bob Dylan and Muddy Waters. His warm, sensitive voice and folk-style fingerpicking do full justice to the words and melody. Richard Smerin is from London and has been playing acoustic guitar since the age of seven. He has played with B.B. King, Bobby 'Blue' Bland and John Lee Hooker.
Fürth was founded at the confluence of three rivers - almost a delta, really. So it's not surprising that first-class Blues are played in the area. And once the Blues have got you they never let go. Many, many years ago they got hold of Klaus Brandl. Ever since, he has had the kind of feeling you get after a night on the town when, having lost all your money, you find a letter on the breakfast table saying your girl has left you. Brandl walks a tightrope between tragi-comedy and deep melancholy. His songs tell of trains leaving town, lost chances and moments of depression. The music is pure blues - no electric guitars, no synthesisers, no concessions to easy popularity. Blues in the raw, without any flourishes, just as it grew up somewhere between the Mississippi Delta and Chicago.
|
Brandl