”H P Lange – Solo”
So, he’s done it again. Proved that he is a master of fingerpicking blues!
For the last six years he has focused on playing with and developing his band, “H.P. Lange And Big Gumbo” but he has been giving solo concerts as well. With this new album he wants to show the world how he sounds when alone on stage. And it does sounds just great. Here he gets the possibility to demonstrate his finger picking skills. This is world class!
There is only one new song on the album, “I Drink When I’m Dry” reflecting the unusual state the world has encountered the past 1,5 years. It’s a 12-bar blues but in D and it’s miles away from the ordinary 12 bar shuffle plowing. My guess is that this will be a new staple song for many pickers. Most of the songs he has released with band but there are two numbers he hasn’t recorded before, “Hesitation Blues” and Charlie Poole’s “Milwaukee Blues”.
He makes a most personal interpretation of “Hesitation Blues”, but comes out good. “Milwaukee Blues” he plays inspiring and beautifully.
In recent years Lange has got a growing interest in “Old Timey” music. Here that genre is represented by “Darling Corey” and “Cluck Old Hen”, both banjo numbers. In “Darling Corey” Lange creates a meditative groove that brings Hill Country Blues to mind. “Cluck Old Hen” is a fun text primarily made for barn dancing.
The rest of the album contains “Lange standards” but with the difference of him playing alone giving them a whole new dimension, with intense finger picking backing up his lonely voice. The songs are, “Travelling Man Blues”, “Last Night”, “Hey Girl”, “Mole In The Ground”, “The Moon Is High”, “In Time” and the rare Blind Blake song “That Will Never Happen No More”.
A true gem for one’s record collection, whether or not one is into acoustic country blues or not!
You can read more about Hans-Peter Lange here.