Spiritual Beggars
Earth Blues
Inside Out Music
2013
It’s not unlikely to happen upon a 70s “influenced” rock band these days… I would probably say that is more likely than it used to be in the past two decades. Certainly, none can blame these Swedish rockers for following a trend cuz’ when they started this band back in 1992, no one could have thought what it was going to be in the late 00s. So, the guys are back after 3 years and Apollo seems to have perfectly fitted the band’s philosophy no matter what.
“Earth Blues” is exactly what the title says… it finds the band in an inner 70s survey where Uriah Heep, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Thin Lizzy, Black Sabbath, UFO & Whitesnake among others are having the first and basic role. Apollo’s “throaty voice” along with the heavy yet “dense” sound can easily give you that 70s heavy rock feeling. Furthermore this is how a production should be made for this kind of music; neither too “retro” nor too “modern”.
Undoubtedly “Earth Blues” has its moody times, its more melodic ones and the up-tempo heavy (ones). From the ala Thin Lizzy, with the metal “It’s a Sin” intro, “Hello Sorrow”, to the smooth & bluesy “Dreamer” and all the way up to the heavy rocker “Legends Collapse”. “Kingmaker” is, possibly, the band’s own tribute to Deep Purple/Rainbow with the “distorted Hammond” and the key-riff ala “16th Century Green Sleeves”.
Essentially there’s not a single bad moment on this album and that’s what makes it easy to listen to more than once in a row. It’s actually very enjoyable and it does separate itself from other similar releases of this genre due to its undeniable music quality and freshness. “Earth Blues” can be placed, indubitably, among the bands finest works… it’s that good indeed…
“Earth Blues” is exactly what the title says… it finds the band in an inner 70s survey where Uriah Heep, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Thin Lizzy, Black Sabbath, UFO & Whitesnake among others are having the first and basic role. Apollo’s “throaty voice” along with the heavy yet “dense” sound can easily give you that 70s heavy rock feeling. Furthermore this is how a production should be made for this kind of music; neither too “retro” nor too “modern”.
Undoubtedly “Earth Blues” has its moody times, its more melodic ones and the up-tempo heavy (ones). From the ala Thin Lizzy, with the metal “It’s a Sin” intro, “Hello Sorrow”, to the smooth & bluesy “Dreamer” and all the way up to the heavy rocker “Legends Collapse”. “Kingmaker” is, possibly, the band’s own tribute to Deep Purple/Rainbow with the “distorted Hammond” and the key-riff ala “16th Century Green Sleeves”.
Essentially there’s not a single bad moment on this album and that’s what makes it easy to listen to more than once in a row. It’s actually very enjoyable and it does separate itself from other similar releases of this genre due to its undeniable music quality and freshness. “Earth Blues” can be placed, indubitably, among the bands finest works… it’s that good indeed…