Search - Sky High :: Bluester

Blues Rock from Sweden at its very very best

Paul Watson | Ireland | 08/10/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Hailing from Sweden, Clas Yngstrom has been on the music scene for around 30 odd years and consistently churns out top quality Blues Rock albums. Hugely influenced by Jimi Hendrix (Refer to his CD Tributes to Jimi), he also pays homage to Peter Green (He actually features on the Peter Green Tribute CD "Rattlesnake Guitar") and ZZ Top. Rumour has it that ZZ Top didnt want Clas on the support bill a while back as he would have been a difficult act to follow. His first album was sung in Swedish, but all the following albums were sung in English. However that first Self titled disc was later re-issued in 2005 with English vocals and added bonus tracks. All his CDs are worth their weight in gold, but I highly recommend the album you should investigate first is "FREEZING HOT" which features the bulk of his best cuts on disc including "I aint begging", "You got me hooked", "I want you"(Very similar to the immortal style boogie of the TOPS La Grange) "Evil eye" and "Biding my time". There are a few Compilation Sky High CDs out there, most notably "On the Cover: 25 years of Madness" and "Sky Highlights" which feature virtually all the tracks I have mentionned. The Track listing for Bluester is as follows:



1.TOO YOUNG TO DIE (9/10) Excellent opener - A great heavy Bluesy Rocker featuring accompanyment by trumpets or the like



2.STRAY DOGS 7/10 Reminding me of a mix of the Hendrix Chestnut "Hey Joe" and Neil Young's Crazy Horse period.



3.YOU CANT BREAK ME (9/10) Another heavy Blues Rock tune with a great groove



4.WILD WOMEN (8/10) Hypnotic Slowish heavy Rocker in the same groove as "Purple Haze" - Another clever mix of trumpets feature with tasty lead guitar and strong backing vocals



5.BLUESTOWN (8/10) A passionate slowish blues tune featuring Clas singing at his most soulful. Again, I was reminded at times of Crazy Horse. At least in the twangy style of the Rhythm guitar.



6.SMILE (9/10) A change in style and wow, its so cool. It starts off like a classic 50s Rock n Roll Riff (i.e. Bill Haley) and turns into a pleasant Jazz Blues ditty. Tasty guitar and great horn and Organ accompanyment. A real feel-good song.



7.THE ROOTS ARE ALIVE (7/10) Another variation in style with an unmistakable Bo Diddley feel about it. Catchy vocals too.



8.JUDGEMENT DAY (10/10) Another Hendrixy styled song (Voodoo Chile style ). Slow starting guitar partnering the vocals note for note which later rips into classic Blues Boogie. As always, totally awesome guitar features.



9.TIMEBOMB (8/10) The intro riff reminded me of "Revolution" by the Beatles. A faster headbanging ditty which would have gone down a blast during the Punk Revolution.



10.SHOWBLIND (8/10) Touches of "All along the Watchtower" here. A mid paced rocker with yes, you guessed it, more tasty guitar work.



11.DRACULEENA (5/10) Blue Oyster Cult had "Godzilla". Sky High have "Draculeena". Hendrixy guitars mixed with trumpets and female vocal accompanyment.However I felt this song to be ordinary, compared to the previous tracks anyway.



12.I'LL PLAY THE BLUES FOR YOU (7/10) This is a another re-make of a classic song Clas sang in the early 80s. He had also done a dance re-mix of this song as well as the original song to disc. This song will probably be more widely recognisable as song by BB King.



13.DOWNSHIFT BOOGIE (8/10) I'm not normally into Jazz music, but when its done by Clas Yngstrom, there are exceptions. Starts out in really up-tempo jazz mood and slowly drifts into a mix of blues rhythms and and the lead guitar style that makes Clas stand head and shoulders above other modern day Blues Rock performers.



14.SET ON YOU (9/10) Probably more similar in style to Robin Trower than Hendrix here, but another taste of his soulful voice and monumental guitar skills.



Many of Sky Highs CDs can be obtained from [...] at reasonable prices. There you will actually be able to listen to samples of MOST of the tracks and there are also detailed descriptions of said albums. You should also check out [...], managed by a certain Joe Romagnola who is credited with the Executive Producer and Spiritual Advisor on the Clas Yngstrom Trio CD "Tribute to Hendrix". The Hendrix CD was actually put out on the Grooveyard label too, and I expect future CDs from Clas to follow suit. It was Joe Romagnola who introduced me to Sky High in the late 80s as well as countless other obscure Blues Rock legends to which I am extremely grateful. If you like the music of Clas Yngstrom (How can't you?) then I highly recommend you also check out another band Joe tuned me into i.e. "Funhouse featuring Marius Muller" from Denmark. They are very similar in style and Marius also was a devotee of Peter Green and Hendrix. Check out the CDs: "Funhouse, Maximum, Big and Plugged and you will also come across a brilliant version of Sky High's "I aint beggin" too. Sadly Marius died in a Car Crash around 1996. However, Clas Yngstrom is alive and better than ever, so I highly recommend you catch him when you can. There are also some great samples of him on You Tube, from where you will understand why I rate this guy so highly"