Hard Road Blues

HANS THEESSINK "HARD ROAD BLUES" 1994 Blue Groove BG-6020, produced by Hans Theessink Even though I like all sorts of roots music, my first love is the acoustic blues as created in the last century. As a boy I remember hearing Big Bill Broonzy for the first time on late night radio. I was totally taken by the emotional richness and the sound of one person singing and playing guitar at the same time. To me that's sort of my musical base. My song 'Big Bill's Guitar' is a keysong for me that I tend perform at all my solo concerts. 'HARD ROAD BLUES' is my first recording of this basic blues form: one man - one guitar. Enjoy, Hans Theessink This sparse guitar-and-voice production is immediately engaging. Theessink plays with a strong groove and excellent tone and sings in a deep, resonant voice. A majority of the songs are originals that show his love of traditional blues forms. This recording deserves a spot in the stores next to the work of the men who inspired it. (James Jensen, Acoustic Guitar, CD hit list, USA, 1997) Theessink is a formidable slide guitarist - check him out! (Kenneth Johnson, The Charlotte Observer, August 97) The arrangements are sparse but very rich in dynamics and highlights his emotional directness and superb phrasing in both his guitar playing and vocal delivery. Theessink has a total grasp on the loping, pulsing rhythm that propels classic Delta blues music. Songwriting craftsmanship is amply displayed in "Big Bill's Guitar", where bittersweet reminiscences of life events linked to distant experiences of Big Bill Broonzy are artfully fit over a traditional blues framework. (Andy Allen, Dirty Linen, USA, July 96) Let one more myth die quickly; you don't have to be American to play the blues. Hans Theessink is in that select group of artists such as John Hammond, Paul Geremia and Rory Block, whom all share the responsibility for preserving and enriching the styles of the old masters. (Reflex Magazine, USA) Theessink helps us realize how wealthy our American musical heritage truly is - via Vienna! (Northwest Arkansas Times, USA) While you would never mistake Theessink for Robert Johnson, on talent alone he can certainly be counted among some of the more notable interpreters of the blues, including Eric Clapton and Robert Cray. If you close your eyes, Theessink's voice sounds like a cross between the late, great Lowell George (Little Feat) and, with his rich bass croon, Johnny Cash. (Ted Donat - The Music Paper, USA, Oct. 96) Close your eyes and the first guitar notes are misleading. Surely the fingers responsible for this long, dragged-out bottleneck wail belong to that part of the world known for lads picking cotton rather than sticking their fingers in dykes. It is undeniably the sound of the itinerant blues player - even if 'born in Holland' doesn't quite have the ring of Mississippi authenticity. In Hans Theessink's case, it's a big sound. Not just in volume - there's an almost industrial-strength robustness to his finger-picking that effectively gives the top lines the backing of a mighty rhythm section: a veritable one man band that's never other than impressive. (Rob Adams, Glasgow Herald, UK, sept. 93) CAN A DUTCHMAN SING THE BLUES? YOU BET! (Frets Magazine, USA) Theessinks' re-workings of traditional delta-blues are light years past any other contemporary bluesman. His own songs are capable of standing up to the classics. (Metro West/Boston, USA) ONE HELLUVA GUITARPLAYER (Bo Diddley music legend, USA) European acoustic blues master Hans Theessink can play guitar with the greats. "Mississippi" and "Blind Willie" - both original compositions - found brilliant guitar solos with great feeling. (Austin American Statesman, USA) You may not think of Europe as a hotbed of the blues, but that's only if you haven't heard the dazzling work of Hans Theessink. Armed with a smokin' repertoire he breathes new life into acoustic blues. (Guitarplayer Magazine, USA) WHAT A VOICE! (Hot Press, Eire) Hans is from Holland, but that doesn't stop him from playing some heartfelt blues. He has internalized this idiom - nothing academic in his fingers, it's all feeling. (Philadelphia City Paper, USA) Hans Theessink is both a keen student of tradition and an exploratory improviser. His presence, alongside Taj Mahal and John Jackson, assured a savory combination of roots and innovation - a living celebration of timeless Music. (Chicago Tribune, USA) Hans Theessink is the most creative musician working in the blues idiom in Europe - certainly the most original and convincing that I've heard. (Blues & Rhythm, GB) Hans' innovative interpretations of works by blues giants, his deep voice, intimate approach, and acoustic slide guitar will inevitably remind many listeners of Ry Cooder's blues style. It would be a disservice to Theessink however, to cast him as a simple imitator, for he is not. His own songs convey the personal interpretive mood of the best of acoustic blues, and is accomplished in a singular, arresting manner. (Journal of American Folklore, USA) His greatest assets lie in a deep resonant voice and the ability to convey a powerful but restrained approach to his guitar craft, particularly in his emotive bottleneck playing. Indeed Theessink displayed the tightest control of dynamics of any acoustic/electric musicians I have seen recently. (Blue Print, GB) He moves your soul like a good confession. The man has a special gift. When he puts the slide on his pinky, he takes the audience right to the heart of the Mississippi Delta. What sets him apart is stage presence and love for his medium which makes you feel like you're sitting with the man in his living-room. (Reflex Magazine, USA) His in-the-pocket guitarwork makes for unique music. Theessink's knack for making country-blues contemporary should make him a major new artist in the blues world. (New Music Report, Canada) The most exciting bluesguitar-playing you're likely to hear on these shores. (Hot Press, Eire) For slide blues lovers, Theessink - who sings in a pleasing deep voice - is a find.(The Hartford Courant, USA) His guitar-playing shows impeccable control and yet he plays with such depth of feeling and energy that the music proves irresistible to the audience. (Jersey Evening Post, Jersey)