About this product

Product Identifiers

ProducerHans Theessink

Record LabelCD Baby (Distributor)

UPC9004484080207

eBay Product ID (ePID)8050159650

Product Key Features

FormatCD

Release Year1997

GenreBlues

Run Time46 Mins 37 Seconds

ArtistDana Gillespie, Hans Theessink, Cindy Cashdollar

Release TitleJourney on

Additional Product Features

DistributionCity Hall

Number of Discs1

Country/Region of ManufactureUSA

EngineerMichael Malak; Diane Zaiko; Ulli Ullmann; Frank Campbell; Peter Muller; John Rhys

Additional informationPersonnel: Hans Theessink (vocals, guitar, 12-string guitar, National guitar, banjo, mandolin); Dana Gillespie (vocals, background vocals); Cindy Cashdollar (National guitar, dobro); Christian Dozzler (harmonica, accordion); Jon Sass (tuba); Ali Thelfa (drums, bass drum, djembe, tambourine, percussion, background vocals); Doretta Carter, Ray Williams, Terry Evans (background vocals). Audio Mixer: John Rhys. Recording information: Bismeaux Studio, Austin, TX (1996); Down Town Studio, Munich, Germany (1996); Electro-Magnetic Sound, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (1996); Hollywood Sound Recorders, Hollywood, CA (1996); Recorder Music Studios, Judendorf, Austria (1996); Sound Mill, Vienna, Austria (1996); Studio 4, Conshohocken, PA (1996); Studio Ollersbach, Ollersbach, Austria (1996). Photographer: Lukas Beck. Taking his cues from the '70s output of Ry Cooder, there is nothing in the sound of the Dutch-born and raised Hans Theessink that would indicate he learned his craft from albums and not from being raised in the swamps of Mississippi. His dusky baritone, greasy slide licks, and soulful male backup singers (led by Cooder vet Terry Evans who turns in a stunning performance throughout) plant him firmly into the deep South. The gospel feel of the title track, along with its subtle shuffle beat and rousing yet mellifluous supporting vocalists, sounds as natural as if he spent his entire life soaking up the spirits of the bluesmen he obviously adores. When he and the elegant singers harmonize on "Set Me Free," with pedal steel crying and longtime cohort John Sass' tuba counterpointing the bass, you can almost feel the flies buzzing around your head as you sit beside the banks of the mighty Mississippi. The ghost of Robert Johnson haunts this graceful music, yet the feel is less of the raw Delta blues than of a shimmering, daydream inhabited by the spirits of the swamp. Similar to J.J. Cale, Theessink finds his soul hovering through the backwoods, and with his sympathetic band, he has created an album that is hypnotizing in its intensity. Jaunty covers of Willie Dixon's humorous "29 Ways," Rufus Thomas' classic "Walking the Dog," and Leadbelly's "Bourgeois Blues" all get similar treatment, as Theessink nudges these often-covered tunes into the marsh and mud, wrapping his voice around them and providing interpretations so unique and distinctive it seems he's re-written the songs. An album-closing solo turn on Muddy Waters' "Feel Like Going Home" is a beautiful, sad coda, as the guitarist takes his time languidly unspooling the track, as if he's playing at home alone. In fact, the entire disc sounds comfy and cozy, with Theessink secure in his talents and especially those of his remarkable band. This is an artist steeped in the blues, but like Ry Cooder, one who successfully interprets it in his own characteristic fashion, which is what makes Journey On so consistently engaging, on so many levels. ~ Hal Horowitz