Bad Temper Joe - Bad Temper Joe And His Band (CD)

If you want to assert yourself as a musician in the 21st century and make a name for yourself, you must first and foremost be adaptable, always deliver something different, something new - up to date - and, as in the financial sector and in business, a certain feeling have an anticipation of trends in the future. Anyone who succeeds in doing this most likely does not write their own songs and basically has hardly any freedom of choice, no opportunity for individuality.
On the other hand, there are also those musicians whose main focus in life is the thing itself - the music, making music - who mostly write their lyrics themselves and also take the composition into their own hands. Artists whose sounds somehow mean something to everyone, even if they should never claim to be suitable for the masses, precisely because their music comes from their own heart and is unique in its own way - like with Bad Temper joe
This name has long since become familiar to connoisseurs of the current German blues scene, as they value his virtuoso acoustic playing on the Weissenborn lap steel guitar, which is often presented in solo performances, traditionally reminiscent of the heyday of blues combos in the 1920s. But going back that many years in retrospect, Bad Temper Joe doesn't really move at all, as his fifth studio album "Bad Temper Joe and his Band" - the second in 2017 - clearly, clearly and above all loudly proves. This time around, he's making good on the promise "I'm gonna get me a Rock 'n' Roll band [...]" previously made on February's predecessor "Solitary Mind" and is now in the full breadth and diversity of an electric band, consisting of various guitars, harmonica, bass and drums - recorded independently and mixed together.
There's really no denying Bob Dylan's influence on Bad Temper Joe's music this time around, as three interpretations of the maestro's works interestingly illustrate. Even if its interpreter found inspiration in many different past decades, such as the 50s, 60s or 80s of the last century, "Bad Temper Joe and his Band" does not mean an imitation of well-known, past greats or analog, distorted studio sounds, but current, contemporary music that convinces with its sound power, quality and purity.
If you like blues, call it blues, if you like Americana or country, call it Americana or country, if you prefer listening to rock, call it rock - good music doesn't necessarily have to be able to be assigned to just one genre! One thing should definitely be said in conclusion: no four hundred and thirty-six words replace a first, second or even tenth listening experience.

01 Hard To Do
02 Waiting On A Message
03 Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde #4
04 Caroline
05 Double Trouble
06 Can’t Wait
07 Blind Willie McTell
08 I’ll Be There
09 Til I Fell In Love With You
10 Meet Me In Your Dreams
11 Blueberry Hill