BERDON KIRKSAETHER
AND THE TWANG BAR KINGS
THE VOODOO SESSIONS
ROLLER RECORDS RRCD 13
MAMA ROLL OVER–SOME KIND OF VOODOO–MAD HOUSE–WHEN THE MOON IS ON THE RISE
Berdon Kirksaether is a Norwegian guitarist, vocalist, composer, and producer who fronted one of Norway’s finest contemporary blues bands during the Nineties, CIA. He has reunited three of the four original members of CIA on their latest release, a four-song EP entitled “The Voodoo Sessions,” on the Roller Records label. This one is pretty much a straight-ahead blues-rock set, but it does feature some of the same sonic experiments that made their 2013 release, “Latenight Under A Full Moon” such a well-received set.
Berdon is joined by Stein Turnert on bass, Roy Hanssen on drums, and band newcomer Erik Gabrielsen on guitar, who gives these cuts a decidedly-edgy tone. Leading off is the pounding, lusty, “Mama Roll Over, I need your love tonight!” Capturing the feel of vintage SRV and Double Trouble is the freight-train chug of the evils of today’s society, the “web of lies” that makes up a “Mad House.” The set closes with the story of the consequences of the aforementioned mad house, where “a change is gonna come “When The Moon Is On The Rise.”
For us, the centerpiece was the cut the title is based upon. Set over a modified Diddley beat, the tremolo and echo-effect guitars add to the swampy vibe of those “spooky fingers” and “something strange in the air,” “Some Kind Of Voodoo.”
Berdon Kirksaether And The Twang Bar Kings continue to think outside the box when it comes to their interpretations of the blues. “The Voodoo Sessions” continues in that vein, and all us blues fans are the real winners! Happy New Year, everyone! Sheryl and Don Crow.
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