Blues Addicts CD

The sole album released by a journeyman blues-rock band from Denmark in 1970, Blues Addicts is one of those records that gets its reputation for being so obscure rather than being a lost classic, frankly speaking. But as with everything, there's always a context for some sort of reissue somewhere, and its revival on the Shadoks label in 2008 reveals it to be enthusiastic and not entirely without interest, but there's not much else to say otherwise. Backing vocalist and guitarist Ivan Horn provides liner note details from an interview in 2002 about the band's history and the circumstances surrounding the recording -- it's a brief but enjoyable tale of how a bunch of young enthusiasts took to the then-new sounds of acts like Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience with enthusiasm -- while the fact that the group concentrated on originals rather than cover versions is definitely to their credit. (A sense of humor didn't hurt them at all: the opening track's title is a mathematical formula, for example, while "Bottleneck" is aptly and accurately named, as one can audibly hear.) Horn's guitar work has definite moments to it, such as the breaks on "Ba-Ba-Dar," while lead singer and conga player Thorstein "Gibber" Thomsen is competent enough, as is the group's rhythm section. But the hastily recorded album sounds unavoidably muffled in its re-release -- the original master tapes were lost in a fire soon after it was recorded -- and overall the disc bears the signs of its quick creation. It's an artifact that will please the obscurity seekers, but people fine with things like the previously named artists, as well as acts like Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, won't need to add it to their collections per se. ~ Ned Raggett

Recording information: Spectator Studios, Aalborg, Denmark.