While her recent award-winning Elmore James tribute, The Sky Is Crying (four tracks are included here), cemented her reputation as Finland’s queen of the slide guitar, Erja Lyytinen is also a strong songwriter with real depth.
On this London set, the subtle funk of Grip Of The Blues, the plaintive intro and southern rock feel of Change Of Season and the intricate tempo changes of Hold On Together all ooze confidence.
This live CD/DVD set is built on the rock-solid foundations of a sinuous rhythm section and intuitive band interplay, with Davide Floreno on subtle accompanying guitar. And while Lyytinen sometimes over-sings when searching for emotion, her range of dazzling tones, effortless technique, real feel – listen to the wah pedal on Grip – and sheer exuberance successfully draws on the past to imbue the blues with contemporary relevance.
