Blues The Swedish Way

Blues The Swedish Way

Bruce Von Stiers

When you think of blues artists and blues music, you probably wouldn't think of Sweden. Yet there is a really strong blues presence in that country. And one of the more prominent blues artists in Sweden is J. Asling. He has recorded three highly blues acclaimed albums.

Now J. Alsing has just released his most recent album, recorded in the fall of 2014. That album is titled The Stockholm Sessions. The artist listing is J.Asling Roots & Friends It has all original material written by Asling.

The album has thirteen songs and a play time of forty-five minutes. It was released by Do Music Records and produced by Daniel Lantz.

Asling does the lead vocals on the album and plays guitar. Magnus Edring plays dobro and banjo. Micke Elofsson is electric bass. P.A. Tollbom is the drummer for the album. And Sven Eric Lundeqvist is on piano and Hammond organ.

Also helping on the album were Niklas Bursell on backing vocals and Agnes Berg on violin and backing vocals. There was Sven Zetterberg on harmonica, guitar fills and a solo on one song.

With a title like Jesus In The Cockpit, you might be thinking of a Country song. But this is a really good blues tune with strong guitar and banjo backing Asling vocals.

Will There Be Peace Tomorrow is a toe tapping tune with great guitar and some nice harmonizing backing vocals from Agnes Berg.

Blues For Tarantino is a head bopping tune that you just might find in a scene from a Quentin Tarantino film.

Paps Is A Good Friend is a cool guitar and harmonica laden piece.

Swedish Stomp is a rollicking song that might make you think of a New Orleans Bourbon Street storefront band.

Mama Used To Say (A Love Song) is one of the few mellow songs on the album. It has subtle guitar and organ.

Another toe tapping song is Down At The Wicked Pick. This is the song with the Sven Zetterberg solo.

Grooving and toe tapping is what the sound of Done Lost All My Good Things is all about.

Slowing things down ever so slightly is the love lament song Please Tell Me.

Great guitar and organ are factors in the groove infused blues tune Love For Just One Day.

She Whispered Sweetly has an almost rock sound to it with some slick guitar rock/ blues guitar. It also has some cool banjo in the background.

Slowing things down a lot is the deep down blues song After Bedtime.

The album closes with a radio edit version of Will There Be Peace Tomorrow.

J. Asling is a tremendous blues guitarist, songwriter and vocalist. Together with the core group of musicians and the special guests, The Stockholm Sessions is a really decent blues experience.

The Stockholm Sessions can be found at amazon.com and other retailers. You can also order a copy of the album from J. Asling's web site at http://www.jasling.com/

There is also a Facebook fan page at https://www.facebook.com/sirjasling

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