Walking in the dark and cold, late one evening in the November -98, I´m lucky to get a hitch to Vaasa with Hasse Westergård. He says listen, and turns his car stereo on. From this very moment the strong voice of Hans himself, in a completely new musical outfit, lights the darkness up. He sings the old classic Martha as if he has been saving something very special. His rough voice, though familiar since decades, sounds amazing. It has grown in depth and emotion, and has developed a new astonishing range. It is impossible not to think about the wicked sixties, when you talk about the musician Hasse Westergård. He was the Rythm & Blues singer of Vaasa. He made his singing debut as a working class hero at the dance hall Järkkäri as far back as 1963. A few years later he struck the audience as the very dionysian vocalist of the now legendary hard swinging R&B band the Wantons, which in the sixties really made us all go crazy. Nothing has ever been the same. But, sad to say, The Wantons never recorded. We now have to rethink it all because this cd is indeed the work of Hasse Westergård today. Hasse does not look back, he has chosen a material that he wants to interpret now, with special regard to Leonard Cohen. Nowadays Hasse Westergård makes his living as a skilful portrait painter, and he also makes free pictorial renditions of rock & roll mythology. And he is still singing. On this cd he sounds as if his matured voice is a happy surprise, even to himself, which gives the whole session a live feeling. The arrangments are made by the studio group, under the witty supervision of the producer and bass player Christer Rönnholm. Among the songs of this cd, all highlights, I want to mention some of my favourites: Hasse Westergård gives Many Rivers to cross, the wonderful Jimmy Cliff tune, a forceful treatment with his heart on his sleeve. The band performs with strength and precision throughout, and Mikko Rintanens sparkling guitar solo really wrenches things inside out. The whole group makes I´ll be Your Baby tonight with tonge in cheek and in a spirited uptempo. The tune was problably meant by the author Bob Dylan himself to be a pastiche, and this version is a hilariously swinging affair with lots of, I cant resist to say, wanton feeling in it. Even Hasse, who is always very laid back, sounds like being eager to take care of business, and everybody in the studio cracks up after the take. And now back to Martha. This interpretation is far out, it could melt any icecold heart, and, needless to say, Tom Frost alias T. Waits couldnít have more convincing spokesmen. It has the flavor of a classical crooners duet: please note the warm timbre and conviction of Magdalena Bölings backing vocal. To use the words of the producer Rönnholm, she adds beauty to the beast. The performance captivates strength and tenderness, dynamics and harmony, all in one. This is not the stuff that dreams are made of. This is what makes the impossible come true, a work of art, the nirvana of performing. If You ask the humble and proud singer Hasse Westergård how it all happened, he would probably answer - just because! Dan Holm     1. EVERYBODY KNOWS (Leonard Cohen) 2. BE MY BABE (Phil Spector) 3. DON'T KNOW MUCH (Barry Mann / Cynthia Weil / Tom Snow) 4. SO LONG MARIANNE (Leonard Cohen) 5. OH DARLING (Lennon / McCartney) 6. MANY RIVERS TO CROSS (Jimmy Cliff) 7. I'LL BE YOUR BABY TONIGHT (Bob Dylan) 8. DON'T LET ME BE MISUNDERSTOOD (Benjamin / Marcus / Caldwell) 9. MARTHA (Tom Waits) 10. ONE OF US CANNOT BE WRONG (Leonard Cohen) 11. IF IT BE YOUR WILL (Leonard Cohen) New! The Wantons YouTube-clips can be found here: I'll Believe to my Soul House of the Rising Sun Walkin' the Dog Honky Tonk Woman <<<Takaisin