Album of the month

Blues enthusiast and board member Willem van de Kraats has been pulling an album from his large collection of vinyl every Sunday morning for years, sitting down with a cup of coffee and enjoying the blues. That Sunday ritual gave us the idea of doing this monthly on a larger scale. Blues lovers choose their favorite album, write their personal memories with it and mail them to lpvandemaand@bluesinwijk.nl.  Willem and Jos du Floo together form a jury and choose the best entry. We publish that choice on our website, share it on social media, and Jos plays a song from the LP every Sunday for a month in his blues program ‘Highstreet Jazz&Blues’ op Regio90FMThe first album of the month was announced by Jos on Sunday, October 4.  Below all the elected albums and the stories can be read back and a nice archive of wonderful blues albums will be created in the coming years. 

2021 July

It was on a Friday night, some 39 years ago, that I first saw and heard Barrelhouse play. It was crowded during the forerunner of the Bluesfestival Utrecht, but I quickly managed to get to the front of the stage. Tineke’s voice, the guitar work of the brothers John and Guus that you immediately feel, the piano playing of Han, the percussion of Bob, Jan Willem on the bass, it made something in me. And following the band was born. I was lucky enough to attend a performance in de Peppel in Zeist before the Corona era. There was only 32 people in the audience. But it was a wonderful evening and I went home with a signed “Almost There” album. The key to 45 years of performing and touring successfully together is to give each other space. Then the nominations and awards come as a reward. To be able to add an Edison Jazz/World to the list in 2020. Then the title “Almost There “will become reality, what you are looking for can also be found just around the corner.
Paul Copier

2021 June

In high school, I was clearly in the Rolling Stones camp.  But then in 1970 Get yer Ya-Ya-s out came out with a live performance featuring songs like Love in vain and Midnight Rambler.  Totally awesome. Especially Midnight Rambler was as long as 9 minutes. In those days I studied at Delft University and lived as a student in my room with a gramophone and headphones.  I played this LP for years until it was completely worn out. Because of the headphones I could turn up the volume and tap along with my fingers on my desk and sing along. I was in a trance because of the music and at the same time I could solve the most complicated mathematical problems.  Music and studying went hand in hand.  I’m still amazed that I could do that, two things at the same time. And whether the neighbors were happy with just my singing, I doubt.
Rob Neleman

2021 May

In the sixties I listened a lot to bands from England and America. In the Netherlands, Rob Hoeke had released his first record ‘Boogie Hoogie’ with his Philicorda organ on the Philips label. In my then still modest record cupboard there was already the ‘Beano’ album by John Mayall. One day I would have almost all his official albums on the shelf. There are now 66 of them. In secondary school, once a month, under the guidance of a music teacher, there was an opportunity to play records taken from the classroom. Sometimes innovative but always refreshing and sometimes a reason to buy an album for 18,50 guilders at record shop Van Boxtel in Helmond. One day, a sound came out of the speakers that caused the same sensation as when I first heard ‘A Whiter Shade Of Pale’ and ‘Sultans Of Swing’: ‘Foxy Lady’, the first track on the album ‘Are You Experienced’. This was the debut album of Jimi Hendrix in June 1967, an American guitarist who had already made a big impression six months earlier with the single ‘Hey Joe’. He was persuaded by the former bass player of The Animals, Chas Chandler, to come to England and became a legend ever since. I still play this record, with only strong songs like the bluesy ‘Red House’ and the jazzy ‘Third Stone From The Sun’. Goosebumps music, that’s what it remains. A funny detail is that Eric Burdon, on the album ‘Winds Of Change’, with the song ‘Yes I Am Experienced’, answered the question of Hendrix.
Gerrit Dijk

2021 April

My favourite album is ‘Colosseum Live’ from … by the band Colosseum. Nice raw vocals, but at the same time also instrumental gems of solos on guitar and keyboards. Besides that, I find it, certainly for an album of over forty years old, unusually good quality for that time. Especially the song “Lost Angeles” is great (but it’s almost 20 minutes long…) because of its construction and passionate singing. In the early/mid-seventies, three or four of us (we were about 17-18 years old) would regularly go to obscure places like “De Kruk” in De Meern (now music venue Azotod) and sometimes to the “Werfkelder Sarasani” in Utrecht, to get slightly stoned in dark corners together, because we didn’t have much money to blow, the beer did the rest…. Especially Karel (who also drew very well) could make great joints that kept us going for a while! The longer songs were often played later in the evening and for example “Lost Angeles” was a hit and of course a lot of work by bands like Frank Zappa, Soft Machine, Iron Butterfly, Rare Earth, The Doors etc. etc. A great time, when really good music was still being made.
Nico Biersteker

2021 March

Three LPs of John Mayall in the record box are the living proof of my blues roots. In my moped years I went to Amsterdam to see him live in the Concertgebouw. Crusade’, ‘The Diary’ and ‘Bare Wires’ were played completely grey. Just straightforward 60’s blues, a musician without embellishments, Mick Taylor’s guitar solos to be proud of, an organ and mouth harp that cut through your soul. Every time I earned some money I went to the music shop van Wijnen in Doorn to buy a new LP. In one of the sleeves there is still a purchase receipt of F4.50 and discount stamps. Good times and sweet memories, like going with the whole group of friends from Wijk on mopeds to blues concerts in the ‘Weerwolf’ in Leersum. What fun we had. The foundation for BluesinWijk was laid there.
Arie Verheul

2021 February

It was 1967 and I regularly went with friends to the ‘SOOS’ behind the Maranatha church in Driebergen. At a certain moment this brand new album was played… You have just discovered John Mayall, you hear the influences and you know that you have entered a new musical era. Far away from Elvis Presley and James Brown, to name but two extremes. But Young and Hendrix go on the turntable and of course Ten-Years After. And you play air guitar with the endless guitar solos … the blues is discovered.
Anton Rekké

2021 January

Bamboozle
An album that hit me like a bomb at the time (1971). As far as I am concerned, it is the high point of Livin’ Blues. There is not a weak song on it: LB Boogie was an (international) hit and Black Night is timeless and indestructible. Keep on and Hitch-Hikin’ are great too, just like the title track, of course. I still play the album regularly and still think it’s a great record. It was the 3rd LP from Livin’ Blues (after Hell’s Session and Wang Dang Doodle) with Ted Oberg on guitar, Nicko Christiansen (vocals and saxophone), John Lagrand on harmonica, Ruud van Buuren on bass guitar and Johnny Lejeune on drums. Since a few years Nicko Christiansen and companions call themselves Livin’ Blues Xperience and are still touring. In 2014, the live album Alive and Kickin’ was released. This shows that the band is still holding its own. This was also proven a few years ago when the band was recruited by BluesinWijk and performed in Langbroek.
Henk van Dijk

2020 December

Van Morrison launched his solo career in 1968 with the LP Astral Weeks. Astral Weeks was already hailed as a classic at the time, but never became a record industry mega-success. Them fans couldn’t really appreciate his departure and upheaval. I really appreciate him for the wide variety of styles he always manages to bring. Blues, Jazz, Soul, Country and Irish Traditional Celtic. Astral Weeks has always been known for its mysterious character, its poetic lyrics, its Jazz timing and its masterful singing. This has given the album a memorable spiritual image and allowed it to live on as a true classic album…
Anton Winkel

2020 November

This is not so difficult for me, I was immediately impressed by C+B’s first LP Desolution. This was in 1966 a revolution in the music world and it is the best creation ever made in our little country. Desolution, what an emotion on this album. This record goes through marrow and bone. It is already 9 years ago that Harry Muskee passed away. My hero. I choose the song Five long years by E Boyd on this album. In 1968 this album was awarded an Edison. I was 16 years old at the time and was already camping on Texel with my Puch. I saw C + B perform in Sarasani, completely in the dark on stage. Eelco was dressed all in black and stood dead still playing his solos. Harry of course in his knitted jumper. I had goose bumps and listened with a lot of emotion. The atmosphere fitted in the 60’s time. It gave me energy, strength and hope for the future. C+B ran like a thread through my life since then…
Frans Hoving

2020 October

Time for vinyl again and this time the double album of Buddy Guy and Junior Wels PURE RAW BLUES with recordings from the fifties, a pleasure to listen to again. Together with Frans Hoving I witnessed these blues giants at the Bluesestafette in Vredenburg Utrecht 1991. Goosebumps with the gangster of the blues harp Junior Wells in his beautiful black suit and white hat. Frans and I were very touched and never forgot it. Buddy Guy, a great guitarist, we saw perform several times in the Netherlands later. Unfortunately, Junior is no longer with us, he died far too early in 1998 at the age of 64, but fortunately he has left his mark on present-day blues harp players. I am very happy with his albums, which I play regularly and realize where the beautiful blues music comes from.
Willem van de Kraats