Southpaw Steel ‘n’ Twang
Hale’s Pleasure Railway (Bafe’s Factory, 2014)
Finnish guitar virtuoso Ville Leppänen has captured perfectly the essence of American roots music on Hale’s Pleasure Railway. Armed with arsenal of guitars, including electric guitars, lap steel and pedal steel guitars, Leppänen and his band take you on a wonderful journey through the world of twangy Americana, jazz, rock, blues, surf-rock, western swing and Hawaiian music.
Southpaw Steel ‘n’ Twang plays all original material composed by Ville Leppänen. It’s a superb set of instrumentals that engage the listener from the very beginning. The album opens with a great rock track titled ‘Open Field,’ loaded with lap steel guitar supported by drums and bass.
‘Bayou’ takes inspiration from the blues and sacred steel. The piece has two distinct sections, where Leppänen displays his dazzling skill on the lap steel guitar. ‘Bayou’ features Jukka Haikonen on Lowrey organ, who provides a touch of gospel.
Next, Southpaw Steel ‘n’ Twang take you to the beaches of Hawaii with the delightful ‘Secret Sunset.’ This is an updated vision of Hawaiian guitar with steel guitar accompanied by ukulele.
‘Bad Alley’ is a fabulous blues piece with a heavy beat and multiple solo guitar variations. It features an electric bass solo by JP Mönkkönen.
The band switches over to western swing on ‘Butterscotch,’ featuring an irresistible jazz beat.
‘Red’ features vocals with very light percussion. It’s my least favorite cut on the album.
As soon as you hear the first guitar notes on ‘Steel ‘n’ Twang’ you get a sense that Ville Leppänen is channeling the spirit of Stevie Ray Vaughan. It’s an outstanding blues performance.
‘The Game’ brings forward the band’s country rock influence.
On ‘Dark C’ the three musicians turn to a more progressive approach with a scorching jazz-rock fusion piece.
The swinging ‘Feather Wheather’ sounds like it came straight out of Nashville. This piece also features organ.
The album ends with ‘Still,’ a beautiful composition that highlights the beauty of the steel guitar.
The lineup on the album includes Ville Leppänen on electric guitars, lap steel and pedal steel guitars, ukulele, acoustic guitar, vocals and handclaps; JP Mönkkönen on electric and acoustic bass; and Tero Mikkonen on drums and percussion. Guest: Jukka Haikonen on Lowrey organ.
Hale’s Pleasure Railway is an exceptionally good steel guitar twang album by Southpaw Steel ‘n’ Twang, featuring guitar hero Ville Leppänen.
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
very much enjoyed this!