Steve Wold has a rich biography of a vagabond, occasional farmer and a musician who worked with names such as John Lee Hooker and Janis Joplin. When he turned 60, he started releasing his solo albums and celebrated his five minutes of fame. In the history’s repetition, the old American blues man was first accepted by British audience, and then the rest of the Europe fell in love. It seems like the Old Continent can hear through the cacophony of aggressive entertainment industry. In 2010, it was still evident that Europe is yearning for something raw and authentic.
Seasick Steve’s music is remarkably raw, close to the hobo-blues sounds of the bands as The Black Keys and Left Lane Cruiser are. The only difference between them is that Steve is a bit more authentic. While they are dreaming about wandering, Steve lived the life of a globetrotter. When he sings about random jumps from train to train, friendships with dark and loneliness, or riding a tractor, it can be felt that Steve is singing about his life.
His interpretation is also less intrusive. Steve’s album Man From Another Time is split on things that Steve does by himself and the things where bass, drum and electric guitar help him create a hypnotic boogie. The intro Diddley Bo sets the tone right away. It is a dedication to Steve’s mono-string instrument, but also to the primitive and catchy rhythms of Bo Diddley.
Steve is an exquisite player, capable of injecting minutiae to the contagious melodies without the listener even noticing he is being hooked. You don’t even notice there is no one else in the song but Steve. The songs played with the band also stick to the Less Is More philosophy, with the production keeping it all organic. Listening to the album, you hear the diesel motor, taste domestic vine and smell the grass.
In the title track, he says how he was perplexed as a youngster by everyone older talking about the past. Now he is in the same phase, so he is afraid that he will not turn into the old fart. That is why he did not understand why the younger generations were interested in him after this record. Don’t they have more important business than to listen to the man from another time?
No, Steve. Living in Global village is exhausting, so we need something real. When everything is available, but limiting at the same time, we don’t have more important job than to take care of ourselves. We need to communicate with other with an open heart. And that is exactly what you taught us with Man From Another Time.
