Blues

Erja Lyytinen - Stolen Hearts (2017)

2017-04-10T14:33:41Z

Erja Lyytinen - Stolen Hearts (2017)


1. Stolen Hearts (4:41)
2. Rocking Chair (3:48)
3. Love Laboratory (4:12)
4. 24 Angels (3:55)
5. Black Ocean (7:13)
6. Slowly Burning (4:15)
7. Lover's Novels (3:30)
8. Silver Stones (4:44)
9. Awakening (3:59)
10. City Of Angels (5:20)
11. Broken Eyes (4:55)

Bass – Juha Verona
Drums – Kai Jokiaho
Drums, Percussion – Miri Miettinen
Guitar – Davide Floreno
Keyboards, Organ [Hammond], Piano – Harri Taittonen
Vocals, Guitar – Erja Lyytinen

The chances are that you if you’re aware of Erja Lyytinen, you consider her a blues artist in the most familiar sense. It’s a perfectly excusable assumption. The petite bottleneck guitarist has spent 15 years involved in a gradual but steady ascent of the ladder of the European blues market, her most recent studio record, 2014’s ‘The Sky Is Crying’ being an homage to a childhood hero, the late Elmore James.

Since then the lady that the Blues magazine refers to as “the Finnish slide goddess” has given birth to twins, undergone changes in her personal and professional lives and emerged with a fresh, re-energised attitude.

Seven albums into her career ‘Stolen Hearts’ reveals a new facet of Lyytinen’s artistic persona. In the past she has integrated elements of both hard rock and pop into her music. This time out, encouraged by her producer, Erja now flings the doors wide open to express what she describes as: “heartbreak, frustration, disappointment, fear of loss and yet, at the same time, the deepest love.”

With the exception of long-standing guitarist Davide Floreno, Lyytinen worked with a new group of musicians in Helsinki during the summer of 2016 and then proceeded to step even further outside of her comfort zone when multi-platinum selling engineer and producer Chris Kimsey agreed to participate in the sessions. Kimsey is best known for having worked on many of the biggest selling albums by The Rolling Stones but his CV also includes the likes of Led Zeppelin, Peter Frampton, Marillion, The Quireboys and The Psychedelic Furs among many others. Lyytinen was thrilled to fly to London to record her lead vocal tracks and then sit back and watch as the Englishman mixed the results at a studio called The State Of The Ark, equipped with a desk once owned by EMI. In fact,

‘Stolen Hearts’ was mixed on said console – the same one that Kimsey had often used with the Stones. “Chris said that it was like meeting an old girlfriend after many years,” recalls Erja. “He sat in front of the desk and his magic started to happen.”

Of course it would be misleading and foolish to describe ‘Stolen Hearts’ as a complete reinvention for Erja Lyytinen. The self-descriptively named ‘Slowly Burning’ is a languid, melodic slice of fruity blues-rock.

However, its hook-laden and decided funky title cut is something different altogether, and it’s easy to appreciate why Kimsey fell in love with ‘Black Ocean’, a cool slice of 1970s-influences rock built upon a strident, sassy riff and garnished with one of Lyytinen’s finest guitar solos to date. And let’s not forget closing number Broken Eyes, noteworthy for its stripped-back feel and a formidable, emotional vocal display. “I felt that I had the ingredients to make something extraordinary and different,” says the little lady. And you know what? She was right. --- erjalyytinen.com

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Erja Lyytinen - Songs From The Road (2012)

2016-03-04T17:03:01Z

Erja Lyytinen - Songs From The Road (2012)


01. The Road Leading Home — 2:33
02. Voracious Love — 4:17
03. Don't Let A Good Woman Down — 3:46
04. Everything's Fine — 7:22
05. Grip Of The Blues — 5:59
06. Can't Fall In Love — 4:53
07. Not A Good Girl — 12:05
08. Steamy Windows — 7:57
09. No Place Like Home — 3:13
10. Crossroads — 2:06
11. Scinny Girl — 6:04
12. Oil And Water — 7:27
13. Soul Of A Man — 6:56

Erja Lyytinen – vocals, guitar
Davide Floreno - guitar 
Roger Innis  - bass 
Miri Miettinen - drums

Erja Lyytinen’s Songs From The Road (CD+DVD for the price of one) documents a November 2011 performance at the Savoy Theatre in Helsinki, Finland.

Following acclaimed releases by the late Jeff Healy and American blues legend Luther Allison (“DVD of the Year” at the 2011 Blues Music Awards), the newest entry in Ruf Records’ award-winning Songs from the Road series comes from Finnish artist Erja Lyytinen. The singer/songwriter/guitarist emerged on the international scene as part of the Pilgrimage project in 2005 and has since become a fixture in clubs and concert halls throughout Europe. Lyytinen’s songs skillfully blend slide guitar-driven, down-home blues with elements of rock, pop, jazz and soul.

The two-disc CD/DVD set Songs from the Road documents a November 2011 performance at the Savoy Theatre in Helsinki, Finland – the same venue in which Thomas Ruf discovered Lyytinen six years earlier. The concert focuses on material from her 2010 release Voracious Love while mixing in a smattering of cuts from previous studio albums. Included are outstanding originals like “Voracious Love” and the hard-driving “Everything’s Fine”, Blind Willie Johnson’s unforgettable “Soul of a Man”, a revamped “Crossroads” and Tony Joe White’s swamp classic “Steamy Windows”.

But there’s a major difference here. Onstage, Erja and fellow musicians Davide Floreno (g), Roger Innis (b) and Miri Miettinen (d) like to expand upon what she has delivered on record. The CD’s 13 tracks thus shed new light on Lyytinen’s music, showing off more of her ingenuity as a guitarist than any of her studio recordings. Long-time second guitar player Floreno is also a strong presence as he takes turns soloing with the bandleader. (Their successive solos on “Not a Good Girl” are among the show’s many highlights). The band as a whole never veers off course. Instead, the four musicians ride the groove, play off one another and take each song to new places.

The DVD – clocking in at over 80 minutes – includes a brief interview and two bonus tracks not found on the CD. The crisp Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound brings out every facet of Lyytinen’s voice, from sensuous whisper to toothy shout. Cameras capture the bittersweet emotion of the solo-acoustic “No Place Like Home” and take us along on Erja’s crowd walk during “Skinny Girl.” She is extraordinarily focused and visibly proud to be playing in front of her hometown audience. Songs from the Road presents a confident and multi-talented performer at the height of her powers. --- bluesmagazine.nl

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Erja Lyytinen – Live In London (2015)

2016-01-28T17:05:37Z

Erja Lyytinen – Live In London (2015)


1. It’s Blessing [1:47]
2. Let It Shine [5:06]
3. Person To Person [2:31]
4. Hand In Hand [2:38]
5. Grip Of The Blues [6:15]
6. Change Of Season [8:01]
7. Everything’s Fine [7:59]
8. Hold On Together [6:37]
9. The Sky Is Crying [7:22]
10. It Hurts Me Too [5:26]
11. Dust My Broom [14:02]

Erja Lyytinen – vocals, guitar
Davide Floreno – guitar
Roger Inniss – bass
Miri Miettinen - drums

In October of 2014, fresh off her most acclaimed recording to date, Finnish blues standout Erja Lyytinen rolled into London’s iconic 100 Club for an evening of live music. At her side, a crack band featuring long-time musical partner Davide Floreno, bassist Roger Inniss and drummer Miri Miettinen. After three years as a touring unit, the band was on full form. The groove, artistry and undeniable power of their performance on that famed stage has been captured on the CD/ DVD twin-pack called Live in London.

With a colorful history that goes back to 1942, the 100 Club is considered the oldest independent music venue in the world. During that time, a who’s who of blues and rock’n’roll legends including Muddy Waters, B.B. King, The Who and The Clash have entertained audiences there. It’s also played host to “secret shows” by the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Metallica and others. For Lyytinen, however, a pair of concerts by American blues legend Son House – recorded at the 100 Club in the summer of 1970 and later released as Delta Blues and Spirituals – stand out above the rest. “He’s one of my big favorites, and when I first heard that recording years back, I didn’t expect I would someday be on the same stage as he had been!”

She opens her set with an a cappella tribute to another Delta Blues giant, Fred McDowell, then gets things rolling with the help of the band on her own grooving “Let It Shine.” The next two cuts are by Elmore James and offer listeners a first taste of her 2014 studio release The Sky Is Crying. A high-spirited and technically brilliant tribute to James, the album earned high honors at home (voted Best Album of 2014 by Finland’s YLE Radio Suomi ‘Bluesministeri’) and abroad (selected as one of top three international albums of 2014 by the writers of Britain’s Blues Matters magazine).

The performance progresses with an impressive block of original material: The shuffling “Everything’s Fine” is driven by Inniss and Miettinen’s strong and steady groove, while “Hold On Together” provides the framework for an all-out guitar duel between Lyytinen and Floreno.

Three more Elmore James titles – including a stunning seven-minute version of “The Sky Is Crying” – allow Erja to show off the full depth of her slide-playing abilities, but also turn the spotlight on Floreno, who proves that the band is more than just a one-gal show. For her part, Lyytinen stays away from slavishly copying Elmore James, instead offering a respectful but fresh and decidedly female take on his classic material.

For most of us, London is not around the corner. And though Erja Lyytinen tours extensively throughout Europe and North America, there are a few places she hasn’t reached yet. The striking sounds and vivid colors of Live in London give listeners and viewers the opportunity to experience this unique musical talent and her able supporters up close and personal. --- erjalyytinen.com

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Erja Lyytinen & Davide Floreno - It's A Blessing (2005)

2015-09-02T13:47:32Z

Erja Lyytinen & Davide Floreno - It's A Blessing (2005)

Side A
1. Welcome Song    (Lyytinen)
2. Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out
3. Frustrated Woman Blues    (Lyytinen)
4. Whiskey Days     (Lyytinen)
5. Hurry Make Love

Side B
1. Habanero    (Floreno)
2. Love Me     (Lyytinen)
3. Your Brown Eyes    (Lyytinen)
4. Why    (Floreno)
5. It's A Blessing

Erja Lyytinen – vocals, guitar
Davide Floreno – vocals, guitar
Teemu Keränen – double bass
Chris-Tomas Konieczny – drums

Born in Rome and making his home in Helsinki, Finland, Davide Floreno is best known as the right-hand man to contemporary blues artist Erja Lyytinen. He has played lead & rhythm guitar on each of Lyytinen's first four international releases and accompanied her on hundreds of live dates. He'd have no problem keeping it that way. "I’m not much of a singer and I am not a front man by any means," says this modest six-string maestro. "I like to be on the side." But Lyytinen's fans, recognizing Floreno as an integral part of her sound, have been pestering him about a solo album for years. --- cdbaby.com

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Erja Lyytinen - Dreamland Blues (2006)

2015-05-30T15:43:49Z

Erja Lyytinen - Dreamland Blues (2006)


1.	Skinny Girl
2.	Why A Woman Plays The Blues
3.	Best For You
4.	It Hurts Me Too
5.	Mississippi Callin'
6.	I Need Love (To Get Over You)
7.	Good Lovin' Man
8.	Dreamland Blues
9.	Nasty Weather
10.	Join Everyone
11.	Voyager's Rest
12.	Lady (Bonus track)

Erja Lyytinen (vocals, guitars)
Davide Floreno (guitar, bass)
Kinney Kimbrough (drums)
David Kimbrough (bass)
Justin Showah (bass)
Ian Parker (backing vocals)
Lee (drums)
Steve "Lightin" Malcolm (bass)

Why does a woman play the blues? New album "Dreamland Blues" gives an exhaustive answer. Erja Lyytinen's international solo album has been released by Ruf Records.

German label Ruf Records has released Finnish Erja Lyytinen's first international solo album "Dreamland Blues". The experience of making this album has obviously been unforgettable for the artist; the material was recorded over four days in August in Mississippi, partially with local musicians. The producer was Lyytinen's English Blues Caravan colleague Ian Parker. There is more powerfulness and effectiveness to "Dreamland Blues" than to any other Lyytinen album to date. The significance of success is increased by the fact that this is a solo album. Thus the artist's input is particularly dominant. Miss Lyytinen has found her own line of duty. It is the blues, although only less than half of the tracks clearly land to this category. A proper conclusion has been drawn when planning the album: in a successful long play record, you just have to cross some musical borders.

The album consists of eleven tracks: some blues, some soul/pop numbers and a couple of slow originals. Only two are cover songs. Others have been penned by Miss Lyytinen herself, often in collaboration with Davide Floreno and Ian Parker.

The most significant song, and certainly the most significant blues song on the album is "Why a Woman Plays the Blues". Both lyrics and music-wise, it profiles the artist as well as the whole album. The album itself is an answer to the question often made to Miss Lyytinen, but this song is the cornerstone of the given answer. Erja did not choose the blues, she was chosen by the blues! The song has what it takes to become a - hopefully international - classic of female blues.

Opening track "Skinny Girl" is joyful slide fun. The opening of the album is excellent, as track number two is the perfectly timed "Why a Woman Plays the Blues". This pair of songs is the highlight of the album.

Miss Lyytinen has adopted the pure delta feeling best on the album's name track. Ragged playing and an intimate vocal sound carry the authentic swampy mood. Elmore James - Marshall Sehorn loan "It Hurts Me Too" for its part has the heaviest blues stomp. "Good Lovin' Man" is a shameless "Dust My Broom" copy, but isn't music all about recycling?

Soul and pop numbers bring in some all-important colourfulness. The most effective of these is Parker's "Mississippi Callin'". It is a rather heavy soul interpretation, which is given nuances by some fine chord and mood changes. "I Need Love (To Get Over You)" is reminiscent of the classic girl group sound. The perfect impression only lacks a vocal group with glimmering dresses and synchronised dance moves. "Nasty Weather" and "Best for You" are the least impressive and thus most forgettable songs on the album.

"Join Everyone" is a ballad that arises from the feelings of loneliness and no hope. It adequately appeals to the listener, but the end result seems a bit artificial. At worst, the song might turn into an embarrassing sing-along in concerts. A short, acoustic instrumental "Voyager's Rest" ends the album.

"Dreamland Blues" is quite dominantly a solo album. It leaves little room to move for the band, but the potent group fulfils its task in flawless fashion. Perhaps Lyytinen's next one is a strong band album? Parker's production is a success: the sound is full and the instrument gallery has appropriately been kept reduced.

Erja Lyytinen's new album is a convincing proof of her spectacular development as a musician. Progress both as a singer and a guitarist has been captured on this production. The album must also be respected for the use of original material. The majority of the music is rich and at places catchy. The lyrics are mostly about romantic relationships, but still they manage to avoid clichés.

The opening of the album is very forceful. As a whole, however, the structure could be better. Of the first eight songs, five are obvious blues numbers - of the last three, none. The album in a way ends after the name song, and the less impressive three songs in the end close the album in a rather dragging manner.

The release of "Dreamland Blues" has been a well-kept secret in the artist's native Finland. At any rate, its success in the country should be hoped for. Hit music records are certainly sold in Finland in numbers ten times larger, but this album contains artistic input and soulfulness in proportions beyond commercial music's reach. ---Pasi Tuominen, blues-finland.com

Młoda wokalistka i gitarzystka z Finlandii debiutuje tą płytą na arenie międzynarodowej udowadniając, że ma wiele do powiedzenia na zdominowanej przez mężczyzn scenie bluesowej. Album został nagrany u źródeł, w Mississippi z udziałem Davida Kimbrougha (bas), Kinneya Kimbrougha (perkusja) i Davide Floreno (gitara, bas). Dwanaście kompozycji nagrano w cztery dni. ---muzyka.onet.pl

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Erja Lyytinen - Attention (2002)

2015-02-03T16:38:33Z

Erja Lyytinen - Attention (2002)


01. I Will Have My Tomorrows (3:43)
02. Teach Me To Swing (4:05)
03. Don't Know If I Love You (2:43)
04. Jumpin' From Six To Six (4:16)
05. Not A Good Girl (5:08)
06. Attention (4:08)
07. Backyard Blues (2:53)
08. Jone's Boogie (2:55)
09. Don't You Feel My Leg (4:00)
10. Greed (2:57)
11. You Talk Dirty (4:27)
12. Twenty-One (2:58)

    Erja Lyytinen – vocals, guitar
    Davide Floreno – guitar
    Toni Kortepohja – piano
    Kimmo Oikarinen – drums
    Jouni Kaartinen – bass

In the past few years, Erja Lyytinen has taken the international music scene by storm. She's a young, talented singer/songwriter and exceptional guitarist who plays everything from dobro to slide guitar. "But the guitar - or any instrument for that matter - is there just to support the story that I'm always trying to tell with a song", she says. Erja was born to a musical family in Kuopio, a little town in the middle of Finland. At the age of 15 she was performing with her parents - singing and at first playing the violin and later the electric guitar. "People always wonder how a girl picked up the guitar. But being from a musical family - my mother is a bassist and my father a guitarist - I don't think that's a far stretch," Erja laughs. Erja's second album Wildflower (Bluelight Records), which she also co-produced, was officially released in June 2003 at one of Finland's biggest festivals, Puistoblues. "It was great," Erja enthuses. "We got to open for Koko Taylor and Bonnie Raitt. They've both had a huge influence on me."

Erja has often been compared to Raitt and the Finnish magazine Blues News once hailed her as the Bonnie Raitt of Finland."I think the main reason why some people compare me to Bonnie is that we both are women and play slide guitar. But naturally, it was fantastic when I finally got the chance to meet her. She turned out to be a really nice person." In 2005, Erja signed with Ruf Records and promptly flew to the USA to collaborate on a project with British blues artists Ian Parker and Aynsley Lister. The resulting album, Pilgrimage, was a huge success and led to subsequent tours in the United States and Europe as well as the live DVD Blues Caravan 2006 - The New Generation. One of the songs Lyytinen wrote for the Pilgrimage session, "Dreamland Blues," also appeared on the CD Blues Guitar Women compiled by award-winning Canadian blues artist Sue Foley.

Erja returned to the U.S. in 2006 to record her first solo album for Ruf Records, Dreamland Blues. Teaming her up with David and Kinney Kimbrough (sons of the late Junior Kimbrough, a Mississippi hill country legend) and long-time musical partner Davide Floreno, Lyytinen's latest CD digs even deeper into the gritty blues sound she has now identified as her own. She still integrates a range of other influences such as jazz, pop, R&B and country into her songs. But as Ian Parker puts it: "Erja has now discovered her true musical home - the blues." After hearing Lyytinen on her first tour of Germany, one critic wrote: "Not only does the lady have a fantastic voice ... she is also an excellent guitar player. Hot sounds from the great white north!" As she continues to pound the road in the years ahead - burning up the fretboard with her slide, flashing that million-dollar smile - Erja Lyytinen is sure to keep winning over the hearts of fans everywhere. --- imusic.am

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Erja Lyytinen - The Sky Is Crying (2014)

2014-12-05T16:45:10Z

Erja Lyytinen - The Sky Is Crying (2014)


1.Person To Person
2.Baby Please Set A Date
3.It Hurts Me Too
4.Erja’s Contribution To Jazz
5.The Sky Is Crying
6.Got To Move
7.The King Of The Slide Guitar
8.Sho’ Nuff I Do
9.Something Inside Me
10.Hand In Hand
11.Dust My Broom (live)

Bass – Roger Innes
Drums – Miri Miettinen
Guitar, Backing Vocals – Davide Floreno
Lead Vocals, Slide Guitar, Guitar – Erja Lyytinen
Percussion – Abdissa Assefa
Piano, Electric Organ, Accordion – Harri Taittonen
Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone – Petri Puolitaival
Trumpet – Jukka Eskola

Erja is one of the best-known European blues performers with a string of acclaimed studio albums and a live set to her credit since her debut set was released in 2002 – the only real criticism of her that tends to be made is that sometimes she tends to stray too far from the blues roots. There can be no such criticism with this CD though!

Finland’s Queen Of The Slide Guitar pays homage to Elmore James, Mississippi’s undisputed King Of The Slide Guitar and the results are as compelling as can be expected. Erja takes ten songs closely associated with Elmore and reinterprets them in her own way, though she chose songs she could re-write from a woman’s perspective, and Elmore’s instrumental ‘Elmore’s Contribution To Jazz’ – a rather inaccurate title for this excellent blues – is reworked into ‘Erja’ s Contribution To Jazz’.

Erja keeps pretty close to the originals on most numbers, though allowing herself free rein on ‘Got To Move’, and her own number ‘King Of The Slide Guitar’ certainly goes way beyond anything Elmore might have tried, incorporating subtle flavours of pop, African and Caribbean music, alongside some wonderful slide playing, of course. There are some lovely touches on this set – just little things like the piano on ‘Sho Nuff I Do’, which is just so 1950s down-home Mississippi.

Throughout the album, Erja displays an excellent understanding of Elmore’s music, but perhaps nowhere more so than on the closing ‘Dust My Broom’, a live version of the first Elmore James number she heard. It has been a favourite of Erja’s ever since and one she invariably includes in her live repertoire. This version follows her lovely, tough cover of ‘Hand In Hand’ which also nods to Hound Dog Taylor, but ‘Broom’ is nearly ten minutes of wild slide guitar heaven. ---Norman Darwen, bluesinthenorthwest.com

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Erja Lyytinen - Forbidden Fruit (2013)

2014-02-11T16:48:55Z

Erja Lyytinen - Forbidden Fruit (2013)


1	Joyful Misery	4:27
2	Hold On Together	3:54
3	At Least We Still Fight	3:40
4	Forbidden Fruit		5:30
5	Death Letter	4:37
6	Change of Season	7:39
7	Jealousy	3:58
8	Press My Button	4:23
9	Things Ablout Coming My Way	4:42

Erja Lyytinen - lead acoustic, electric , slide guitars, vocals, keys
Davide Floreno – acoustic, electric guitars, backup vocals
Roger Innis - bass
Miri Mietinnen – drums, percussion, backup-vocals
Hari Taittonen - keys, Hammond, piano

Forbidden Fruit’ finds Finnish slide guitarist Erja Lyytinen taking the blues into the new territories, by delving into the personal realm to explore previously untapped musical ambitions. From the deeply felt lyrics and well crafted songs to the emotional input of her solos and expansive band harmonies, ‘Forbidden Fruit’ embodies the essence of everything we identify as the blues.

The lead track ‘Joyful Misery’ for example, is a superb co-write with Bonnie Raitt song writer Alan Darby. It has a lovely understated groove and a catchy melody, with great harmonies, a strong hook and an aching solo. It’s also a very radio friendly song as befits most of the album.

‘Forbidden Fruit’ is a multi layered affair. Peel away a layer and you will find another rich seam of lyrical meaning and intricate guitar parts. The heart felt lyrics, deep guitar tones and sonic textures are all glued together by Erja own natural vivacity.

‘Forbidden Fruit’ may not have the immediacy of some of her previous albums, but on this CD she draws from a deeper well, infusing old blues traditions – the art of story telling and sexual double entendre’s – with contemporary musical values and guitar solo’s that evoke lyrical meaning.

For every well crafted turn of phrase there’s an intricate guitar part to match, ranging from co-producer Davide Floreno’s tremolo guitar figure on ‘Joyful Misery’ to the slide-led, wall of sound on ‘Jealousy’. The radical arrangement and unusual chord structure of ‘Death Letter’ re-invigorate the blues standard and helps integrate it into the albums sequential flow. The Lyytinen/Floreno co-write ‘Change Of Season’ is a also a lovely ballad with a smouldering arrangement, resonant solo and one of Erja’s very best vocal performances.

The poignant ‘Joyful Misery’ is inspired by a 50 year relationship between her uncle and aunt, while the title track pulls no lyrical punches;- ‘A flower in blossom attracts all kind of bees’ – before she belatedly offers us a cathartic release with Lil Johnson’s ‘Press My Button’.

‘Forbidden Fruit’ avoids the usual clichés and as a result might be considered a slow burner, but the songs are rooted in real substance and the playing is a delight. Contemporary blues never sounded more essential. --- getreadytorock.me.uk

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