Bjorn Berge Album Reviews

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Illustrated Man (2002)
St. Slide (2004)

Illustrated Man (2002)

7.5

Cypress Grove / Funky Face / Angel Band / Give It Away / Some Day / Wishful Thinking / Heather/ Travelling Riverside Blues / Damn / Locomotive Breath / One Meat Ball / Illustrated Man / Ride On

Illustrated Man Bjorn Berge was born into poverty as the youngest of eight children. When both his parents died from the consequences of cholera, the 12 year-old and his siblings were forced to look out for themselves, and that's how the kid wound up in a car factory, working double shifts, but stubbornly practising on his battered, second hand acoustic guitar which he'd bought for five dollars. His mentor was a certain Louisiana Slim, a legend of whom we know next to nothing… Wait, wait, this nonsense has gotta end. As far as I know, Berge had a normal youth in Norway, where people are as likely to buy blues albums as they're gonna be fans of Fela Kuti. It just doesn't make sense, you know. Still, Berge emerged fully-fledged from the underground in the late 90s, with looks that make him a dead ringer for some guy in Biohazard, but a preoccupation for acoustic folk blues. Like on his next album, 2004's St. Slide, it's obvious that Berge's not only fond of the personal form of expression that blues is, but also rock, as he picks songs from acts as diverse as Jethro Tull (a thoroughly changed "Locomotive Breath") and The Red Hot Chili Peppers (a frenetic, exhausting romp through "Give It Away"). By consequence, blues purists better beware, as this Norwegian action figure doesn't seem to give a single crap about conformity and prefers to dress up his songs with un-pure details. Much like R.L. Burnside's 2000 album Wish I Was heaven Sitting Down, Berge's album offers a broader sound palette, coupling the authentic to the modern and the analogue to the digital. As a result, opening song "Cypress Grove" (originally by Skip James) is not only propelled by harmonica, 12-string guitar and Berge's commanding baritone, but also subtle layers of programming. This all works fine on the quieter tracks - the pretty "Some Days" gets an even wearier, late night-vibe because of it - yet it can become a bit overbearing during already dense tracks like "Funky Face." Further material to annoy the Alan Lomax in every listener comes with "Wishful Thinking," a bare-boned blues-rocker with BIG drums that has more in common with Jon Spencer's Blues Explosion than folk blues; and an almost unrecognisable, funkified version of Robert Johnson's "Travelling Riverside Blues" (yep, that's the one with the legendary sexual innuendo). Despite the fact that Berge usually gets away with his non-conformism (regardless of the angelic backing vocals of Kristin Berglund (Scandinavia's very own Emmylou Harris?) "Angel Band" remains a bit bland), the tracks I kept turning to where the ones he didn't tamper with: the moody "Heather," the speeding fingerpickin' fest of "Illustrated Man" and the Tony Joe White-style stomp of "Ride On" that shows that Berge has an understanding of blues music and maintains his credibility when he's left on his own, with feet-stomping rhythms and his Takamine guitar. While it lacks the spark and consistency of a great album, Illustrated Man has the Henry Rollins of blues performers expand his horizon with dominantly successful results.

St. Slide (2004)

8

Keep It Greasy / Black Jesus / Trains / They Haven't Seen the Last of Me / Minutes / Ace of Spades / One Kind Favour / Thursday / N.V. / Every Morning / No One Can Forgive Me But My Baby / Attitude & Latitude

St. Slide I already knew Norway was a hotbed for extreme metal bands (Dimmu Borgir, Burzum, Mayhem, Emperor, the list goes on and on) and spawned combos that were considered top acts in several genres, ranging from Turbonegro's garage punk, the stilted neo-folk of Kings of Convenience, and bands that are simply too hard to categorize (Madrugada, Motorpsycho, Jaga Jazzist, Röyksopp, etc), but it wasn't since I saw Berge deliver a terrific set when he opened for The Drive-By Truckers a while ago, that credible Norwegian blues became a reality as well. In his own country, Berge already released seven solo albums, became a Grammy winner and best-selling artist (that's for a blues man, I presume), but it wasn't until St. Slide that the guy became a name in the rest of Europe as well. Even though he nicely fits in with the younger generation of blues revivalists that kept the flame of acoustic blues alive (Kelly Joe Phelps, Keb' Mo', Corey Harris, Alvin Youngblood Hart, etc), there are also several distinctive traits that set him apart from the flock. There's the different background of course - and I really wonder whether it's as hard to get your hands on blues records in Norway as it is in Belgium, where most record shops seem to sell the same old compilations by the same old predictable names - but also the attitude, approach and, uh, looks. Berge's imposing physique and heavily tattooed body shouldn't influence the judgement of his music, but it definitely prepares you for his dissimilar way of tackling the blues, as he seems to have the heart of a rocker. A punk rocker.

This is not to suggest his style is not accomplished - if anything, you should consider this guy a guitar virtuoso, capable of conjuring up some of the hottest delta blues you'll hear, turning his 12-stringed guitar in a machine that kills most contenders out there. His attack is extremely powerful for a blues man and the result of a style that has him stomping his foot, strumming a bass line with his thumb (and a pick), playing the melodies with his other fingers and use a slide to give the sound even more muscle. The result is a raggedy sound and in-your-face style that seems to combine the feverish swamp funk of Tony Joe White, the virtuosity of Leo Kottke and the powerful Delta blues of Skip James, with Berge's gruff baritone giving the music an extra dirty dimension. As such, he's succeeded in creating a niche for himself, where he's credible as both a blues musician and a rocker. The latter part apparently has become more important to him, as half of St. Slide's songs are covers. The inclusion of Keb' Mo's restrained love song "Every Morning" (a nice showcase for Berge's more delicate side) may come as no surprise, just like Tom Waits' "No One Can Forgive Me But My Baby" makes sense, but there are also less predictable cuts like Everlast's rant "Black Jesus," Frank Zappa's obscure "Keep It Greasy" (which starts off the album on a funky note) and… Motörhead's immortal "Ace of Spades." Even though these choices are guaranteed to hook him up with a credible cool among rock fans and work really well live (the stomping studio version of Morphine's "Thursday" doesn't even come close feverish live version), the originals are actually the real McCoy here, disbanding the occasionally forced rock style in favour of more organic material that hovers between the terrific folk of "Trains," the tender ballad "Minutes," the swift slide-fest of "N.V.," the ominous "One Kind Favour" (Tony Joe White would surely approve) and the irresistible funk of "Attitude & Latitude," which will leave many guitar teachers and their apprentices scratch their heads. Berge doesn't invent anything new on St. Slide, but that's isn't the purpose of a blues musician, it's about finding a voice in a tradition that's kept alive by people like him. That Berge tackles a serious amount of rock material on top of that is usually a blessing - and occasionally a bit of a curse -, but it also gives the album a spirit of adventurousness and independence that many blues albums could use, and what can be held against that?