Time: 41:29
File: Flac
Released: 2025
Styles: Blues Rock
Art: Front
1. Howlin' (3:17)
2. Help Me to Remember (3:27)
3. No Chains (4:00)
4. Another Day (4:56)
5. Doin' time (2:57)
6. My Train (4:05)
7. Believe Me (4:37)
8. No Doubt (4:44)
9. Unity (5:09)
10. Foolish Game (4:13)
After two years of radio silence, Gerrit Veldman has picked up the thread again. Seasoned and experienced with a long track record and a band that sounds and sounds rock solid, he presented his album, "Shifting Gears," on October 16th at Hedon in Zwolle. Blues-rocking Netherlands needs no further introduction, I think. And for those who want to know a little more: look up the albums of The Veldman Brothers or the Prodigal Sons and enjoy.
If you start the album at the beginning—and why wouldn't you?—"Howlin'" immediately delivers a wonderfully satisfying punch to the ears. Everything the band has to offer comes out in a matter of seconds. The beautiful, somewhat husky voice, Roland Bakker swinging through on the keyboards, a rhythm tandem thundering like a locomotive, and then Gerrit himself soloing away as if his life depended on it. Yuck, that's a winner. And in the next track, "Help Me To Remember," the train thunders on at full blues-rock speed. Bakker solos, Veldman pumps through, and Tenny Tahamata on bass and Mathieu van Uden on drums keep hammering away, tight and steady.
Van Uden provides the intro to "No Chains" and quickly wins over with the sharp guitar sound in this blues shuffle, while Bakker continues to work his magic on the keyboard. And then the place calmed down. A gorgeous ballad called "Another Day," beautifully sung and even more beautifully on his guitar, brings back memories of Gary Moore. In "Doin' Time," the tempo picks up again, a song that definitely won't leave you sitting still. Veldman is backed vocally by the rest of the band, who sing along to the chorus "Doin' Time" with complete abandon, after which the boss himself pulls out all the stops on his guitar. Bakker also delivers on the piano in this song.
Then Stevie Ray Vaughan came along, disguised as Gerrit Veldman in "My Train," good morning! This rip-roaring track is one of the highlights of this rather impressive album. It becomes truly beautiful when Bakker and Veldman alternate soloing while the other two just keep hammering away on bass and drums. Roland Bakker takes the lead in the ballad "Believe Me," a beautifully subdued moment after all the violence in "My Train."
The quiet is over when "No Doubt" begins, and Veldman pounds his guitar to the bone, likely needing a new bottleneck after this song. Bakker also goes all out on his Hammond, yet another autumn storm that we're facing. In "Unity," the storm has subsided, and Veldman conjures refined guitar playing from his six strings, which transitions into ripping solos towards the end and then concludes peacefully. And then, yes, then we arrive at "Foolish Game," the closing track that pulls out all the stops once again to bring the album to a swinging close, with a brief pause halfway through, after which Veldman and Bakker pick up the swinging thread again.
There you have it, a rock-solid comeback from Gerrit Veldman and his excellent band.
Shifting Gears FLAC