JOSEFUS
JOSEFUS
(Dead Man aLive) CD: Sadly, this top album, released on Hookah
Records 2002
is only available on CD. It's devided into three parts
and it starts with the
three tracks "Aristotle" , "Time For The
Rainbow" and "I Love You" from part 1,
titled "Early Recordings",
which are dated back to 1967. Especially "I Love You"
is a total
smasher, very aggressive and super Heavy.
The other two tracks are more Acid Rock. Then follows the second period of JOSEFUS, titled "The Original Josefus" which includes a killer live-version of "Dead Man", that clocks in 26 minutes. It's much rougher and heavier than the original track on the studio album and it sounds, as if JOSEFUS have had a good day on stage and you can listen to their passionate playing. Then comes "Get Off My Case", a beautiful and dreamy song and Dave plays a top guitar.
The next song of this period is "Lousiana Blues", which is very heavy and blues-laden, and the band shows their full potential. Vocalist Pete Bailey plays harmonica and drummer Doug Tull is working hard behind his kit, especially when he plays a top drum-solo. The last song out of this period is "Light In Heaven", which has become one of my personal faves. Pete Bailey shows his talent, and that combined with a super-groove and a nice and beautiful guitar-soli....you can't ask for more.
The third and last part of "Dead Man ALive" is the "1978 - 1979 Reunion", which kicks off with the live-track "Cosmic Man" and due it's hard rockin' heaviness, it could have been from 1972. The other two tracks ("Glory Guys" and "Wheels") out of this period are two studio-recordings, that are more influenced from the upcoming 80's Hardrock, but there's still a strong 70's vibe in the heaviness of the songs.
I can't understand, why the band broke-up again and why only the track "Dead Man" had made it on one of the two studio-albums.The CD package contains an excellent booklet, with exciting photos, top cover-artwork and a complete biography. This is a very recommandable album, which includes with tracks 4 - 8 very rough recordings but they are real live and a authentic document. Visit the JOSEFUS homepage for more infos.
(Rolf Kowalski)
