John Norum

Play Yard Blues is the long awaited new studio album from Europe guitarist John Norum and it is also his seventh solo album.
As the title suggests, his latest offering has a more bluesy feel to it, but without compromising his trademark guitar sound. Au contraire, it compliments the artist’s love for 70’s rock which is obvious when listening to the album’s ten tracks: three are cover versions by bands including Thin Lizzy ('It’s Only Money’), Frank Marino/Mahagony Rush ('Ditch Queen’) and Mountain ('Travel In The Dark’).
Cover versions aside, Norum’s own compositions are proof that his latest release is somewhat of a pet project allowing him to indulge in his passion for retro rock. Clearly, he had fun experimenting with his musical influences and see where the ride would take him. The result is one of the best albums you are likely to hear this year, take my word for it!

The opening track 'Let It Shine’ kicks off with a brief bolt of thunder, only to drift into Hendrix-style killer riffs and an overall psychedelic sound slightly reminiscent of Cream. With lyrics like 'Everything is good now, everything is fine', the opener not only sets the tone for the album but Norum seems to say 'Everything is good now, for I finally got to make an album that I always wanted to make!'

'Red Light Green High’ is another winner that’s moody with a Jim Morrison 'tune in drop out’ vibe to it, some snarling guitar work and a more mellow instrumental part in the middle before things get harder again. It’s a perfect vehicle for Norum to show off his vocals as well as his instrumental skills.

On to 'It’s Only Money’, the first cover on the album. While it has become somewhat of a cliché that every musician worth his salt covers Thin Lizzy sooner or later, Norum at least opted for a lesser-known yet nonetheless brilliant track by Phil Lynott. Overall he remains pretty faithful to the original but adds a more contemporary touch by applying a faster pace and edgier sound. The same can be said for the other cover versions, whereby Mountain’s 'Travel In The Dark’ turns out to be a rather safe journey.

Two tracks that stand out are 'Got My Eyes On You’ and 'Born Again’, as they sound harder and heavier than the other numbers. Especially the latter with its almost brutal riff-work does, stylistically speaking, not really belong on the album. However, that’s not suggesting the track is flawed in any way, far from it. Here, Leif Sundin is responsible for the vocals on both tracks.

'When Darkness Falls’ is my personal favourite – apart from a very catchy chorus, it’s the lyrics that appeal to the insomniac in me: "When darkness falls I feel alright, when the sun goes down we dance all night. When darkness falls I feel alive, there’s a reason to satisfy a dark soul."

The closing track is also the title track and it was decided on an instrumental number. Play Yard Blues does exactly what it says on the tin; it’s a musical playground for the whole band to run wild and free-float. This is one hell of a raw jamming session that drifts from bluesy laid-back tunes to blues-rock and from the soul, as any good music should!

The album was produced by Norum, mixed by Norum and Peer Stappe, and recorded in their hometown of Stockholm, Sweden. It is dedicated to his late wife, Michelle Meldrum Norum.
Play Yard Blues features the aforementioned Peer Stappe on percussions, Tomas Torberg on bass guitar, Thomas Bronman on drums and Norum’s long-standing Europe bandmate Mic Michaeli on keyboards.

While John Norum is busy touring with Europe (the band will be playing London at the iTunes Festival on July 25th) it would be just as great to see him embarking on a solo tour in the near future.

(Please read my interview with John Norum in our 'Interviews’ section).