{"id":34382,"date":"2013-11-08T20:40:15","date_gmt":"2013-11-09T01:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=34382"},"modified":"2014-02-08T08:38:55","modified_gmt":"2014-02-08T13:38:55","slug":"the-stimulators-rhythm-fever-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2013\/the-stimulators-rhythm-fever-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"The Stimulators | Rhythm Fever<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alissa Ordabai<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"TheThese days when rock is losing its Dionysian steam and ditches its earnest romanticism, other genres lure in those looking for some back-to-the-basics essentials. The Stimulators may not aim at cutting-edge experimentation, but the way they warm your soul with their cocktail of reggae, ska, rumba, 50s-style R&B, jazz, and classic rock makes them a restorative heart remedy for our cynical times. <\/p>\n

Their 9th release is a live album made up of nine new songs, a couple of old hits, and a 15-minute jam around a Bo Diddley classic. On standout \u201cWay of the World\u201d the visceral drive of reggae vibrates with such organic feel for the original source, you have to check the liner notes again to make sure the Stimulators really do hail from Germany. They do, but authenticity of delivery by guest singer Adriano Prestel transports you to Jamaica faster than you can say \u201cdat a shot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although things become clearer when you learn that the band\u2019s founding member and singer Oliver Stephan grew up in Africa. A son of a journalist, an emblematic European literato, and a ska pioneer in his native Germany, Stephan discovered rock at a boarding school in England in his teens, and further expanded his soundscape while traveling in Jamaica, Mexico, and the States in the late 70s. <\/p>\n

On \u201cFeedback\u201d Stephan bags that bona fide Southern rock vibe with verity of someone who has an innate knack for adopting cultures from all over the world. The melody layers a wistful haze over the bouncy groove lit up by guitar and sax leads. Guitarist Peter Schneider (also a well-traveled cosmopolitan) solos so eloquently, you understand why Ike Turner hired him on the spot for his band back in 1996. <\/p>\n

Other gems follow, such as \u201cCome to My Kitchen\u201d \u2013 a ballad where Prestel, Schneider, and saxophonist Marcio Tubino embark on a woe-steeped journey from tender introspection to a full-on emotional blow-up. But while the band excels at true-to-life reggae, rockabilly, or note-perfect soul a la James Brown, they also serve up some rousing jams. The closing track starts with Stephan singing a straightforward Bo Diddley tune and then develops into a manic free-for-all with Prestel going berserk over the band\u2019s spare comping. <\/p>\n

Schneider and trumpeter Florian Sagner\u2019s further fuel the proceedings. When at blastoff Schneider echoes Jimmy Page\u2019s wah-wah lines off \u201cHow Many More Times\u201d to play up the groove\u2019s ontogeny, the gesture reads like a nod between co-conspirators. But when he quotes Hendrix\u2019s \u201cVoodoo Chile\u201d amidst the rowdy solo, the band\u2019s upfront fandom becomes so irresistible, you couldn\u2019t wish for a better finale to a 70-minute trip across genres spawned by the African continent. <\/p>\n

Genre: Rock, Reggae, Ska, R&B, Rumba, Jazz, Soul, Rockabilly, Blues<\/p>\n

Personnel:
\nOliver Stephan \u2013 lead vocals, guitar
\nAdriano Prestel \u2013 special guest, lead vocals
\nPeter Schneider \u2013 lead guitar
\nMarcio Tubino \u2013 saxophone, vocals, percussion
\nFlorian Sagner \u2013 trumpet, vocals, percussion
\nUli Lehman \u2013 bass, vocals
\nOscar Poehl \u2013 drums, vocals
\nHans Muehlegg \u2013 percussion, vocals<\/p>\n

Tracking listing:
\n1. Black Star Liner
\n2. Keepin\u2019 It Going
\n3. Way of the World
\n4. Caipirinha
\n5. Home
\n6. Come to My Kitchen
\n7. Man Cool, Woman Cooler
\n8. Music on My Mind
\n9. New Day
\n10. Feedback
\n11. When You\u2019re Not There
\n12. Diddley Jam <\/p>\n

Label: United Sounds Records<\/p>\n

Online: www.stimulators.de<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 8\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alissa Ordabai – Senior Columnist — These days when rock is losing its Dionysian steam and ditches its earnest romanticism, other genres lure in those looking for some back-to-the-basics essentials. The Stimulators may not […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":34395,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8704],"tags":[2317,6134,6097,3713,2387,6770,6098],"class_list":{"0":"post-34382","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2013","8":"tag-cd-review","9":"tag-jazz","10":"tag-rb","11":"tag-reggae","12":"tag-rock","13":"tag-rockabilly","14":"tag-soul"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34382"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34382\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}