Review: Kai Strauss – Wailin’ In Vienna
Kai Strauss – Wailin’ In Vienna
Format: CD – Vinyl LP – Digital / Label: Continental Record Services – Continental Blue Heaven
Release: 2024
Text: Pascal Wilhelm
Making this record has been a long-standing plan for Kai Strauss, who is amongst the top blues musicians of the European scene. Wailin’ in Vienna contains 15 orginals that capture the traditional 50’s blues sound as if they were released in that era. “I wrote the complete lyrics for these songs in 6-8 weeks. I guess I was in a flow once I started concentrating on this project.”
The record features two of Kai’s heroes on guitar: Rusty Zinn and Alex Schultz. Recording with them must have been something special; “Of course, it feels special to record with musicians that I listened to and learned from when I was in my twenties. But maybe the biggest lesson was to be fully accepted by these masters and feel a connection growing that exceeds the music.”
‘Wailin’ in Vienna’ also features Dani Gugolz and Peter Müller on bass and drums, pianists Dave Ruosch, Andreas Sobczyk and Christian Dozzler, Sax Gordon (saxophones) and Austrian harp ace Gerry Lülik. When recording, Kai took a similar approach as with his other albums. “There weren’t that many differences. The studio was a little smaller and everybody was standing in the same room, only my amp was set up in the staircase (!) of the house. I was playing in the control room with the sound engineer so my vocals could be overdubbed later if necessary. These tracks might have a bit more room sound and some of the musicians used really cool vintage amps. Peter Müller played his 1940 Slingerland Radio King drum kit that Charlie Watts used to borrow from him when he was playing with the ABC&D of Boogie Woogie. The horns were recorded in the USA and added to the live tracks simply because it was more practical.” The record was produced by Dani Gugolz.
While there is an abundance of cover material to cut on a record like this, Kai preferred to write his own songs. “I always prefer recording original songs and the musical freedom that comes with it.” Lyrically, he stayed close to the masters. “Generally speaking, the lyrics also reflect the style of traditional blues and its motives about everyday adult life. Safe Your Worries with its positive message and the tongue-in-cheek humour of Cooking For My Baby are two of my favourites.”
It is remarkable how Kai and his fellow musicians were able to capture the 50’s sound so well and it is evident that he is very happy with the result. When asked about his favourite songs on the album, he replied: “Tough question. Old Fashioned Daddy turned out nice and changes between a 12-bar and 8- bar progression which is a bit unusual. Travelin’ Man really captures that old school Jimmy Rogers/Muddy Waters vibe with great harp by Gerry Lülik and Rusty Zinn showing us how Chicago Blues rhythm guitar should sound – here you can really hear that he learned directly from masters like Luther Tucker. Sweet & Salty features a superb solo from Alex Schultz and changes keys three times without the listener really noticing. Slow-Roasted has just an irresistible groove by Peter and Dani and Three Bells In A Row has a jazzy melody or like musicians call it “head” that I’m really proud of and also features great guitar work by Rusty and Alex.”
With ‘Wailin’ in Vienna,’ Kai Strauss shows that he is a true master of the blues. Period.
Website: https://www.kaistrauss.com/
