BJ Baartmans & Wild Verband – A Pawnshop Love Affair
BJ Baartmans & Wild Verband – A Pawnshop Love Affair
Format: CD
Label: Continental Record Services
Release: 2025
Release date: January 17, 2025
Just a year after the release of BJ Baartmans’ album ‘Ghostwriter,’ label CRS is presenting ‘A Pawnshop Love Affair’ (out in January 2025). A collection of remakes from songs that BJ recorded between 1998 and 2004 and released on either solo albums or band efforts with BJ’s Pawnshop
During that timeframe the band did an impressive string of gigs in The Netherlands, parts of Europe and even the USA. It put the band on the map in the Americana circuit and BJ’s reputation as a singer songwriter and producer was established.
Playing a bunch of the ‘old’ songs as an addition to the songs of ‘Ghostwriter’ on stage earlier this year triggered the concept op ‘A Panshop Love Affair.’ Flowing on that energy the band went into Studio Wild Verband and recording a set of fresh remakes turned out to be a breeze. ‘A Pawnshop Love Affair’ brings 14 songs that stil feel like they were just written. They already lived a good life but still leave room for a new interpretation. Main theme on the album is love in all it’s mysterious ways: how it can present itself unexpected, lift you up, get you down, make you lose yourself, shake the ground. Or how it may hide in little corners of the mind. Or disturb the peace. Short, recognizable and memorable stories about real people, food for the soul.
BJ is a Dutch musician, born in 1965. An acclaimed singer songwriter but just as much known and respected as a guitarplayer and producer. Both on the road and in the studio he learned his craft doing around 4000 shows in 45 years and performing on hundreds of albums, 15 of which under his own name. BJ mainly works in Europe but occasionally travels to America where a lot of his musical background is rooted. It’s a blend of blues, soul, pub rock, folk and country influences. All with a bit of an European twist. As a player he easily switches between acoustic and electric string instruments.
Wild Verband is: Sjoerd van Bommel (drums), Tom Baartmans or Gerco Aerts (bass), Eric van Dijsseldonk (guitars), Mike Roelofs (keys) and BJ on all things strings and lead vocals.
Website: https://www.bjbaartmans.nl/
Tracks:
01. Pool of Love
02. Only Lovers Know
03. Hotel
04. Cry
05. Promise of a Broken Heart
06. What a Song Can Do
07. Do Me Right Do Wrong
08. Jenny and Frank
09. The Other Day
10. Daddy’s Eyes
11. Billie J.
12. Counting The Hours
13. Enough Of A Bad Day
14. Open Skies