Review: Soul Survivors – The Road Ahead
Soul Survivors – The Road Ahead
Format: CD – Vinyl LP – Digital
Label: Painted Dog Records – B-Crack Recordings & Rock Supplies
Release: 2024
Text: Tom Wouters
The Soul Survivors are a young Amsterdam band with an old soul, who have recently made the Dutch club and festival circuit quite unsafe with their soul sound, deeply steeped in the Motown and Stax soul tradition.
‘The Road Ahead’ is their debut album with ten exciting soul hits, based on the excellent horn section (Jeroen van Genuchten, sax and Pedro Jerónimo, trumpet), the keyboards of Branco Spadon and the fine soul voice of Remko Spaaij. That sound provides excellent Sam & Dave soul in songs like Here We Go Again, Troubled Man and Our Thing.
Sometimes the band also makes a trip to the New Jersey sound of Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes, as in I’m A Soul Survivor and Love, but the absolute highlight of the album is the title song, The Road Ahead, with great vocals, excellent guitar playing by Max de Kok and a rock solid rhythm section of Dimitri Gelens (bass) and Steve Cuiper (drums).
‘On The Road Ahead,’ The Soul Survivors manage to maintain their live sound, which undoubtedly ensures an exciting evening of soul music everywhere. Just listening to the album made the flower pots on my windowsill dance.
Tracks:
01. Here We Go Again
02. Troubled Man
03. You’re The One
04. Tonight
05. The Road Ahead
06. I’m A Soul Survivor
07. Our Thing
08. Toontown
09. Hold My Hand
10. Love
Vocal: Remko Spaaij
Guitar: Max de Kok
Keys – Branco Spadon
Bass: Dimitri Gelens
Saxophone: Jeroen van Genuchten
Trumpet: Pedro Jerónimo
Drums: Steve Cuiper
Album Release tour:
7 en 8 Sep Farmhouse Jazzclub Harsewinkel Duitsland
15 sep Miles Amersfoort
19 Sep Jazz by the Sea Marktpodium Domburg
27 sep Sol Kulturbar Mülheim an der Ruhr Duitsland
28 sep Open Air Jazzkeller Krefeld Duitsland
26 okt Keifestival Lichtenvoorde
Website: https://soul-survivors.nl/