THE DOUBLE-CROSS

Another storming album from Tempest!

Starting with the great Turn Of The Wheel album (I have not yet heard the band's two first albums), this great Folk Rock band seems to have operated on the every-second-album- principle i.e. they have alternated between making good albums and even better albums. While albums like Turn Of The Wheel, Balance and the present one are more Rock based, the albums released in between these, The Gravel Walk and Shapeshifter, are more focused on the band's pure Folk side. I don't mean to say that all these albums are radically different from each other, they are certainly not. But Turn Of The Wheel, Balance and The Double-Cross are better and more interesting albums, in my opinion; especially so for Prog fans.

With The Double-Cross, Tempest once again turns towards the more hard edged sound found on Balance and it is clear that they stay true to what they do best. This is the Tempest that I like best, anyway. However, even if their different albums emphasise different aspects of the band, all of the albums I mentioned above, including the present one, seem to follow a similar formula and all the Tempest trademarks are here once again; a mix between original and traditional material, a mix between Rock and Folk, etc. Also, we once again get one traditional Scandinavian song sung in Norwegian (Per Spelmann) due to the origin of band leader and multi-instrumentalist Lief Sorbye and also once again the album opens with a song about a notorious pirate. This time it is Captain Kidd, which is the opening number (on Balance the opening number was a song called Captain Ward). All this gives a slight feeling that they are repeating themselves a little bit, but it is certainly a pleasant thing to listen to even if not quite as breathtaking as some earlier efforts.

There are, however, some new and exciting elements on this album too. Bagpipes and didgeridoo makes their first appearance on a Tempest album here which is most notable on Cabar Feidh. But for the most part the sound is, as usual, dominated by fiddle, mandolin, bass, drums and guitars. The electric guitar sound is slightly less to my liking here and there is not such great lead guitar work as could be found on Balance. The keyboards are, as always, played by Robert Barry, but there is very little keyboards on this album - mainly Hammond and never to the front of the sound.

The album closes with a longer track called Wizard's Walk. This is a medley of several pieces and is not very different from the rest of the album even if it moves through several different moods and atmospheres including a Blues improvisation with harmonica!

While this is another strong Tempest album, it is, as I said, not quite up to par with Turn Of The Wheel and Balance. I would recommend going for those two first, but for anyone wanting to venture beyond that point, The Double-Cross is an excellent addition to your collection. It sure was to mine!

This is my first Tempest album and I should say I never heard about this band before. But I read one of Kenneth Levine´s reviews about them and. since we have similar tastes, I decided to give it a try. And I did not regret it! Real good band and real good CD! Tempest does sound a lot like a modern version of Steeleye Span (sans the female vocals) from the mid 70´s (around the time of Now We Are Six, to be more precise). But make no mistake, they are not copycats. In fact they sound a lot rockier and the production here is quite superior.

Like Steeleye Span the repertoire has a lot of traditional songs, plus some original stuff. Lead singer Lief Sorbye has a fine voice, perfect for the style, like a young Ian Anderson (so, expect lots of personality!). The musicanship is top notch, of course and I particularly liked the electric guitar sound: powerful, crunching, but not overwhelming. The guy knows when to play and when no to play. The bass parts are also a highlight, great! There are some awesome traditional sounds too, like the violin (another fine feature here). this is a team efford of sorts and it´s one of the best I heard lately.

As it often happens with most of the good prog records, The Double Cross took a little time to be fully appreciated, even if the opening track (Captain Kidd) did make a strong impression since the very first moment I head it. There are no fillers and the instrumental tunes show all the prowness of this energetic band. Very convincing record. Even if they did not bring anything groundbreaking or new to the genre, this is the kind of CD every prog folk fan should own it. I´m looking forward to hear their other works, before and after this one. But The Double Cross is, already, highly recommended. .