Ginger Trees "Along With the Tide"

The only reason I sampled this was because it was listed as "progressive rock" and I liked the band name.  Remember when you used to do that...buy an album because you liked the band name or the cover art?  Yep, a long ago and far-away time.  I enjoyed what I heard in the 45-second intros and decided it was worth a try.  So after repeated spins it is time to share with you what may be a fresh, positive beginning to a new movement in rock...or so I hope (more on that in a minute). 

The band is from Sweden and this is their second album.  I'm going to list their stated influences straight from the Facebook page:  Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, The Doors, The Incredible String Band, Cream, Neil Young, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Robert Plant & The Strange Sensation, Tom Waits, Roky Erickson, Audioslave.  How's that for a list?  And the one band I actually heard a direct link to was Black Sabbath, and they weren't included.  My buddy, Bob K., said it sounded like a Geezer Butler/Greg Lake mix.  Try really hard, and you will hear each and every one of the influences in some form or fashion.  I also thought I sensed some early Scorpions and Budgie, as well.  But these influences aren't just panels of a quilt, if you will, they are threads through the panels in the quilt, creating this retro/strobelight/lavalamp/back...back into time rock sound that doesn't clone any of the listed influences but creates its own.  If you have eight minutes to spare, check this song out from their label's YT channel    You see the other bands listed that weren't mentioned earlier?  I love Porcupine Tree and now I hear the Uriah Heep after reading the name.  How about Vanilla Fudge for you real old souls out there?  That's what this album brings to the aural table, a sampling of a plethora of musicians respected worldwide, it just depends on your personal musical history.  I had one of my favorite obscurities pop into my brain courtesy of the organ lines sprinkled throughout the record, Boston-based Lyres, though "...Tide" has a much cleaner, structured sound than Lyres dirty, garage-rock. 

Well, I've spewed all the positives I have time for.  There isn't much info on this band domestically but the record is available on iTunes for $9.  The few reviews I've seen were all written shortly after the album's release in February, and each was in agreement that "Along With the Tide" was an excellent trip and future works would be eagerly awaited.  There lies the problem.  As of early June, Ginger Trees is no longer performing.  Believe me when I say, THAT SUCKS!  I learned that all the members lived in different cities, making it difficult to practice, play, etc..  Now the guitarist/vocalist is teaching English in a village in Nepal and loving it.  As a matter of fact, I just found a post he put up last week about the album.  Here's the link to his own thoughts.  He's right, I didn't mention one thing about the lyrics, but you can link to them yourself now. 

The Mad Rocker highly approves of the record and you retro-rooted rockers need to part with the nine bucks before the band disappears.  What a travesty if that should happen...