JAN HOLBERG PROJECT (feat. JLTurner) - Sense Of Time (2011)
Allow me to introduce you to Jan Holberg. He's hailing from Trondheim (Norway) and is mainly known as a session bass player.
After years of writing instrumental songs, he found that the time was ripe to write songs with lyrics.
Work for his debut album started in 2008 and from the beginning, it was his aim to blend many styles, such as classic rock, rock&pop & instrumentals.
In the summer of 2009 he went into the studio to record demos with some local musicians from Trondheim.
After listening to the result, he got the idea to contact some of the musicians who had a major influence on him.
A year later everything was arranged and the album was recorded in places like Reykjavik (Iceland), Trondheim (Norway) and New Jersey (USA).
When the album was finally mixed in Reykjavik, it was sent to Germany for the mastering.
After having listened to the album a first time, I was knocked down by the perfect sound, something that is absolutely necessary for this kind of soft rock albums.
Says Jan: "The idea behind the album is that music should be free, so there are no musical borders on this album. You can hear ballads, rock&pop songs, instrumentals and a bit of funk.
This is what I am all about as a musician."
But what makes this release so special is that all songs are performed by no one else than the great Joe Lynn Turner, a vocalist with an immense career so far.
Joe Lynn Turner adds: "I had a great time stretching out the vocal style on Jan's songs. I'm always interested in something different with quality."
And quality is indeed what we get here with this album full of variety.
All tracks are stunning.
The opener and title song "Sense Of Time" is a terrific classic rocker with great guitars and fat bass, "Mesmerized" has catchy rhythm, and "Vision Of Lust" features some classy, raspy vocals from Turner.
The rather poppy "Heart Of Summer" has an awesome feeling (Joe, you're great!), "Sorry" is a brilliant, high class ballad, while the vintage "Invincible" reminds you the best '83 Rainbow.
Remarkable from the lot is the memorable, excellent midtempo "Come Rain Come Shine". What a great tune.
There's a couple of tasteful instrumentals, "The Meadow" with a sax as main instrument and some jazzy overtones (a perfectly crafted tune), and last track "Mother Nature", a calm, relaxing melody with tons of sensibility.
On "Sense Of Time", Mr. Holberg proves that he can write good songs, with a head and a tail.
It's a real pleasure listen JLT singing different material than the usual expected from him. He could be a bit wasted onstage, but the man still is a beast into the studio. Joe's performance is outstanding, with passion and a lot of feeling. This is his best recording in years.
As said, production is top notch, and all the muscians involved, superb.
The music was recorded on several places of Europe, while Joe Lynn Turner did all the vocals at a New Jersey studio.
Refreshing, fantastic album, only released in Norway.
A must have.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
01. Sense Of Time
02. Mesmerized
03. Sorry
04. Heart Of Summer
05. Wild Eyes (instrumental interlude)
06. The Meadow (instrumental)
07. Invincible
08. Vision Of Lust
09. Come Rain Come Shine
10. Mother Nature (instrumental)
Jan E. Holberg - Bass
Joe Lynn Turner (RAINBOW, DEEP PURPLE) - Vocals Gulli Briem (MEZZOFORTE, EARTH AFFAIR) - Drums
Eythor Gunnarsson (MEZZOFORTE) - Keyboards
Skalg Mikaelson Raaen (SAMBANDET, ESPEN LIND) - Guitar
Bente Smaavik (BLONDE ON BLONDE, PERFECT CRIME) - Backing Vocals
Therese Ulvan, Vegar Nesset - add. Vocals
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