I’m very pleasantly surprised by the laid back positive vibe of The Great Escape and their self-titled debut record, which captures perfectly the spirit of Southern California blending the best from the old and the new. Inspired by Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin equally to contemporary artists like The Dead Weather, The Black Keys and Adele the nine songs from the album are catchy, well-written and sun-touched. The vocals of Connecticut native Amie Miriello are sweet and poppy but without being sugar-coated. She’s joined by Kristian Nord on drums and Malte Hagemeister on guitars – both originally from Hamburg, Germany and also producers of the record.
It’s hard for me to choose a favorite track cause this is one of these albums that sound best homogenically together, if you’re enjoying the sun at some warm beach or you’re cuddling in your bed in a cold winter day and sentimentally remembering the summer days. I really like “I want it all” and “I just can’t help myself”, though but overall the songs are excellent.
Album guests include old studio hands such as Stanley Behrens on blues harp (Jimmy Smith, Canned Heat, War, Willie Dixon), Kevin Dorsey on vocals (Michael Jackson’s vocal director, Ray Charles, Santana, Aretha Franklin), Zac Rae on B3, piano and keys (Lana Del Rey, Norah Jones, Santana), as well as a shape shifting horns section comprised of Katja Riekermann (Rod Stewart, Al Green) and Marco Palos (Los Lobos, Louis Prima Jr).
“Lots of first takes made it on the album, and most vocals were recorded right after writing the songs,” explains Malte, whose “demo guitars often stayed because they just had that right feeling.” Keeping things spontaneous and DIY, it’s “all about the performance, not about perfection,” Kristian adds. “When a take had the right kind of vibe to it, we just moved on and didn’t even second guess it.”
More about The Great Escape – on their official website www.wearethegreatescape.com, as well as on Twitter @3thegreatescape, Facebook and Instagram @wearethegreatescape.
