Album Notes

Ask someone where the best “Hawaiian guitar” players come from, and it’s unlikely that they will say, “Arendal, Norway.”

Unlikely, that is, until they have listened to Steinar Gregertsen’s recently released CD, “Southern Moon, Northern Lights.” This Norwegian guitarist’s command of his acoustic and electric lap-steel guitars – also known as “Hawaiian” or “non-pedal steel” guitars – is impressively showcased on his first solo CD.

Gregertsen set out to write and record a set of songs that would blend his appreciation of traditional American blues with his interest in more complex and contemporary musical forms – in a sense, a trip from the Mississippi Delta to the Norwegian fjords. (A few listeners describe some of the results as “New Age,” but don’t plan on doing your yoga exercises to it – there is just too much energy.) His new CD takes the listener from the uptempo first track – “Southern Moon” – to the mystical “Northern Lights,” with nine other stops along the way.

Eight of the eleven tracks are composed by Gregertsen – he collaborated with Minneapolis singer/songwriter Matthew Fox on “Southern Moon” – with three surprising covers: Brian Wilson/Tony Asher’s “God Only Knows;” Steve Cropper/Wilson Pickett’s “In the Midnight Hour;” and John Fogerty’s “Bad Moon Rising,” which ironically was recorded only days before Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast and the Delta region.

Gregertsen recognizes that a CD featuring a guitarist should feature a lot of guitar playing (!), and he delivers on that promise, without an ounce-of self-indulgence. He is one of those guitarists who has the confidence (and good sense) not to play notes for their own sake; instead letting the character and sustain of his lap steels fill the space. That’s not to say he can’t cut loose – his playing on the upbeat “Poet on the Radio” gets every bit as frenetic as it is restrained on the Hendrix homage “Will the Wind Ever Remember.” (Gregertsen also does a fine job playing fretless bass. With the exception of some synthesizer programming on “Northern Lights” this is a one-man show: he plays all the guitars, synth, and programmed the drums/percussion.)

Although he limits his vocals to only three tracks, Gregertsen sings with an earnestness and honesty that matches the lyrics. “Bad Moon Rising” is presented as an acoustic lament, rather than a rocker; “Midnight Hour” is an almost-whispered promise to a lover.

If “Hawaiian guitar” and “steel guitar” conjure up thoughts of a luau at the Hilton and/or the Grand Ole Opry, think David Lindley and Ben Harper instead! Like those better-known artists, Gregertsen extends the soulful sounds of the lap-steel guitar to their full potential, without the cheesy clichés that lesser players might fall back on. And in doing so, he makes the trip from “Southern Moon” to “Northern Lights” one you’ll want to take again (and again).