Baltimoore - 'Kaleidoscope'
Released through BLP Music on Arial 24, 2006
www.baltimoore.net
THE BAND:
Björn Lodin - vocals
Hempo Hildén - drums
Stefan Bergström - lead guitar (right
channel)
Weine Johansson - bass
Mankan Seidenberg - rhythm guitar (left channel)
TRACK FRAGMENTS:
** The way the band decided to record this CD was to place the rhythm
guitar coming out of the left speaker and the lead guitar coming out of the
right speaker. Though Baltimoore is not the first group to do this, it
still was a very cool idea. An I will try my best too not state over and
over.**
1.) "To The Bone" - The intro to this track consisted of a very catchy
musical arrangement. There is no bass line underneath the musical
arrangement of the pre-verse. In the way the rhythm guitar was written for
the pre-verse gives it an echoed feel. Björn
vocal lines are fantastically done. There is a small rhythm guitar change for
the verse. The bass line for the song really does not kick in until the
pre-chorus. Underneath the tail end of the chorus there is a small minor
lead guitar solo. This solo connects the first chorus to the second
pre-verse. There is a minor lead guitar lick underneath the vocal line of
the breakdown section. The guitar solo was done with a wah-wah pedal this
gave the it a very nice sound.
2.) "Journeyman" - The intro to this track opens with a small drum
fill. In the way the band arranged the lyrical lines of the pre-verse
gives the verse an almost Thin Lizzy feel. There is a small rhythm change
for the chorus. Hempo played both hi-hat and ride cymbal at the same time
through the chorus. This gives the drum pattern a very nice sound.
The musical change of the breakdown section before the minor lead guitar solo
was very cool. There is a second breakdown section after the lead guitar
solo. The outro section consisted of a second minor lead guitar solo.
3.) "Familiar Stranger" - This track opens with a lead vocal line
along with backing vocals. It is very difficult to tell if Björn
vocals were overdubbed for the backing vocals or not. In the way the vocal
lines lead into the musical intro gives the intro section a Bonfire feel.
There really isn't a musical intro for this song but a pre-musical verse
arrangement. Even though the guitar riffs of the verse is the main rhythm
guitar arrangement it does have a lead guitar feel. The bass line of the
verse has a very deep sound to it. This gives the underlining rhythm
section a very heavy feel. There is a small musical change connecting the
verse to the chorus. This musical change has a build-up feel to it.
Laced in in between the build-up section there is a minor lead guitar lick.
The vocal accents that lead into the chorus has a drugged out Arabic feel to it.
Much like the musical arrangement of the verse the chorus has a very laid back
feel to it. After the first chorus there is a major lead guitar solo
section. I'm not one-hundred percent sure but it sounded like there was a
small key change underneath the lead guitar solo. Laced underneath the
last chorus is a second minor lead guitar solo.
4.) "Fix My Sin" - The intro to this track consisted of just drums and
bass. The drum and bass line intro has a very early Kiss feel to it only
in a darker key. For the verse Hempo changes his drum pattern from using
tom-toms to a standard hi-hat and snare pattern. Instead of using a standard
rhythm guitar arrangement for the verse the guitar tracks have more of a lead
guitar feel. At times through the vocal lines of the verse the band added
a small vocal echo to the lead vocal lines. The rhythm guitar arrangement
and vocal lines enter lock perfectly on this song. I really liked the
musical change of the choruses. Scattered through out the vocal lines
there are backing harmony sections. For the breakdown section the band
changes the timing of the song to a sixteenth-note rhythm pattern. The
major lead guitar solo on this song had a very laid back feel to it.
Musically this song has a very solid groove to it.
5.) "Wellaway" - This track opens with an AC/DC style musical
arrangement. The lead vocal lines of the pre-verse were overdubbed.
After the first pre-verse the drum rhythm kicks in with a tom-tom pattern.
Though the band changes the arrangement structure of the song they are still
able to keep the AC/DC feel. Vocally, Björn
really shows his vocal ability. In a lot of ways this track sounds like
the band just locked into a solid groove and ran with it. The lead and
rhythm guitar arrangements are very laid back letting the drums and bass carry
the song. After the first chorus there is a lead guitar solo. After
the lead guitar solo the band changes the rhythm structure of the song just a
little. Because of the way the music was arranged gives the song a very
abstract feel.
6.) "Take Me To The Power" - This pre-musical section leading into the
main musical intro consisted of a hi-hat count off and snare fill. Over
the top of the musical intro is a minor lead guitar solo. I believe this
is the first track on the CD that consisted of a double bass drum rhythm.
For the musical verse Hempo drops the double bass drum pattern. The
up-tempo ness of the pre-verse forces the song to move along very smoothly.
For the verse the band speeds the song up just a little. The underlining
musical arrangement of the chorus has a very intense feel to it. Hempo
changes the drum pattern several times throughout the arrangement. This
added a nice effect to the arrangement. There is a small breakdown section
underneath the lead guitar solo. Running underneath the vocal lines of the
last chorus there is a minor lead guitar solo.
7.) "Plug & Play Me" - The musical arrangement of this intro
section consisted of two twin minor lead guitar solos. One of the cool
things about the twin guitar solo is the fact that both guitarist are playing
different lead guitar licks. The rhythm guitar riffs of the verses were
kept fairly basic. The main musical arrangement was kept fairly basic.
There is a small musical change connecting the first verse to the first chorus.
This was just a very simple sounding song that had huge rhythm guitar hooks.
Running underneath the outro chorus there was a small minor lead guitar solo.
8.) "How Sick Is Ok?" - The intro to this track opens with a snare
fill before going into a laid back heavy metal/blues intro section. Björn
changes his vocal style for this track giving his vocal lines a little bit of a
different feel. For the pre-chorus Hempo changes his hi-hat pattern to
where the hi-hat is opening and closing. The band wrote the chorus to
where it is a little heavier than the rest of the song. For the second
verse there is a minor lead guitar riff that runs underneath the vocal lines.
Though this track is good it is however, what I call a fill-in song.
Which, basically says this track would not have effected the quality of songs on
the CD if it had been left off.
9.) "Crybaby" - The lead guitar licks of this musical intro where done
in a heavy metal/fuck/fusion style. There are times when the lead guitar
licks of the opening intro have a Jimi Hendrix feel to them. The musical
verse has a blues feel to them. The backing harmonies of the chorus were
very tight. All in all this song is just another fill-in track. For
me it was the guitar solo that made this song.
10.) "Timepiece" - This track opens with a drum fill before going into
the main musical intro section. The guitar riffs of the intro section
gives the song a very seventies feel. There is a huge rhythm change for
the verse. The chorus has the same musical arrangement as this intro
section. This is something that is not uncommon in song writing. The
rhythm guitar riffs have a mellowed Tony Iommi feel to them. It doesn't
take long to get hooked on the rhythm guitar riffs. The lead guitar solo
was very laid back and done with an effects pedal.
11.) "Miracle" - The intro of this ballad opens with an acoustic
guitar arrangement. At times Björn
vocal accents of the verse reminds you of a sentries Rod Stewart. Leading
into the chorus there is a very cool backing harmony. There is a very odd
sounding lead guitar solo. Personally. I felt this track was screaming for
an acoustic guitar solo.
12.) "In The Name Of Love" - This track opens with a very cool
guitar riff. There isn't a intro section for this song. Connecting
the small pre-verse with the verse is a minor lead guitar solo. Hempo play
a hi-hat opening and closing hi-hat rhythm for the verse. This added a
nice dynamic to the song. The rhythm arrangement of this track was very
cool, and makes the track. At times you can hear an acoustic guitar
bleeding through the arrangement.
Personally, I liked the band's last release, 'Fanatical' a
lot better. But, that is not to say that 'Kaleidoscope' is a bad release
because it isn't! All the songs have a great feel to them. It just
seems that several of the songs are what I cal b-sides. Björn
along with the rest of the members are excellent musicians and it does not take
a person long to figure that out. Though I really enjoyed the music on
this CD if I was going to recommend a Baltimoore CD it would be either,
'Fanatical' or 'Ultimate Tribute'. With that being said, This is one of
those releases that is very difficult to direct someone into being it.
Unless you are a Baltimoore fan. Then I would say you should definably
purchase it. But if you are not a huge Baltimoore fan then I would suggest
one of their other releases. You may purchase this release plus other
Baltimoore CD's at the band's official website (www.baltimoore.net)