Tracks:

· Where The Southern Crosses The Dog
· Journey On
· Set Me Free
· 29 Ways
· Storm Warning
· Wings  
· Louisiana Man
· Run The Human Race
· Bourgeois Blues
· Walking the Dog
· Feel Like Going Home

Held a good job in the city
Had a lay-off and they got poor me
I feel so lowdown and disgusted
Just can´t find a way to make ends meet
Take my baby by the hand - leave this town
I know we´ll make it, baby - longs as you stick around
Go back to the country where the Southern crosses the Dog

City folks they drive me crazy
They´re a-pushin´ and a-shovin´ all the time
It´s a ratrace for the money
In their eyes you can see that dollar sign
Take my baby by the hand - leave this town
I know we´ll make it, baby - longs as you stick around
Go back to the country where the Southern crosses the Dog

Go back - back to the country
Go back - back to the country
Go back to the country where the Southern crosses the Dog

We´ll get us some wheels
Wave this city bye-bye
All this smog and pollution
You can never see the clear blue sky
Take my baby by the hand - leave this town
I know we´ll make it, baby - longs as you stick around
Go back to the country where the Southern crosses the Dog

The road may be rough and rocky
Temptations may be strong
We may be tried and we may be denied
But we must journey on

Journey on - journey on
We must journey on
We may be tried and we may be denied
But we must journey on

Your friends they may forsake you
Turn their back on you
But in this life we must travel on
And see our jouney through

Journey on - journey on ...

Evil will tell you silver-tongued lies
Lead you off that narrow road
Sweet-talking temptation
Tryin´ to get a hold of your soul

The road may be rough and rocky
Temptations may be strong
We may be tried and we may be denied
But we must journey on

Journey on - journey on ...

Congregation gathered by the river
Early morning - dawning of the day
Reverend Jones reads his sermon
In the distance you can hear the people pray

Roll on mighty Mississippi - wash your waters to the sea
Roll on mighty Mississippi - wash away our sins and set us free
Lord above - as you look upon us
Hallowed be Thy name - we testify
Lord, you give and take - don´t turn these souls away
Lead us to that mansion in the sky

Roll on mighty Mississippi ...

Down in the delta at the crossroads
The ghost of Robert Johnson roams the land
Telling the news - preaching the blues
Lending the devil a hand

Roll on mighty Mississippi ...

Mojo people gather by the river
Eternal beating of the drum
Mumbling a prayer - there´s voodoo in the air
The spirit of the motherland returns

Roll on mighty Mississippi ...

I got 29 ways to make it to my baby´s door
If she needs me bad - I can find about 2 or 3 more

One through the basement - two down the hall
When the going gets tough - I got a hole in the wall
29 ways to make it to my baby´s door
If she needs me bad - I can find about 2 or 3 more

I can come through the chimney - like Santa Claus
Go through the window - and that ain´t all
A lot of good ways - I don´t want you to know
I even got a hole in the bedroom-floor
29 ways ...
To my lovely baby´s door
One - two - many a-more

I got a way through the closet - behind her clothes
A way through the attic - that no one knows
A masterkey - to fit any lock
A hidden door behind grandfather´s clock
29 ways ...
To my lovely baby´s door
One - two - many a-more

Can´t hear no sound - everything seems quiet
Bad moon - fills up the sky
Big black cloud - moving in from the east
Not a ripple on the water
Nothing happening down here

Storm warnin - bad weather on the rise
It´s just the silence before the storm
Storm warning

Board up the windows - board up the door
Stay inside - don´t go out no more
If I had a knife - I´d cut the tension in the air
Seems like everything is quiet
But something´s going down here

Storm warning

Nervous dog in a backyard - a stone´s throw away
Hear him whine ´n moan - rattlin´ his chain
Dog got that instinct - never steers him wrong
Knows there´s something gonna happen
Knows there´s something going on

Storm warning

If I had wings like a turtle dove
I´d fly away to the girl I love
Just to hold her - hold her in my arms again

Fly to her doorstep - knock on her window-pane
Open that window - let me in
Hold her - hold her in my arms again

I will rock you - roll you all night long
We´ll be rocking and a-rolling, baby, til the morning comes

Fly to her doorstep - knock on her window-pane
Open that window - let me in
Hold her - hold her in my arms again

If I had wings like a turtle dove
I´d fly away to the girl I love
Just to hold her - hold her in my arms again

I was born on a Louisiana road
Soon as I could walk, I had to carry a load
Papa left when I was just about four
Mama died - didn´t want to live no more

Louisian´ - Louisian´
Lord have mercy
Mercy on a Louisiana man

I heard Blin Lemon singing in the street
I loved that sound and I loved that beat
Led that blind man by the hand
Deep Ellem, Texas - across the Texas borderland

I never will forget that fatal day
I ran into a man that kept calling me names
Lost my temper and I cut him down
The verdict was: guilty - I was sugarland bound

Louisian´ - Louisian´ ...

Some got six months - some got a year
Me and my buddy doing lifetime here
Hard, hard labour from morning ´til night
They work me like a mule on the black-ball-line
Wish a voodoo doctor down in New Orleans
Mix me a potion - lay a thing on me
Put a spell on my captain and break my chain
Walk out of here - a free man again

Louisian´ - Louisian´ ...

Let the midnight special shine it´s light on me
Let the midnight special shine it´s ever loving light on me

We gotta run the human race
Everybody must take part
Win some or lose some
And always listen to your heart

There´s just one earth - just one sky
We all gotta live here - ´til the day we die
´Til the final curtain call - when the lights go down
We all have a ride on the merry-go-round

We gotta run the human race ...

Jehova - Buddha - Allah - Manitou
No matter who you are and who you´re praying to
Don´t count the difference - count what binds
You´re a link in the chain and a number in line

We gotta run the human race ...

Red ´n´ yellow - black ´n´ white
We gotta work it out - we gotta put things right
Live in happiness - live in peace
Love ´n´ understanding - sweet harmony

Money makes the world go round - so the proverb says
And it´s nice to have some money - living day by day
But when you die you can´t take it up to heaven above
And John Lennon told us "Money can´t buy you love"

We gotta run the human race ...

Come along people - listen to me
Don´t try to find no home in Washington DC
Lord it´s a bourgeois town - it´s a bourgeois town
I got the bourgeois blues
I´m gonna spread the news all around

Me and Martha were standing downstairs
Bossman said "Don´t want no colored people here"
Lord it´s a bourgeois town ...

Home of the brave - land of the free
I don´t want to be mistreated by no bourgeoisie
Lord it´s a bourgeois town ...

White folks in Washington they do know how
Throw a man a nickel just to see him bow
Lord it´s a bourgeois town ...

Come along people - listen to me
Don´t try to find no home in Washington DC
Lord it´s a bourgeois town ...

Baby´s back - dressed in black
Silverbuttons - all down her back
High - low - tippytoe
She broke the needle and she can´t sew

Walking the dog
Walking the dog
And if you don´t know how to do it
I will show you how to walk the dog

Asked my mother for 15 cents
See the elephant jump the fence
Jumped so high - he touched the sky
Never came down until the 4th of July

Walking the dog ...

Baby baby - watch your trail
How does your garden grow
You got silver bells - and you got cockle shells
Pretty maids all in a row

Walking the dog ...

Well late over in the evening
I feel like blowin´ my horn
Well I woke up this morning
All I had was gone

Brooks run into the ocean
Ocean run into the sea
If I don´t find my baby
Somebody shure gonna bury me

Minutes seem like hours
Hours seem like days
Well seems like my baby
Well boy must stop her lowdown (evil) ways

Some people tell me
The worried blues ain´t bad
It´s the worst old feeling
I almost ever had

The cover shows him barreling a Cadillac convertible through a flatland sunset with his National Steel in the passenger seat. The disc reveals a man as laid-back as the landscape he traverses, singin' the blues with a voice the texture of black molasses and playing guitar as if he were born to it. The overall feel of the music is deeply acoustic, devastating competent and perfect for rural Cadillac driving, though barbs in the lyrics banish any complacency. Deeper listening reveals the care that has gone into the arrangements, resulting in a work that is disarmingly straightforward at the onset, but reveals new treasures at each subsequent listening. In short, it's a diamond. Theessink is deservedly outstanding in his field - Nobody living does it better. (Alan Rose)

Despite the lack of even one Robert Johnson number it's hard to see how Hans Theessink could improve Journey On, his latest CD, and probably his best yet. The self-styled Euro-bluesman has long proved that valid blues can be created this side of the Atlantic. Hans is a smooth and competent guitar player, he's blessed with a deep throaty voice, he's an accomplished re-arranger of traditional material and he can craft new songs that blend in seamlessly with the older works. He also finds perfect collaborators to enhance his music which comes together smooth as butter cream and tastes just as sweet. Among the helpers adding extra ingredients to Hans' guitar and vocals on Journey On are Cindy Cashdollar, dobro; Jon Sass, tuba; Alee Thelfa, percussion; and Terry Evans, Dana Gillespie, Ray Williams and Dorretta Carter on backing vocals. It all sounds great and the packaging makes it look good too. The front cover pictures Hans at the wheel of a Cadillac convertible with his shiny National guitar sitting pretty by his side propped up, real comfortable, on the leather seat. Now there's a man who knows how to treat his guitar right! (Dave Peabody)

Here are some very tasteful and well produced tracks, including seven striking originals that illustrate that Theessink can write evocative and poetic lyrics. He has a great art of weaving traditional material around his own to create a distinctive and personal sound. This is a highly enjoyable set. (Bob Tilling)

Hans Theessink is eigenlijk een bluesman. Maar zijn vnl. akoestische werk ligt zo dicht tussen folk en country in dat je je als het ware in een muzikaal drielandenpunt bevindt. Z'n country-blues heeft inmiddels wereldwijde bekendheid gekregen. Z'n donkere stem en helder gitaarspel en vooral de "slides" op de National guitar vormen prachtige kontrasten met elkaar. Het sonore geluid en de monotone stem zijn als een deksel, passend op een pan met de heerlijkste inhoud. Een nummer als "Set Me Free" laat je huiveren en "29 Ways" swingt dat het een lieve lust is. En steeds die weldadige solo's. Muziek van Hans Theessink verveelt nooit. "Journey On" moet je gewoon kopen! (Hans van Dam)

Er ist wirklich ein kleines Ein-Mann-Wunder, dieser Hans Theessink. Der Holländer mit Wahlheimat Österreich, der sich aber mit Vorliebe im Süden der USA herumtreibt, mixt sein persönliches Gebräu aus erdigem Country-Blues mit würzigen Gospel-Kräutern so überzeugend, daß beim unvorbelasteten Hören niemand auf die Idee käme, einen Europäer zu hören. Auch auf "Journey On" klingt seine Stimme wieder lässiger, träger selbst als die von J.J.Cale, tiefer als die von Barry White und so welterfahren wie die von B.B.King. Seine famose amerikanische Band spielt ihr Können mit ähnlich lässiger Kraft aus. Wenn Theessink grummelt "Roll on, mighty Mississippi, roll on.....", Jon Sass seine ultra-fetten Tuba-Baßlinien drunterschiebt und im Hintergrund eine Steelguitar schluchzt, dann geht wirklich der Mond auf ! (C.St.)

Mit vom Staub endloser Highways geschmirgelter Stimme singt HT melancholische Blues-Balladen, wie sie schwermütiger selbst Van Morrison nicht interpretieren könnte. Dann wieder pendelt er mit der coolen Lässigkeit eines J.J.Cale zwischen Cajun-Klängen und swingendem Rhythm ‘n Blues oder zupft tiefschwarzen Delta-Blues auf seiner Resonator-Gitarre.

Bunnsolide saker. En herlig utgivelse. Hans Theessink gjör Muddy Waters, Rufus Thomas, Leadbelly og Willie Dixon pluss syv egenkomponerte laater. Bunnsolide saker hele veien. Tubaist Jon Sass er med, likesaa Alee Thelfa, Cindy Cashdollar og Richard Bell. Pluss herrlige Terry Evans som mange vil kjenne igjen fra hans samarbeid med Ry Cooder. Og det er litt sent syttitals Coodersk over denne utgivelsen, og slett ikke noe daarligere. Sangene er som en reise i Mississippideltaet. Paa aapningsporet "Where the southern crosses the dog" faar du lyst til a löpe langs skinnegangen fra byen og ut til de langstrakte markerne. Paa "Stormwarning" kann du föle stillheten för styrtregnet gjör asfalten forbi Parchman Farm til en liten elv. Paa "Set me free" kann du sanse Mississippi rulle og paa sistesporet "Feel like going home" sitter du endelig alene paa porch’en i Clarksdale og spiller en hyllest til Muddy paa din akustiske gitar. En herlig reise i lag med sterke musikere, vakre stemmer, gode arrangement og troverdighet og....troverdighet. (Helge Ottesen)

HAN ER FANTASTISK – BLUES ****** - En hollaender med fast bopael i Wien, der spiller blues og isaer amerikansk roots-musik, som var han födt med en guitar om halsen af en fordrukken arbejdslös bomuldsplukker fra Louisiana i en baptistkirke paa bredden af Mississippi! Med en stemme saa dyb, sexet og heman-agtig saa man skal helt hen i Leonhard Cohen-afdelingen for at finde noget lignende. Plus at han har et delta-bluesswing og spiller guitar saa prof og overlegent paa en facon, som man normalt kun hörer fra folk som Ry Cooder, Roy Rogers og Mark Knopfler. Men saadan en findes altsaa. Navnet er Hans Theessink. Paa mandag udgiver han cd-en "Journey On". Et noget naert perfekt produkt. Syv hjemmestrikkede sange og fire laante fra mestre som Muddy Waters, Leadbelly, Rufus Thomas og Willie Dixon. Akustisk akkompagnement fra meget faa haandplukkede folk, der faar svineriet til at gynge og svaje saa let og ubesvaeret, saa det naesten er vaemmelig godt. Selv om Hans Theessink af baglandet kaldes bluesmusiker er han en hel masse mere oppe i sit musikalske hoved: rhythm’n blues, country uden rock, jazz, folk, cajun/zydeco og gospel. Alt det blander han paa mesterlig vis sammen paa "Journey On" i en supervarieret cocktail uden nogen fisefornem akademisk holdning og bevidst opvisning i blaererövsteknik. Rock and roll-legenden Bo Diddley har sagt om Hans Theessink: "He’s one helluva guitarplayer!" Det er sandt som det er sagt. Og den stemme ikke at forglemme! (pn)

Taking his cues from the '70s output of Ry Cooder, there is nothing in the sound of the Dutch-born and raised Hans Theessink that would indicate he learned his craft from albums and not from being raised in the swamps of Mississippi. His dusky baritone, greasy slide licks, and soulful male backup singers (led by Cooder vet Terry Evans who turns in a stunning performance throughout) plant him firmly into the deep South. The gospel feel of the title track, along with its subtle shuffle beat and rousing yet mellifluous supporting vocalists, sounds as natural as if he spent his entire life soaking up the spirits of the bluesmen he obviously adores. When he and the elegant singers harmonize on "Set Me Free," with pedal steel crying and longtime cohort John Sass' tuba counterpointing the bass, you can almost feel the flies buzzing around your head as you sit beside the banks of the mighty Mississippi. The ghost of Robert Johnson haunts this graceful music, yet the feel is less of the raw Delta blues than of a shimmering, daydream inhabited by the spirits of the swamp. Similar to J.J. Cale, Theessink finds his soul hovering through the backwoods, and with his sympathetic band, he has created an album that is hypnotizing in its intensity. Jaunty covers of Willie Dixon's humorous "29 Ways," Rufus Thomas' classic "Walking the Dog," and Leadbelly's "Bourgeois Blues" all get similar treatment, as Theessink nudges these often-covered tunes into the marsh and mud, wrapping his voice around them and providing interpretations so unique and distinctive it seems he's re-written the songs. An album-closing solo turn on Muddy Waters' "Feel Like Going Home" is a beautiful, sad coda, as the guitarist takes his time languidly unspooling the track, as if he's playing at home alone. In fact, the entire disc sounds comfy and cozy, with Theessink secure in his talents and especially those of his remarkable band. This is an artist steeped in the blues, but like Ry Cooder, one who successfully interprets it in his own characteristic fashion, which is what makes Journey On so consistently engaging, on so many levels. (Hal Horowitz)