From the Basement [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered, Import]

Jan Akkerman | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 2, 2000)
• Original Release Date: May 2, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered, Import
• Label: Hux Records/Ka
• ASIN: B00004S91Y
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #440,165 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Headbanger

2. All Along the Watchtower

3. Dark Rose

4. Wallenberg

5. F.T.B.

6. P.C.B. Chicken

7. Status Quo

8. When I Was a Cocktail in a Waitress Bar [*]

9. Ellington's Way [*]

10. She Let Me Do What I Want [*]

11. Guitar Synth Opener [*]

12. Cherubim & Sepharim, Pt. 1 /Pt. 2 [Guitar-Lead Answer/Pt. 2]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sharp dressed man, May 21, 2000

By 

loteq (Regensburg/Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From the Basement (Audio CD)

Jan Akkerman is known for his work with Dutch prog-rock band Focus in the '70s. He has released a string of musically very different solo albums since the late-'70s, and it's easy to understand why 1984's "From the basement" is one of Jan's few U.S. releases. It features a synth-heavy blues rock that sounds very similar to that of ZZ Top's commercial breakthrough "Eliminator". With drum machines, sequencers, and a guitar synthesizer, but since ZZ Top have done this kind of music with more fun and passion, "From the basement" is hardly more than an inferior duplication. "Headbanger", "Dark rose", and "P.C.B. Chicken" are energetic, danceable 'space boogie' tracks, but they suffer from a too streamlined and clean sound, a problem that plagues most of the songs. The 14-minute cover version of Dylan's "All along the watchtower" (of course, popularized by Jimi Hendrix) is mostly tedious, just as "Wallenberg" and the moody title track. The CD's second half contains some previously unavailable demo recordings, but apart from "Ellington's way", there's nothing particularly interesting to discover there. With a flawless sound quality and extensive liner notes about the equipment Jan used for this album, "From the basement" will automatically appeal to other musicians. It's not an original and innovative album, though.