Hydraulic Groove

Rick Holmstrom, Rick 'L. A. Holmes' Holmstrom

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 16, 2002)
• Original Release Date: July 16, 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Tone Cool
• ASIN: B0000695VA
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #117,907 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #63 in

  Music > Indie Music > Blues > Contemporary Blues

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The groove is king on this masterful guitarist's latest album--and a chameleon king at that, effortlessly blending Holmstrom's vintage chops with trip-hop, psychedelia, organ-combo sounds, and crazy swing. Although Holmstrom played wonderful, atmospheric guitar on R.L. Burnside's blues-trip-hop fusion disc, Wish I Was In Heaven Sitting Down, this is a radical departure from Holmstrom's solo recordings, which have stayed firmly in the traditional blues path. Instrumentals like "Bobo the Hobo" mate a smoky cocktail lounge vibe with rock & roll thrust, using flourishes like backward guitar and cranked-up snare for sonic edginess. The best of the vocal tracks, like the love song "My Maria" and the traveling number "These Roads," slice and dice Holmstrom's singing, keyboard loops, electronic burbles, a beat box, and other effects to pump up the modernity. But even when things get outright Martian, as on the percolating, slithery sci-fi-flick arrangement of "Gravy," Holmstrom's guitar keeps the music anchored in the blues. His slowly bent notes, staccato fills, and sweet, slightly distorted amp tones place this album's orbit within the gravitational pull of formative labels like Chess and Sun. But the slinky beauty of the big beats of rap is respected, too, and the pure outness of the sonic collage that pedals behind "Pee Wee's Nightmare" places the song somewhere between jazz, blues, and Brian Eno's ambient recordings. Oddly, Holmstrom only goes astray when he plays it straight. It's in a plain shuffle number like "I'm Gone" that his weaknesses as a lyricist and singer shine through. --Ted Drozdowski

Product Description
Hydraulic Groove, the new release from guitar virtuoso Rick Holmstrom, blends and weaves electric layers, samples and textures into funky, dense, instant-classic guitar grooves. Holmstrom progressively invents a sound entirely his own, proving that the blues is more a state of mind than a genre.

On Hydraulic Groove, Holmstrom enlisted the help of mixer/producer Rob Schnapf whose prior project roster includes artists like Beck, R.L. Burnside, Moby, Elliot Smith and the Foo Fighters. With Schnapf at the nobs, Holmstrom's music comes alive with an eclectic and exciting vitality.

Includes bonus tracks with John Medeski and DJ Logic.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Miss This!, August 2, 2002

By	deepbluereview "deepbluereview" (SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Rick Holmstrom might well receive an award for the most innovative blues CD released this year. This CD has a little bit of everything and, while some of the songs may not hold up well over the years, it's an innovative approach to the blues nonetheless. The CD opens with "These Roads" which contains a sampling of Robert Ward's "Hot Stuff" and is accompanied by looping guitars bits, a talking introduction by Johnny Dyer, a nice drum beat with organ accompaniment and the vocals of Holmstrom. In contrast, "Bobo the Hobo" is an instrumental and "Last To Know" is a rocking blues number both stripped down to just the guitar, drums, organ and bass. Things get a little more diverse with the appropriately titled instrumental, "Pee Wee's Nightmare" featuring some backward played guitar solo' with, what best can be described as, a schizophrenic feel to it. "Shake It Part 2" returns to essentially the same formula used on the first track, this time with a sampling of a Rufus Thomas speech made during a WC Handy award ceremony. "My Maria" is highlighted by a driving drum beat and Holmstrom's guitar. While "Back It Up" adds some jazz horns to the mix. "I'm Gone" with its 60's rhythm together with "Gravy" and "Harlan Shuffle" are a little more traditional and, in comparison to what else is here, somewhat mundane. To round out the CD, the disc contains four bonus tracks. Two of those tracks, "Roll Up" and "Hamp's Hump" are outstanding and lean toward the fusion side of jazz thanks to John Medeski on the organ. The other two tracks are essentially a remix of "Shake It, Part 2", and the funky "Knock Yourself Out". There is a lot to like here on this rather eclectic mix. Highly recommended!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Wow! What A Surprise, April 18, 2003

By	SoulBluesMusic "www.soulbluesmusic.com" (Deep South) - See all my reviews

Well-known for his key role as guitarist with Rod Piazza & The Mighty Flyers, Rick "L.A. Holmes" Holmstrom has stepped out again on his own and delivered a fun album! This is not a Rod Piazza-soundalike, but a tasty hybrid of blues, funk, hip-hop (no rapping, don't worry!), swing, etc...like a cooler version of Beck as a bluesman. Blues purists will be skeptical at hearing that description but from the opening introduction right before the groove kicks in on "These Roads", a smile will appear on your face. This album is FUN. Brilliant production by Genome & Holmstrom, Holmstrom's all-out guitar licks, clever samples, dazzling percussion. Holmstrom has a decent singing voice as well, often enhanced by effects, as on "Last To Know". Check out the acid-swing instrumental "Pee Wee's Nightmare" or the Booker T & The MG's-like "Bobo The Hobo" to play at a party. The four bonus tracks are superfluous and tend to cause the album to drag on, but that's a minot complaint. Overall, the heart of this disc is still blues and Holmstrom is a dynamite blues guitarist.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WELL.......IT'S DIFFERENT!, January 23, 2003

By	Patrick Earley (Edmond, Oklahoma USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When I see words like "samples" and "loops" in music, it usually sends me scurrying the other way. But I will make exceptions. Especially if it's as talented an artist as Rick Holmstrom using these studio tricks. But it's Holmstrom's awesome guitar that really makes this project work. The disc opens with Homstrom's old blues partner in crime Johnny Dyer, telling us to "fasten your seatbelts and put your hands together one time". Then he goes into a funky blues number complete with an alternating lo-fi hi-fi beat. I'm not sure about the Lo, but I liked the Hi-Fi. He then he goes into "Bobo The Hobo". This is a cool rockin' blues/r&b number that also features a very Booker T. and the Mg's style organ. Excellent. "Pee Wee's Nightmare" is one of the showcase songs here. There is all this looping, samples, great sax, big drums, and everything else going on at one time. And then Holmstrom comes out of all this glorious noise smokin' on the guitar with some of the funkiest licks that he's ever laid down. This is west coast sounding guitar at it's best. For me, this song was a clear standout here. That doesn't mean there isn't more neat stuff to come. I liked the ultra-funky "Shake It Part 2" that again features some of that excellent Booker T like organ work. I enjoyed "My Maria" for it's big drum beat that sounds almost exactly like Tommy James "Mony Mony". "Back It Up" is a little different. It has a Ska-like horn section that trades licks with Holmstrom's guitar throughout. Combine that with the samples and loops, and if it's something different your lookin' for, don't go no further. He slows it down a bit on "Harlan Shuffle" this time sharing the spotlight with Genome on keyboards and Holmstrom noodling around him on guitar. Very tasty. The 2 most straight ahead blues numbers here are "Tell Me" and especially I'm Gone" which is the only song that he doesn't use any sound effects. The rest of this cd is about 20 minutes of bonus tracks. Most of this is throw away stuff which is just to loopy and repetitive for my taste. However the last track here called "Hamp's Hump" is a killer. It features John Medeski from the popular jazz band Medeski, Martin, and Wood on organ. And some Spanish sounding horn work from the outstanding sax player Ronald Dziubia. 8 minutes of acid funk ala Meters plus the added bonus of one of Holmstrom's best guitar solos on the album. A great way to end this latest mind-bending effort by Homstrom. He's crafted a unique artwork here that might even be considered groundbreaking. But note to other players wanting to try this: It takes a pretty special talent to pull these loops and samples off without sounding like your typical everyday hip-hop artist. And remember Holmstrom is the best west coast blues player out there. Something tells me the six stringers out there are already lining up for Genome to produce their next album. Meanwhile pick this up and see how it was done right the first time. Highly recommended!