Freedom

Freedom

A warm percussive foundation, acoustic guitars from both sides of the spectrum, a sophistica-ted bass line – are we expecting a new Steely Dan release? The flattering conclusion is not entirely unfounded, because this is the work of a German band that was once hailed as “more American than the Yanks”, and invited Doobie and Dan comparisons in the process: Lake.

But the suggestion also means that there must be something in the voice of their Scottish lead singer Lloyd Anderson to invite such compari-sons to Donald Fagen. (Lloyd is the fourth Lake voice from Connery Country by now, so the band should really be called Loch.) And indeed, the way Lloyd builds the first love story on this album, it is only after the first verse that we feel how the lady’s Passionate Eyes (by Conti with lyrics courtesy of Ron Randolf) hit him like a brick. That same impact is achieved via the electrical guitar pyromania of Alex Conti – right after the majestic chorus towards the climax of this magic opener.

Out of breath already? The ballad Silvia offers time and space – and seems to whisper the words “single” and “radio friendly” – apart from enjoying the multi-faceted keyboard layers by composer Jens Skwirblies, who also played behind Toto’s Bobby Kimball, and who accom-panied the ex Lake-Scot Ian Cussick on tours.

Cussick – as the first little sensation – can be heard in a duet with Lloyd Anderson here. Before procedures become a little too emo-tional, thanks to the perfect rapport of those two, Conti barges in again with a solo explo-sion – but not only on his trusted Les Paul, as “for this album, I have tracked more than a thousand overdubs, because I wanted to tap all my resources and drill them into these songs.” Thus, you can devote a complete spin of this album to the guitar work, either following your comprehension of all the hook lines and harmonies or as first things first.

Die Just A Little by Swedish superstar Paulo Mendonca impresses as one of the strongest songs on the album. Conti lures the band to the self-service Sixties Store: You pick the grapes by Hendrix and the Beach Boys – and generate a sound scape which is safely grounded in the new millennium. This is a number you want to experience live immediately.

It´s Only You seems to come from one of the vintage Lake albums from the late Seventies, that´s how typical its ingredients are with an infectious riff, a little dose of Funk, dynamic development and a punch line that positively cries for some audience participation by the respective stadium crowd. Alex, apart from countless licks and solo passages, unveils his

notorious slide ring. He´s capable of anything he did from Lake I to Ouch! – and then some. Skwirblies´ Fender Rhodes piano gets woven in congenially, and on drums, as on the previous track, we get the experienced services of studio drummer and co-producer Eddie Filipp.

Nightbirds is one of those haunting tunes that give you a feeling of absolute well-being, diving into Conti´s quint-span Wishbone-Ash inspirations and the nagging question: “Where did Lake borrow this killer chorus?” The answer is sensation number two: The only guy familiar with this track was its writer: Lake confidant Andreas Becker in his small Brunswick studio. He had wanted to give the fatally struggling Lake founder James Hopkins-Harrison a last chance to produce a demo with new music. It was going to be his final recording – and the cassette gathered dust in the archives after his death. Would his inimitable voice get rescued for posterity this time? One recalls a Hollies project of 1993, enriching a historical Buddy Holly tape of “Peggy Sue Got Married” with a brand new performance. Conti: “We live in the digital age, and so we were able to record “Nightbirds” in our completely new, original arrangement, and fly Jim´s voice into the mix eventually!” Rescued, cleaned, refined – and especially the partnership of Jens Skwirblies and Eddie Filipp really worked hard on this one, technically as well as creatively.

High profile songs work on several levels: Alex´ acoustic trio Arndt, Gross & Conti had already performed Ted Nugent & The Gunners’ Blues on their album Crossing Borders. But the way the Swing conglomerate bass man Holger Trull and drummer Mickie Stickdorn lay the groove here, this version turns out to be indispensible after one single listen: Lloyd Anderson gives everything, Conti rescues his Martin acoustic from the Country Blues idiom by adding several dangerous axes – Skwirblies´ swirling, Leslie-driven Hammond sound fills the gaps – Beach Boys/10CC harmonies added as „icing on the cake“!

Via Paulo Mendonca’s Gin And Tonic, Lake prove how they manage to add fire to potentially sentimental ballads – slowly but surely, one of the strongest engine rooms the country commands gets to work: Stickdorn & Trull. They never take over, always serving the overall sound; sophistication rules. Apart from many other projects, the two comprised the Hardrock trio Rosebud with Conti. The way this threesome burns from a mere blaze to open flames, they are clearly steered towards ’Lake land‘ by Anderson & Skwirblies’ astute guidance.

As an addictive straight shuffle, Conti/Anderson´s Love Is Like A Wizard may well be the album´s crucial invitation to get moving.

With a killer bass line by Trull and a ferocious guitar workout which makes a certain Ted Nugent pale towards soft pop, the band turns into a wonderful Motown atmosphere by way of their catchy chorus – an experiment that works thanks to a strong composition. “The Isley Brothers meet Rosebud”: this is meant as a compliment.

Interlocking numerous acoustic and electric guitars makes Heaven Is Closer count as ideal “loud music in cars” – and you may still sing the chorus by the time you´re already seated in the peace and quiet lounge of a highway restau-rant. Courageous fills in the bass-and-drums department are just as significant as Conti´s art of not letting his axe work interfere with the tender piano parts courtesy of Skwirblies. Once again, Anderson´s own song works thanks to his sensitive vocal input.

Whether it happens on purpose is beside the point, but Freewheeling surely sounds like a dedicated tribute to The Doobie Brothers – slick falsetto choir included, and another unforgettable chorus is guaranteed anyway. Conti shows his love of Wes Montgomery and George Benson type Jazz licks which he had demonstrated so intensively on his instrumen-tal love collection Shetar, Ron Randolf succeeds in providing a fitting lyric.

One Latin touch in the beginning – and one in the end: the title track Freedom hypnotizes in its compulsive combination of rhythm, a completely unique guitar balance between Santana and Satriani, and a harmonic vocal backing that confidently highlights Anderson in the mix – after two years on the road Lloyd really has arrived in Lake – writing with Conti being another sure sign.

Does the world need another Lake album? The fact is that you will simply not hand this collection over again. Maybe you will get rid of another “Desert Island Disc” – this one will endure!

Uli Twelker

ALEX CONTI

1969 CURLY CURVE

1972/73 England FEVER (ex SAM APPLE PIE)

from 1974 ATLANTIS, first US experience: support for AEROSMITH, LYNYRD SKYNYRD

from 1975 RUDOLF ROCK und die SCHOCKER, and LAKE, with the three successful LPs LAKE, LAKE 2 and LAKE 3 (Paradise Island)

1976 Lake on European tour with WISHBONE ASH

1980 Lake 4 (Ouch!) and split from LAKE

1981 First solo album: CONTI

1984 Second solo album: CONTINUED

1985 ELEPHANT

1986/87 HERWIG MITTEREGGER: two albums ‘IMMER MEHR’ and ‘JEDESMAL’

1989 ROSEBUD, three albums until 1994: ‘ROSEBUD’, ‘SAN SIMEON’ und ‘KEEP SMILING’;

1992 HAMBURG BLUES BAND, four albums, more than 1000 concerts

1996 ROCKSHIP mit INGA RUMPF.

Further releases:

1997 CD ‘ROUGH ENOUGH’ (ROCKSHIP), Solo project ELECTRIC BALLROOM

2000 BERLIN BLUES with FRANK DIEZ, COLIN HODGINSON, WOLFGANG N. DALHEIMER and TONY HICKS

2001 CONTI and HAMBURG BLUES BAND meet Mike Harrison

2003 Re-shuffle of LAKE

2005 LAKE comeback album

2006 LAKE DVD live

2007 RORYMANIA

2010 Alex Conti ‘SHETAR’

2011 ALEX CONTI Retrospective 1974–2010

Alex would like to thank:Bine (for everything ...), Bruno (for being there ...), Holger (for your friendship ...), Jens (for this excellent guitar coaching ...), Mickie (for always finding a sympathetic ear for me ...), Lloyd (bringing this voice to us ...), YAMAHA (for this great Acoustic-Guitar ...), Doc Dee (for saving my life and my teeth ...), Martin & Tommi (for my health ...), Wolfi & Kathy (for making me happy every time I’m staying in Berlin ...), Eddie (for NOT making us sound like Lady Gaga ...), Ines (being a part of my life for quite a time and always staying a friend and host ...), Birsel & Nura, Dagi & Hein (for making Kassel a little bit nicer ...), Uwe (for keeping my car running forever ...), Uli Twelker (for attending to my musical projects ...), Hansi (for being a REAL personal manager ...) and all the others that I have forgotten ...

Alex Conti plays:Gibson, Fender, Bingenheimer & Kortmann, ESP, Marshall Amps, Fender Amps, etc. etc. ... and YAMAHA Acoustic Guitars

Alex checking voices on piano

Yamaha AcousticBingenheimer & KortmannBingenheimer & KortmannGibson 335Gibson Les PaulGibson SG

MICKIE STICKDORN

1982–1984 first drum lecturer at the Musikhochschule Hamburg (Popularmusik Popkurs)

1979–today Live on tour (world wide) as well as studio recordings/productions as a drummer for and with:INGA RUMPF (also as a producer), ACHIM REICHEL, DUESENBERG, ALTO, GITTE, TONEBAND, PETER SCHILLING, HEINZ RUDOLF KUNZE, JEFF ROSS (also as a producer), FALCO, MILVA, GEORGIE RED (including production), OTTO, REINHARD FENDRICH, JENNIFER RUSH, AL BANO & ROMINA POWER, TIM (featuring OLLI DITTRICH), ELEPHANT, ROLAND KAISER, JOACHIM WITT, ROSEBUD, BONNIE TYLER, JULIANE WERDING, UWE BUSSE, MIKE BATT, MARC ALMOND, PAUL CARRACK, STOPPOCK, JULIA NEIGEL, RAINER BAUMANN,

HUGO EGON BALDER, THE BEAT CLUB and many more.

Mickie Stickdorn would like to thank:Tatjana, Antonia, Mama Ingi, Papa Manni,

Mike Starrs, Ian Cussick, Christopher Thornton jr., Eddie Fillip, Britta Rex, DOC Dee, Hotte Schmidt,

Hugo Egon Balder, Matt Charles, Daniel Bergmann, Christoph Pfeifer,

Günni Luers, Hansi Nath; Frank Boestfleisch:

Sibbi Siebert:

JENS SKWIRBLIES

1980 first rock band FEEDBACK

further Jazzpiano studies with RAINER SCHNELLE (EARTHA KITT, HILDEGARD KNEF)

1983 co-founder of North German Pop-Band DENO

1984 Pop Music Degree at Musikhochschule Hamburg

1989–2007 Keyboard player and MD IAN CUSSICK

1991–2011 Steinberg Media Technologies (Cubase, Nuendo) demonstrator

1999 – today Yamaha Europe Endorser

2003 Keyboard player with BOBBY KIMBALL (TOTO)

2006 Keyboard player with ROLF STAHLHOFEN (SOEHNE MANNHEIMS)

2007/2009 Promoter Summer Beach Festival Eckernfoerde Joe Cocker/Rod Stewart

2009 – today Keyboard player with LAKE

2010 – Keyboard player with KATRIN WULFF (XAVIER NAIDOO, UDO LINDENBERG)

Jens uses Yamaha Keyboards and Steinberg Hard- and Software exclusively!

I would like 2 thank the following guys and companies for their continuous support and their believe in me for making my way thru THIS life being an artist:

Charlie Steinberg, Andreas Stelling, Frank Simmerlein, Lars Slowak, Jonas Baumbach, Ed Doll, Stefan Schreiber and Markus Engel: all@Steinberg Hamburg, GER; Claus Kruse, Thorsten Martens and Lars Elfendahl@Yamaha Europe Rellingen, GER; Andy Lewis and Phil Cummings@Sennheiser London, UK; Manfred Rürup@VhausHamburg, GER; Ralf Dreeßen@MusikMarkt Rendsburg, GER; Tim Drewing @DPP Rechtsanwälte Kiel, GER; Barrie and Jenny Mar-shall@Marshall Arts Ltd. London, UK; Ray Neapolitan@Mad Dog Touring Encino, USA; Roger Davis@RDM Los Angeles, USA;Arnold Stiefel@The Stiefel Company Los Angles, USA; Dennis Arfa@ AGI New York, USA; Sally Bourne@FruitPie Music London, UK; Andreas Waschkowski, Jan Harke and Hans Fintzen@OPUS Showtechnik Kiel, GER; Hauke Femerling@Opus Cases Kiel,GER; Lars Brogaard@Major Tom Salisbury, UK; Karsten Jahnke@Jahnke Konzertagentur Hamburg, GER; Peter Gorges@UJAM Menlo Park, USA; Reiner Jochens@ Barrier24 Felm, GER; Mario Mendryzcki@TME Munich, GER; Holger Orf@ XLS Tourservice, SUIMascha, Nele and Nik, Rosemarie+Günther Skwirblies, Lars Skwirblies+Cornelia Scharrmann, Amaree, Gene Black, Joachim Bonack, Jack Bruno, Claus Buchholz, Irene Carrie, Holger Ceglars, Jane Comerford, Christopher Cross, Ian Cussick, Dr. Horst Dahl, Udo Dahmen, Lance Eagen, Kiki Ebsen, Mike Finnigan, Norbert Fimpel, Agnes Flügel, Steve Hansen, Marianne Bork-Larsen Jegsen, Bruce Jones, Silvia Jürgensen, Nik and Sarah Kershaw, Peter Keys, Bobby Kimball, Martin Krohn, Marc Lauenstein, Jon Lord, Ian + Jane + Stuart Mann, Paulo Mendonca, Nick Milo, Joy Morrison, Nina Meyer, Maike Neumann, Jon Flemming Olsen, Detlef Peter-sen, Steve Porcaro, Claudia Rausch, Katja Rieckermann, Rainer Schnelle, Eddie Shea, Jörg Sibbel, Barnie Söhnel, Rolf Stahlhofen, Chris Thompson, Reinald Uecker, CJ Vanston, Katrin Wulff, HansZimmer... and last but definitely not least 2 all the ones I might have forgotten – u know who u r - and of course 2 all the LAKE fans thru-out the world ... peace’ n rock on, Jens!

LLOYD ANDERSON

Lead Vocals – Backing Vocals – Whisper Vocals & Tambourine .

Desrcibed by legendary rock music newspaper N M E as “the amazingly charismatic Lloyd Anderson”Lloyd dedicates his life to Singing – Drumming & Writing from a perspective of Soul – Truth & Passion.35 years of working in many genres of Music, Art & Photography give his performances depth & dimensions .

Tributes to his Vocals & Drumming come from diverse Artists such as: John Parr , Tony Hadley (Spandau Ballet), Micheal Marra, Billy McKenzie (Associates), Andy Powell (Wishbone Ash), Mike Garson (Bowie), Alex Ligert-wood (Santana), Lenny White (RTF), Andy Newmark (Session Great) & Chris Barber (Jazz legend) to name but a few.

Lloyd says “It’s an honour to have Music as an integral force , & i try to take each moment & fill it with a higher energy, I thank my Lake Brothers Jens, Holgi, Mickie & Alex for their music & loving friendship, also our brothers on the & off the road, Hansi, Günni, Daniel & Christoph & the lovely Management & Venue People too. Extend a further thanks to my family, Elizabeth & Bud Anderson & the 3 other L‘s ... Lorraine, Lydia & Lindsay. Lloyd jnr, Karly, Angel Eve, & Sam & the new one on the roundabout ... Holly ... Auntie Pat and Uncle Ross, my extended Family & friends ... & those you hold close. Charlie, Lyle, Brian, Steve, Rab, Grant, Gregor, Ricky, Alan & Stuart & those you hold close.”

For extra Love – Inspiration & help ...‘ Lady A ‚ ... Mark – Sally – ( Santana – Bowie – Sinatra – Wonder – Rich – Jarrett ) – George *– Nessie – Tam & Irene – Peter – Nan, Charlie & Vince, – Claudia – All my special FB friends ... Sonor Drums – Paiste Cymbals – Evans Drum skins – Mother Nature – to name only a few ... & those ‚ you ‚ hold close ... & ... of course – the ‚ Ultimate companion ‚ in the Sky ! *

Neverrr forget ! – Lloyd Lloves You *

HOLGER TRULL

In the 1980s, he was still with the German-English New Wave-Band SWEATY FEET, subsequently played in cover bands, adapting all sorts of styles (Folk Rock, Jazz Fusion, Hard Rock, Musical, Jazz Standards, Pop & Soul, Rhythm & Blues).

With the BOOZE BAND, he travelled through Australia for half a year in 1988 (hailed as Europe‘s Hottest Rhythm & Blues Band, including the legendary Broadford Festival), until he met Alex Conti in 1990.

1991 Member of Alex‘ ROSEBUD with Mickie Stickdorn. 2 CDs and several tours. After that, regular encounters for all sorts of projects (e.g. Holger and Mickie with JOACHIM WITT), but whatever happened, there was continuous contact, not least Holger´s CD cover layout and design for almost all CDs of the Hamburg Blues Band und Conti´s further projects as well as the LAKE CD „The Blast of Silence“. Since 2008 bass player with LAKE (still with Mike Starrs and Ingo Bischof, keyboards)

More projects with and for CHRIS ANDREWS, ANDREAS BECKER (MAFFAY), INGA RUMPF, THE KINGFISH, TADEUSZ JAKUBOWSKI, ANNIKA BRUHNS, KEATON SIMONS, THE COCKER COVER CREW, X-FACTOR VOLKER SCHLAG etc.

Holger Trull would like to thank:Jochen Krüger, Günter Stein, Hans-Otto Köhler, Hans Schmidt, Beate Müller, Peter Savic, Rüdiger Faix, Ingo Faix, Philip Markin, Daddy Zbroinski, Long Meyer, Herbert Weise, Hartmut Frenk, Ralli Lewitzki, Norbert Windhorst and THE BOOZE BAND, Stuart Wood, Kalle Voges, Gerd Harmel, Reinhard Döring, Matthias Bergstedt, Bernd Bröger, Klaus Grözinger, GUD, Gerdina & Carlotta, Ulrike & Norbert, Sybille & Willi (†), Gerdine & Johan, Nektar, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Jaco Pastorius, Larry Taylor.

Holger Trull plays: MusicMan, Sandberg, Fender, Hoyer, Marshall Amplification, EBS Octaver

01 Passionate EyesMusic: Alex ContiLyrics: Ron Randolf

02 SilviaMusic: Jens SkwirbliesLyrics: Ian Cussick

03 Die Just A LittleMusic/Lyrics: Paulo Mendonca

04 It’s Only YouMusic: Jens Skwirblies Lyrics: Lloyd Anderson

05 Nightbirds Music: Andreas BeckerLyrics: Hein Altenbroxter

06 Ted NugentMusic: Alex Conti Lyrics: Ron Randolf

07 Gin And TonicMusic/Lyrics: Paulo Mendonca

08 Love Is Like A WizardMusic: Alex Conti Lyrics: Lloyd Anderson

09 Heaven Is CloserMusic/Lyrics: Lloyd Anderson

10 FreewheelingMusic: Alex Conti Lyrics: Ron Randolf

11 FreedomMusic: Alex Conti Lyrics: Lloyd Anderson

Special guests:

Ian Cussick Lead vocals in duet with Lloyd Anderson on 02 “Silvia”

Jim Hopkins-Harrison † Vocal track from his last recording session (1991) on 05 “Nightbirds”

Eddie Filipp Drums on 03, 04, 08, 09 and percussion on all tracks. Eddie Filipp plays Masterwork Cymbals and uses Steinberg products

LAKE is:Lloyd Anderson – lead vocals, backing vocalsAlex Conti – guitars and backing vocalsJens Skwirblies – keyboardsMickie Stickdorn – drumsHolger Trull – bass

Recording engineer pre-takes:Jens Skwirblies at redroomrecorders, Eckernförde

Recording engineer final takes:Eddie Filipp at Studio West, Braunschweig

Recorded 2011 and 2012

Mixed and mastered by Eddie Filipp

Cover Concept and Design: Holger Trull, frontcover using basic layout from the first 3 LPs

Photographers: Stefan Malzkorn, www.konzertnachlese.de., Nina Meyer, Holger Ceglars, Marcel Benoit, Heiko Bintz, Gerd Obermann, Klaus Weis, Martin Becker, Holger Trull, Alex Conti, Eddie Filipp– Bandphotos: Stefan Malzkorn– Make up artist: Claudia Rausch

Produced by Jens Skwirblies, Eddie Filipp & Alex Conti

Executive Producer: Alex Conti

LAKE would like to thank

Chris Thornton jr.Lead vocals 2009/2010

Hansi NathPersonal manager

Daniel Bergmann Live Sound

Ingo BischofKeyboards 2008

Günni LuersTouring

Christoph PfeiferLive Sound

... and Mike Starrs, Adrian Askew, Bexi Becker, George Kochbeck, Butschi & Bärbel, Gert Lange, Stefan Jahnke, Ralf Neumann, Rolf Baierle (roba Music Publishing), Rainer Moslener, Ralph Tegeler, Hotte Schmidt, John Charles Constable etc. etc. ... and Uli Twelker!

www.lake-music.de

Booking: KBN Veranstaltungsagentur, Phone +49+40-547 652-94, www.k-b-n.de