Facebook often gets a negative rap but, occasionally I'll be pleasantly surprised by something that makes it's way onto my newsfeed. Such was the case this morning when I discovered a video of a group called The Country Side of Harmonica Sam. The song is called "If That’s the Way It’s Gotta Be" and I found myself sharing the video on my FB page and listening to the song two or three times.
The band has the look and feel of a country/western band from the late 1950s - early 1960s.
Looking further, I found the group has three albums on Spotify - Open Letter to the Blues - A Drink After Midnight - and Broken Bottle, Broken Heart .
If one is a fan of traditional country/western music, you can't do much better than this group. The lead singer - Harmonica Sam - has the sound down pat. He's an excellant country singer. The band consists of top notch musicians with the pedal steel player being one of the best I've heard.
Going to the band's website - thecountrysideofharmonicasam.com, I learned a bit more. Seeing photos of the group, I suspected they were probably from Scandinavia. Those guys are the whitest people I've ever seen. Their names had a Scandinavian feel as well - Johan Bandling Melin..Lead Guitar & Backup Vocals - Peter Andersson..Steel Guitar - Ulrik Jansson..Upright Bass - Patrik Malmros..Drums.
Sure enough, the band comes from Sweden - from in and around the city of Malmö.
Listening to their music and watching their Youtube videos, you get the feeling of going back thru time to the days of Faron Young, Hank Williams and Hank Thompson.
I've listened to two of their albums so far, and I don't recognize any familiar songs - I have no idea which are covers and which, if any, are originals. The songs may not be #1 country standards, but the singing and musicianship are absolutely amazing. I recommend giving the group a listen.
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