RLP2187 - Scorch Trio: XXX (4LP)
4LP edition in a remarkable gatefold sleeve courtesy of Kim Hiorthøy.
"Oval" is previously unreleased in any form, "Scorch Trio" has only been available on CD until now, while both "Luggumt" and "Brolt" have long been out of print on vinyl.
A great opportunity to catch up on the trio that in many ways led up to groups like Hedvig Mollestad Trio, Bushman´s Revenge, Elephant9 and Krokofant.
The story goes that when "Luggumt", the second Scorch Trio album, was played loud at New York´s record mecca Downtown Music Gallery one Saturday afternoon, everyone in the store (including guitarist Andy Summers of The Police), jumped and screamed with delight asking "who the fuck is this?" The DMG themselves described Scorch Trio as the most amazing power trio they had heard since the Jimi Hendrix Experience or Cream, and the album was followed by enthusiastic reviews absolutely everywhere, with the Guardian naming them "the ultimate improvising power trio". Even Playboy got a word in. But it started two years earlier, with the release of their self-titled debut album, a free spirited collection of instrumentals burning with an untamed energy that is neither jazz nor rock. In Norway "Scorch Trio" was greeted with 6/6 reviews in the two biggest newspapers and The Wire said "the scope of their improvisational ideas is breathtaking", in spirit comparing the album to The Mahavishnu Orchestra´s "The Inner Mounting Flame". Four years after "Luggumt", "Brolt" was to become the final album with Paal Nilssen-Love behind the drums. Following in the tradition of the previous albums this is a masterful example of passionate improvisation and breathtaking interplay. New York Times called it "a deep-focus record that conveys discipline as well as daring", Downbeat mentions Sonny Sharrock and Jimi Hendrix in their 4/5 review while Jazzwise suggest that this is what Hendrix´s late night jams might have sounded like if he´d been listening to Albert Ayler instead of Miles. The joker in this collection is "Oval", a radio session done for Yle, the Finnish broadcasting company, two years before the debut album was released. Why this recording has been left on a shelf (surely not ours!) for so long is anyone´s guess, because this is quite a remarkable recording, showing off a new group brimming with energy and new ideas. Paal Nilssen-Love was only 25 at the time, but he and Ingebrigt Håker Flaten already had a reputation as one of the most energetic and creative rhythm sections in Scandinavia. Here the Finnish guitar phenomenon Raoul Björkenheim had found the perfect partners for his new group.
Release 14.10.16