SIENA ROOT

I found Siena Root's A DREAM OF LASTING PEACE several years ago as my band was looking for modern examples of a blues based rock with a little bit of funk in the backbone. At the time, prog was the last thing on my mind. This album really hit the right balance for me, and satisfied my love of late 60's / early 70's rock. Samuel Bjoro's vocals are (to me) very reminiscent of Jack Bruce from Cream or perhaps Ian Gillan from Deep Purple, and the feel of the band is definitely in that realm. At the same time, there is a little bit of modern polish in the production, and a little less heavy and little more psych in the vibe.

The opener "Secrets" starts with a loose drum groove and a nice Strat-y guitar riff that soon blends in with a classic rock organ. We're back at Woodstock! The construction of the song is very straightforward, but oh so tasty. The bridge / solo section has an Allmans feel that is composed rather than show-boat-y. Song #2, "Taste of Independence" has a bit more Hendrix vibe but is otherwise more of the same. "Sundown" features slide guitar and a slower, dreamier pace, and another nicely composed midsection. "Piper Won't Let You Stay" is more of a straight blues. "Outlander" is an organ-driven stomp rocker. "Growing Underground" is a quick, funky Deep Purple rocker. "Empty Streets" is another slow bluesy groover, leaning back with thumbs in bell-bottom jeans. "No Filters" is a mid-tempo rocker, and "Imaginarium" is a swing beat psych chill out piece. The closer "The Echoes Unfold" hold a bit of menace and return to the composed lines help elevate songs above the usual riffs and solos.

The fact is that if you like this genre, as I do, this is an amazing album. The band covers a broad range of the era, never gets boring, grooves the entire time. The issue, on this site, is the eternal "but is it prog?" Like the Allman Brothers or Deep Purple (who I know many prog lovers also appreciate), this music really doesn't check many of the prog boxes. Perhaps, as another reviewer noted, if one considers this as a psych album, it's easier to look past the fact that even though the band packs so many tasty elements into a small space, each of those elements is relatively straightforward. On the other hand, the songwriting, groove (did I mention groove yet), and plethora of good musical choices far exceeds many of the retro or neo prog bands that are looking backwards for inspiration just as much as this band.

So as I try to pick a rating, I'm torn. But the truth is that I do think this would be an excellent addition to any prog rock music collection. So 4/5 star with an asterisk.

The artistic and entertainment value of successfully replicating something so nostalgic is not lost on me. I'm certain that fans of Siena of Root who have had the privilege of seeing their live shows or various equipment and production afficionados can afford themselves more affection towards this record. But for the rest of us who, despite holding no small amount of affection for that time period in music, would like to see music introduce novelty and progression, this record has little to offer.

And so the groovy Have No Fear appears to be my favourite song at the moment, very prog-ish, a lively bass, excellent organ and guitar interaction contributed by Erik Petersson and Matte Gustaffson. Well done! Nice vocals and playful instruments all around. Again the bluesy In Your Head shows some fine organ work later. A couple of compositions can convince me, some others like the opener Final Stand for example are serving a more mediocre impression. 'The Secret Of Our Time' does not reach for a sucker punch finally, nevertheless this is a proper retro rock album in any case.

The music reminds of Clutch, Kamchatka, Greenleaf etc. They play old fashioned 70's rock reminiscent of Deep Purple, Humble Pie, Jim Hendrix, Uriah Heep, Cream, Blind Faith and throw in some southern rock-influences aswell (slideguitar).

Most of the songs are in your face rock, nothing really new or progressive. It just sounds great! The 9 minute long In My Kitchen is especially great. It reminds a bit of Allman Brothers and Gov't Mule, because of the lengthy Rhodes-solo. Haven't heard a rhodes solo for years. And after the rhodes-solo there's a slide-guitarsolo. This just doesn't get any better. I just wish it was summer.

The band plays 70's influenced bluesy psychrock with lots of organ, bluesriffs and great vocals. The songs are short and full of hooks. Kind of sounds like Clutch, Kamchatka, Spiritual Beggars, Five Horse Johnson and the likes.

For the people who don't know those bands, here are some old bands they draw influence from: Cream, Blind Faith, Led Zeppelin, Humble Pie, etc.

Not really progressive rock, not at all, but bluesy stonerrock, which I find really great, but maybe not everybody's cup- of-tea, because it's rather straight forward.

"Pioneers" is a record of very high standard music which will please folk who like the hard rock of the late sixties and early seventies. The music is straight and melodic, filled with heavy organ sound and a caressing hard rock vocal. The musicians themselves has beautiful beards and it's obvious they love what they are doing. The only shame is that they have chosen to sing in English, that makes their music less interesting. I compare with the Norwegian band Höst which did a better choice. But still this music is lovely and very pleasurable. I think almost every track is similarily good but "In my kitchen" is absolutely the best(9/10), calmer and more atmospheric than the others. "Between the lines" and "Root rock pioneers" are two other songs I recommend(8/10). The record is extremely even so you won't find any bad or uninteresting tracks. This is specially a band and a record for fans of classical hard rock such as the late sixties' Deep Purple. This record is definitely at least a four star record. Recommended!

Back in February 2012 I had the good fortune of seeing Siena Root performing live in Gothenburg. A splendid live band, preparing their live performance with care and attention to detail so that they can really flaunt their skills on stage later. One can say a lot about studio albums, but a well honed and well prepared band that create music suited to live performances will more often than not be better to experience in such circumstances rather to be investigated through a more polished studio creation documented on shiny plastic. Or good old fashioned vinyl, a format this band has a deep affection for it would seem, as all their productions are available also as LPs. Including this live recording.

Anyhow, this double disc set documents Siena Root's skills as a live band in a very nice manner. From my own experience with them I'd guess that there's little if any amount of doctoring added to this recording, as the vitality of their live performance have been captured quite nicely thank you.

As a band we're dealing with an entity firmly rooted in the 1970's. Black Sabbath tinged stoner rock sit side by side with harmonic inserts many Wishbone Ash fans will find pleasing, gentle organ passages that makes me think about Bo Hansson have their place here, so does more majestic parts closer to the likes of Deep Purple or Atomic Rooster, and there's even a fair few sequences that to my ears sounds like Black Sabbath organ style. Spirited hard rock sequences closer to Led Zeppelin is another rather common feature. An amalgam of the greatest from the 1970's book of sophisticated hard rock assembled into one tight package if you like, but with an overall sound very much their own despite the numerous references. Oh, and let's not forget about the improvisational nature of many songs, where the instrumental parts may veer of into shorter or more elongated instrument runs of the kind that you just don't record on studio albums.

Another aspect of this band's repertoire is the inclusion of elements from the psychedelic realms of course. What appears to be a violin but might as well be a hurdy gurdy makes the occasional appearance, for final track "Reverberations" I suspect it has to be the latter for sure in a raunchy, energetic duel alongside the organ towards the end. And adding even more psychedelic details to the proceedings the rather more widespread use of sitar, most prevalent in the songs whose titles doesn't appear to give much meaning for an English speaking crowd. Smells like India and sounds like Raga, to put it that way. And in a good manner too I might add, the brief "Bhairavi Thumri" one of the distinct highlights of this performance, despite the subdued and acoustic nature of this little gem. Speaking of which, the most sparkling gem of all to my ears is the one track on this performance that is vastly different from all the others, namely "Words". Another acoustic oriented performance, this one taking a deep excursion into jazz territories in a manner that makes me think of good, old Django and the countless artists he inspired.

All in all a high quality live album by Siena Root, well worth purchasing if you enjoy a band that takes pleasure in exploring the refined parts of 70's hard rock, liberally flavouring their music with more or less subtle psychedelic inspired details, and occasionally making detours right into the middle of that particular stylistic universe.