I don't remember if it was at the end of the '90 or at the beginning of the new Millenium, but in a midsummer day the postman delivered an envelope from Sweden, containing one of the many demos that got to my messy desk. Since I was late, as ususal, in listening to the demos, I didn't listen to it very quickly and I put the small package together with others waiting to have some spare time. Frankly I sometimes looked at it with curiosity knowing, by previous experience with groups in the 70's, that in Scandinavia technical skills and creativity of rock groups are not inferior to those of English and American groups. Finally I took two hours and listened to the demo which got to me together with a message full of compliments for Akarma, my label, which, at that time, was very popular all over the world offering and giving justice to those who in the 60's and 70's didn't have the chance to be heard on a large scale. The name of the band was Mouth of Clay and what they offered was a very hard rock with psychedelic tunes. I immediately complimented with them and the demo became my favourite during that summer: it always was on my cd player in my car.
So I started to talk to Hawkan, the guitarist of the band changing with him our opinions about the demos, that during the years they kept on dending me, with my deep appreciation. Later on the band changed members, name and, after a short period of silence they confirmed themselves under the name of Josh Appletree.
I think I have a total of 10 demos, and in some of them the tracks are just drafts with Hawkan playing acoustic. This band makes me shout, using the term that I often mention to define the best things I've listened to. One day mentioned them to a friend of mime who works as a music critic and he asked me with curiosity how many production they had. I answered "none" telling him that, up to that date I was the only fan, at least in our country, since in Sweden they were already used perform many concerts and consequently they're definitely popular.
We get to June 2009, and punctual as usual I received another of the numerous demos which is the one that, I hope, many of you are listening to. At the very first listening I realized that this time it couldn't simply remain music for my car but it must be published. According to me it is a masterpiece of ideas, sounds that make you thrill and, above all it's not the usual hackneyed rock, but it's a genial reading of the hard rock produced in the 70's and 80's.
The guys are great, they're all very well prepared and excellent executors, and we realize that by listening to the three covers that I strongly wnanted.
We're talking about fantastic sounds where Deep Purple, Zeppelin in some cases seem to appear, driving the guy's mind and heart deepened as if they were in trans performing these amazing 14 tracks.
The incredible thing is that the length of the cd, over 60 minutes, never sounds too long, on the contrary, the time run so fast that if makes you want to listen to it again.
Abviously, being the executive producer of the work, I' cant't do anything but talk enthusiastically about it, but those who know me throught the Akarma label, know that I've always proposed high level music never falling in commercial.
I was forgetting : the guys and I have decided to change the name from John Appletree to Mother's Hope, which will surely be of good omen.
Now put our cd player, pump up the volume and : Long Live Rock & Roll
giorgio Mangora
