BALTIMOORE - The Best of Baltimoore
SWEDEN
December 4, 2001
LION MUSIC
LMC 2108 2
Rating: 8/10

I've been a Baltimoore fan since a long time ago, and I own the entire back-catalogue except for one album. It is a rather unusual Best Of album that Baltimoore has released recently. It contains new-recorded versions, with a different line up, of the best songs from the four first Baltimoore albums. The reason for this is the same as with Lars Eric Mattsson's "Eternity" album, he was unhappy with the original recordings. Among the musicians are the ex-Europe drummer Ian Haugland and the organ player Örjan Fernström from Six Feet Under (A great Swedish band in the 80's).

I have heard these songs many times before, but if you're unfamiliar with Baltimoore's music it is 70's influenced Organ driven bluesy hard rock with reminiscences to Deep Purple, Krokus, Led Zeppelin, Rainbow and Whitesnake. One of my favourites is the ballad "Try Change To Better".

The fact that they have re-recorded the songs for this Best Of album makes it worth buying even if you already have the original albums.

Musicians:
Björn Lodin - Rhythm Guitar & Vocals
Ian Haugland - Drums
Thomas Larsson -Rhythm & Lead Guitar
Örjan Fernström - Organ
Weine Johansson - Bass
Additional musicians:
Per Wiberg - Organ
Magnus Melander - Backing vocals

Also listen to:
Baltimoore - the entire back-catalogue
Six Feet Under - Eruption (1984)

Date: 2001-12-02
Reviewer: Greger Rönnqvist

 

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Baltimoore- Best of Baltimoore

Released: 2001 (Lion Music)

Rating: 3.25/5

Reviewer: Rick

"Baltimoore is Bjorn Lodin... and musicians chosen by him". That is how the information on Baltimoore begins. Being familiar with Lodin's work with Lars Eric Mattsson I was interested to hear this CD. Over the years I had heard of Baltimoore but had never really heard more than a song or 2 from them and then only in passing. I couldn't even really say what they sounded like so it was with interest that I set out to review this CD. I think a bit of history is in order. Baltimoore was born in 1987 after Lodin's band Ready Steady was dropped from their label and Lodin was offered a solo contract. By his own admission he was more comfortable releasing his music under a band name instead of under his own and that is where Baltimoore comes in. Lodin joined forces with guitarist Thomas Larsson , who he had played with in Six Feet Under (not the death metal outfit) in the early 80s, and together they wrote what would become the album THERE'S NO DANGER ON THE ROOF. This was followed by FREAK in 1990. Lodin then met guitarist Nikolai Kotzov They joined forces and self produced the DOUBLE DENSITY disc which was released in 1992 followed by THOUGHT FOR FOOD in 1994. Lodin's and Kotzov's relationship soured and they parted ways after the release of DOUBLE DENSITY. In 2000 Lodin again teamed with Thomas Larsson to create the CD ORIGINAL SIN. That brings us up to the present. For BEST OF BALTIMOORE Lodin was not satisfied to release the old versions of the songs and re-recorded the best songs off of the bands first four discs.

What the original versions of these songs sounded like I really couldn’t tell you. Like I said I hadn’t really come across Baltimoore before and have only heard Bjorn Lodin with Mattsson so all can do is say what these versions sound like. Firstly, Baltimoore’s style is hard rock which fits Lodin’s bluesy, raspy voice to a T. Trying to pin down Lodin’s sound is hard and after listening to this CD many times, all I can say is that he sounds like a cross between David Coverdale and Jeff Keith of Tesla. There are some great ahead rocking tracks like FULL SPEED AHEAD, TAKE ME TO THE TOP and MY BLUE MOON. There are also some great ballads. Lodin’s voice is particularly suited to these tracks such as MEMORIES CALLING and TRY CHANGE TO BETTER. Lodin definitley has a dynamic voice that is at home with a wide variety of tunes.

For the re-recordings Lodin is joined by original Baltimoore guitarist Thomas Larsson, Ian Haugland (ex Europe): drums, Orjan Fernstrom: organ and Weinze Johansson on bass. One thing I have to say, the Cd artwork is boring and bland. It seems to be a picture just chosen at random. The music is anything but boring. The Cd could have done with a couple of more up tempo songs as it tends to be stuck in the middle gears but Lodin has delivered a package of high quality hard rock.

Metal Rules!!   www.metal-rules.com

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BALTIMOORE: "the Best Of" 8

Lion Music 2001
Review by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom 02-01-09
Super Swede and super vocalist 'Björn Lodin' and his Baltimoore is back with a compilation CD this time. Yep! It's time to bring you The Best? of the first four albums 'There's No Danger On The Roof (1989), Freak (1990), Double Destiny (1992) and Thought For Food (1994).

Björn sings as always with his bluesy, warm voice. He actually sound like his been eating barbwire and drinking whiskey for a whole month. Before entering the studio to re-record these songs. Yep! All the old hits has been re-recorded and it's indeed a nice touch, as it makes this Best Of CD more interesting.

Back as guitarist is his old team mate 'Thomas Larsson' (Glenn Hughes, Yeah Bop Station) again. Who recorded the first two Baltimoore albums with Lodin. Well, they actually go back to the early 80's together. When they both used to be a 'Six Feet Under' member. Sweden's best drummer 'Ian Haugland (ex. Europe) is also back behind the kit, doing a solid work as always. Credit must also go to 'Örjan Fernström' for his 'Jon Lord' work, with the hammond. Lodin/Baltimoore has always been inspired by the early 70's rock of Deep Purple. And songs like 'Little Bye', 'My Blue Moon', 'Ballerina', 'Memories Calling' etc. Is the perfect mixture of classic rock and Swedish harmonies. A couple of odd songs here and there. But overall a nice collection of rock. www.lionmusic.com

 

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BALTIMOORE - THE BEST OF Lion Music, 2001
12 tracks, RT: 46:34
[ http://www.lionmusic.com ]
I first became aquainted with these guys when I reviewed their 2000 release, ORIGINAL SIN, in issue #93 last year. That album was a pretty ambitious and unique concept album that I dug quite a bit, so I was pretty interested in hearing their earlier work, when I got the chance to review this new "best of" compilation. In a way that worked out, and in a way it didn't, since this album actually features re-recorded versions of the best tracks from the band's catalog, so I guess I still won't totally know what the band sounded like prior to ORIGINAL SIN. :) That said, this is a pretty solid AOR disc. Again, the band has a pretty unique vibe going, that sets them apart a bit from all of the cookie cutter Scandinavian AOR bands that have been putting out product over the last decade. That typical Scandi vibe is definitely present, but so is a bit of a funky, eclectic Dan Reed Network sort of vibe in spots, along with some very atypical vocals from mainman Bjorn Lodin. Lodin's got a very rich, bluesy, soulful voice, very reminiscent of Rod Stewart in spots, or even similar to that British opera dude, Russell Watson, who sings the theme song for the new "Star Trek" series. That's definitely not the type of singing you usually get from a Swedish melodic rock band. The songs themselves are pretty solid, with the shuffling rocker "Little Bye," the breezy summer feel of "My Blue Moon," and the standard arena rock of "Day To Come" being standout favorites. There's also some all-out crunchy blues rock, in the brilliantly titled "Kahlua Confusion" and "Take Me To The Top," and a dose of shredding metal riffs in the kickin' "Full Speed Ahead." And, of course, there's a healthy dose of power balladry with "Memories Calling" and "Try Change To Better" (nice grammar on that one...). Anybody looking to sample Baltimoore probably isn't gonna get a better opportunity than this. - Craig

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Detritus Rock/Metal e-zine
"Rock Hard With A Purpose"
http://www.detritusweb.com

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Review by Dave Palmer for Heavy Metal Resource
Baltimoore - Original Sin
http://rockindude.homestead.com/index.html

So you like bands that can rock with today's bands, but give you the feel of classic rock bands like Deep Purple?? Baltimoore, one of Lion Music's new offerings deliver just that. Vocals like Ian Gillan, not so predictable tunes, and good songwiting are all evident on Björn Lodin's latest offering 'Original Sin'.

There is a wide variety of tracks here. Rockers like 'Conviction', 'Emancipation', and 'Omniscience' ascert the band's presence in the hard rock market. How about some bluesy numbers like 'Indecision' and 'Contradiction'?? The latter combines violin with the blues for a real different feel. Works well though. 'Superman' almost has the feel of a lounge tune with it's sax and mild tempo. Probably the most different track on the album. 'Recognition' and 'Retribution' flow smoothly for a more easy going listen. 'Redemption' closes the album with an upbeat 70's rock feel. Very enjoyable melodic tune.

If you are looking for something a bit different that brings a lot of different influences to the table, Baltimoore is just the right thing. It's a fun listen from a good band that many on our shores may not be familiar with. Check it out.

 

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Review by Birgitt Schwanke (Rock it)
Baltimoore - Original Sin

Baltimoore are surprisingly back with a brand new album called "Original Sin" which seems to come along as kind of all start project around vocalist Björn  Lodin. Based on its hard rock roots, Baltimoore succeeded in creating an  extremely diverse album which also features folk, blues & jazz elements  amongst others. Also very noticeable is Lodin's vocal performance which comes  along in a very rough and surprisingly bluesy manner. Fine album!

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Andrew Paul (Voltz Magazine)

Baltimoore- "Original Sin"- Lion Music

Lion Music have been quietly, but effectively, building up a more than respectable roster of acts, Alex Masi, and Lars Eric Mattson being prime examples, and they now release the fifth album by Baltimoore, some five years or so since the "Thought for Food" album. Produced by vocalist Bjorn Lodin, who is ,as the press release makes clear, Baltimoore, the band deal in material in the Whitesnake/Rainbow vein, with touches of Trapeze funk-as demonstrated by the late night lope of "Indecision", whilst Lodin, who worked with Krokus for a while, sounds like that band's Marc Storace with David Coverdale phrasing.
Former Glenn Hughes guitarist Thomas Larsson, an original member  back in the mists of 1989, features heavily,as does keyboard player Lars Pollack, and they focus the material and allow it to sound like a band, as in the Purplesque attack of the opener "Conviction". "Contradiction" marries Kansas progression with Celtic violin from Hans Rojas, and is probably, alongside the swagger of "Retribution", the stand-out track on the album, whilst "Recognition in terms of feel and arrangements echoes David Coverdale circa "Northwinds". A solid and worthwhile return. If you can't get this through your purveyor of albums, go to WWW.lionmusic.com it might be worth your while.
 8/10

 

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Rock and a Hard Place  - www.rockhardplace.com Review by Torch

Baltimoore- "Original Sin"- Lion Music

Baltimoore returns with a Powerful Hard Rock/AOR release. Bjorn Lodin has put together quite
possibly the strongest line-up to date as this will no doubt go down as a masterpiece. Since all the
Tracks have one word names, I thought I'd describe my impressions one word at a time. Intelligent,
sophisticated, thought-provoking, progressive, and emotional... oh yeah, it really ROCKS! Heh, heh...
The CD kicks off with "Conviction", a high octane rocker with flares of Deep Purple and the potent
delivery of Bjorn. His delivery has always reminded me of Paul Shortino (Rough Cutt, Quiet Riot), and
this is the best I've heard him ever sound. The lyrics and writing are very smart, you won't find any Bon
Jovi style choruses here, the CD has a more adult theme, but as I mentioned before, when it come right
down to it, this is Rock N' Roll! There's a good variety of music on "Original Sin", besides the
strait-forward rockers like "Conviction", "Emancipation", and "Omniscience", there's some Funk and
Bluesy tracks mixed in for good measure, hell, there's even some tasty Violin used in the track
"Contradiction" that really shows the diversity of this CD. Last but not least, the production is
amazing. It has a thickness and punch to it that make this a project that the heavier fans can
appreciate as well. Overall, it's a CD for the ages, and I'll be listening to this for many years to come!

 

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BALTIMOORE - ORGINAL SIN

LION MUSIC

'Original Sin' is the brand spanking new album from Sweden's Baltimoore who have already released four excellent studio albums. The band broke up in 1993 whilst various band members worked on other projects. 'Orginal Sin' is the bands comeback album proving once again that Baltimoore always had something a little extra to offer.

The drums roll, the jazzy bluesy keyboard parp into gear and the guitars give an edge to a killer song called 'Conviction' which gets the new Baltimoore album underway, and oh boy does this song rock. The song is very catchy and the keyboards are played really fast, as I mentiond there is a blues tint to this song, similar to say Whitesnake and Glen Hughes, even maybe a hint of David Lee Roth and Tesla particularly Bjorn Lodin's voice, which is filled with smokey seduction.

We take a journey back in time for the next song 'Indecision', this has a great funky edge to it, what came to mind when listening to this song was seventies rock and roll, for some reason I'm also thinking of the tv program Starsky And Hutch, this could even be Huggy Bears theme. No seriously this song has a funky seventies edge to it which reminds me Stevie Salas more than anything, the playing of the song is superb, making for a hugely enjoyable song with a great chorus. But it's the next song 'Emancipation' that totally got me going, this song has it all, classic guitar melodies and a huge killer chorus that will leave you singing along, this song is just so massive, there's a hint of everything from Led Zeppelin to early Whitesnake and this great song is so far the albums best song.

'Contradiction' is a musically interesting track which flows with Celtic influences and lovely soothing harmony vocals that Bjorn sings with convincing passion. This is another killer song as is the next track

'Recognition', Thomas Larsson's playing is strong on this track, his playing has a classic rock edge that makes the song sound fresh and exciting, check out Bjorn's vocal range where he sounds as if he's been smoking to many cigarettes.

'Retribution' is next up, here lies another of my favourite songs, this just rocks and is very infectious, the melodies simply kill me, a solid slab of classic bluesy hard rock.

'Superman' is where the band go a bit over the top, this song has a big jazzy swing to it, they should sell this track to David Lee Roth, it's a good song that breaks up the albums mood and is indeed a standout track.

We get back to plain old hard rocking with the next song which is the brilliant 'Omniscience', then the tone drops for 'Jealousy', the little guitar part at the beginning of this is played on a classical guitar, the song then builds up into another fine rocker which is another of my favourite songs.

Last but not least is 'Redemption' which is a killer uptempo ballad that reminds me of Richie Kotzen and Eric Martin, the hooks on this song are very infectious and give off a slight retro vibe which I'm sure you will all enjoy.

'Original Sin' is a killer album all the songs shine on this album so make sure you buy it pronto!!! Recommended.

Rating:-8,5/10 (Review By Nicky Baldrian)