LÖSEKES BLUES GANG Best Wishes - Red Hot Mama - A Small Point - Black Cat - Cancun - Just Four Nights /The Sessions - 50th Anniversary Box (6-CD, Ltd.)

(Lava Records) 69 tracks

50 years of Lösekes Blues Gang - an award for the six pack This is an award of a special kind for a band and style off the mainstream. Lösekes Blues Gang from Hildesheim will receive the German Rock and Pop Award 2022 in the special category for half a century of band history from the German Pop Foundation on December 17.

The year is 1972: Middle Of The Road dominates the German hit parade. And the most important question of the time was: Is there an alternative to "Wig-Wam Bam", "Popcorn" and "How Do You Do"? Just at this moment, Löseke's Blues Gang sends us "Best Wishes" from Hildesheim: Blues and Boogie instead of Wums singing: "I'm Ready". The band from the cathedral city heralded a new era. Saxophonist and singer Bernie Ringe and frontman Falk Stehr were to be an alternative to glam rock and glitter from then on: "Sweet Home Chicago" instead of Sweet.

Despite several reshuffles and professional breaks, the gang remained a force to be reckoned with in the German blues scene. Until 2012, LBG recorded six albums, each one filled with ambitious original songs and boldly interpreted compositions by great colleagues such as Robbie Robertson, George Harrison, Sting and Randy Newman. The sextet always knew how to blend the various influences, also from genres such as Cajun and rock. In particular, however, Löseke's Blues Gang can be proud of having played with black originals like Memphis Slim, Champion Jack Dupree and Blind John Davis - a tribute to their talents of a special kind.

For the "black board from the Potte" also competently played live and in the studio classics of old masters like Muddy Waters, BB King and Jimmy Reed. And the loyal fan base has appreciated the craftsmanship and entertainer qualities of all soloists for a good 50 years. The terrific atmosphere at Löseke's rousing gigs is legendary. Whether open air at the Hildesheim Jazztime or in hot clubs like the Bischofsmühle - the fans go wild. This six-pack documents the extraordinary career of a group that to this day prefers "Red Hot Mama" to "Mama Loo". The band proved this impressively at an anniversary concert with friends and former members recently in Hildesheim, where the boxset was presented.