Hard Road Blues Remastered by Hans Theessink is one of the blues albums that were labeled “legendary” early on. Recorded over two nights at OPUS Recorder Studio in 1994, the matrices for the LPs were burnt in a single night when the German pressing plant went up in flames years later. But then came the pandemic and with it a lot of time. During this time, Theessink organized his archive and found the old master tapes of the session - which has now led to a reissue of this milestone that was thought to be lost. Remastered, of course.

Theessink is a phenomenon: a Dutchman who lives in Austria and plays South African blues. He does this so convincingly and successfully that he is also celebrated for his music in the USA. It was precisely this Hard Road Blues, which has now been remastered from old analog master tapes to create matrices for LPs, that gave him his breakthrough there and here. Among other things, because the remaster is also available as a digital album with 96 Hertz and 24 bit.

However, a lot had to be arranged before this could happen, and it reads a bit like an adventure book of fine acoustics. Once Theessink had found the master tapes, he contacted Christoph Stickl, founder of CSMastering in Vienna. Stickl has already worked for the who's who of classical music and jazz, including Leonard Bernstein, Kent Nagano and Zubin Metha as well as Pat Metheny, John Scofield and Keith Jarrett. And also Hans Theessink with his album Baby Wants to Boogie. The rescue and reworking of his classic was therefore in good hands.

Before the tapes could be played for remastering, however, they had to be prepared and processed. Stickl called it “baking” when he wanted to explain the process to Theessink. What happened next will soon become the second legend surrounding Hard Road Blues.

To exaggerate a little: if you want to hear a blues musician playing solo with guitar and harp all to himself in front of the sofa, this album is your first choice. The sound is absolutely clear and lively. The voice and guitar are full-bodied and vivid. The frequencies are precise and authentic. The positioning in the room is spot on.

Rarely have I heard a recording that is so intense and tangible - and I'm certainly not a big blues fan, so I listen with mild ears. But Hard Road Blues is high art in every respect.

Incidentally, the AAA label on the cover also proves that the acoustics are so impressive. The Analogue Audio Association is the one that awards the gold medal if the work is purely analog and of the highest quality. And that is what has happened here, although it should be noted that the enjoyment of the 96/24 studio master on which the review is based is still digital. A sacrilege?

Merely a testimony that analog quality cannot be denied even in high-resolution - Hard Road Blues Remastered is a great album. (Thomas Semmler, HighResMac)

Hans Theessink, guitar, vocals

Digitally remastered by Christoph Stickl von CSMastering

Photo: Jeff Fasano