Befriended by Johnny Copeland after meeting him on tour in Europe, Swiss national Fankhauser went over to America and lived with Copeland for a while and the influence is there for all to hear. There are two Copeland covers sitting with one Solomon Burke, a Larry Addison and six Fankhauser originals on this very strong album.

Opening with the big, brassy Ain't Gonna Give It Up, Fankhauser serves up a funky blues with a jazzy guitar break and a throaty vocal. Throw in some Latin trumpet and standard rock guitar at the end and you have a smorgasbord of sounds. The first Johnny Copeland song is Cut Off My Right Arm, a soulful blues that brings both Copeland and Robert Cray to mind. Excellent sax solo and snappy guitar that is not overcomplicated. Members Only, the Larry Addison song, is a slow, piano-led track and it is a highlight even if the lyrics are a bit syrupy at times. This is very reminiscent of John Hiatt.

The title track has a raucous Elmore James style opening that leads into a swinging blues. The guitar solo is ace and the whole thing builds up into a very good song. Home Town (Thun) is an acoustic bayou-influenced effort in the style of JJ Cale and R&B gets a look in on the second Johnny Copeland song, Flyin' High (Yesterday). This swings and will get you going – simple and effective.

Welcome To The Real World is another funky blues that shows Fankhauser's social conscience and the lyrics will give you something to think about. It is funky and has great organ and sax playing. Who's Gonna Sing The Blues For You? is unusually slow but it is a very powerful piano offering plus the obligatory horns of course. The tempo is raised again for Going To Dallas, a big band swinging blues. I have to say that Fankhauser has missed his time. His style is that of days gone by although there is a contemporary streak in there as well. The final track is the Solomon Burke penned Down In The Valley which is given a funky treatment and this gives an idea of how Fankhauser sounds in the live environment and very good he sounds too.

David Blue
Net Rhythms

Don't Overlook This Album!
The casual Blues fan or the "too busy" fan might look right past this album. That would be their loss because this is a truly enjoyable release. The name Fankhauser might look so European or unfamiliar that it would be foolishly dismissed without even listening to the CD.

Born in Switzerland in 1964, singer and guitarist Philipp Fankhauser is far from a newcomer to Blues and the international music scene. His guitar style shows the influence of his mentor, Johnny Copeland. Copeland met Fankhauser while on tour in Europe in 1984 and ten years later he asked Fankhauser to join him in the U.S., even living with the Copeland family in their house in New Jersey. Fankhauser sang with Copeland's band for a while and stayed in the U.S. to record and play until 2000, when he returned to Switzerland. Talk to Me is his tenth recording since 1989.

Shemekia Copeland writes in the liner notes, "I thought it was definitely cool for a German-speaking Swiss guy to come and live with a Black American family fresh out of Harlem. I've always been impressed with Philipp's musical ability; I mean he totally has it down! You know, it's only through the love of music that one can perform it convincingly and Philipp, clearly, has done his homework. He knows the music as well as anybody."

And the music he knows, found on Talk To Me, is richly reflected Malaco, Stax/Volt, and Copeland material done the Fankhauser way. Witness the third track, one of four covers, Larry Addison's "Members Only." Produced by Dennis Walker, the soul in Philipp's American-sounding vocals is river deep.
The album kicks off with an up-tempo original, "Ain't Gonna Give It Up." Lovers of tasty horn charts will be instantly pleased right from the opening notes supported by organ and rhythm guitar. Horn arrangements are by Scott Thompson and Jim Spake on Tracks 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, and 9. Horn arrangements by The Memphis Horns, Andrew Love, and Wayne Jackson, are found on Tracks 3 and 4.

Fankhauser's guitar playing is nicely showcased on the opening notes of the second track, Copeland's "Cut Off My Right Arm." Writes Shemekia, "He's always done an awesome job interpreting my father's material, and his versions of "Cut Off..." and "Flyin High" on this collection are no exceptions, proving that he really paid a whole lot of attention to what Daddy was doing."

Fankhauser's songwriting shows that he has been paying attention to more than just guitar picking. Check out his "Welcome To the Real World" for a quick pimp slap of what's down. "We don't know what you've seen, but we sure know what you're gonna see!" Talk to Me is an awesome production with 21 guest artists. Produced alternately by Dennis Walker and Bobby Kyle, it was recorded in Los Angeles, Lucerne (Switzerland), and Nashville with mixing and mastering in Memphis and Hollywood. The Blues music world is richer for it, don't miss it!
James Walker, BluesWax

Swiss singer / guitarist / bandleader Philipp Fankhauser has received good reviews in B&R since his work with the Checkerboard Blues Band over a decade ago and with this American release he continues that trend. He spent several years working with Johnny Copeland in the States (Shemekia contributes a fond sleeve note here) and that experience shows on his soulful singing ('Members Only' is a stand-out), concise and effective guitar playing and carefully crafted blues, blues-ballad and soul/ blues writing and imaginative arrangements. Backing musicians include the likes of Dennis Walker and the Memphis Horns among many others. A highly impressive CD from a guy way ahead of much of the competition.

Norman Darwen, Blues & Rhythm