The following enthusiastic if somewhat short review was published on October 26, 2008 in the Yellowknife Kabloona Monthly CD Review, Canada.

   I proudly reprint it here.
 

   Forget about the two songs "Strange Fruit" and "On the Beach" - they were already released in June 2008 (only 4 months before!) on a CD featuring just two songs: STRANGE FRUIT/ON THE BEACH.

   The most striking thing about this latest CD by Bernd Wahlbrinck is the song "The Listeners" in which he collaborated (in a sense) with the famous English poet Walter de la Mare. As a matter of fact, Wahlbrinck is well-known (some would say notorious) for picking some of the most beautiful poems of the English language and then writing music for them. ("El Dorado" by Edgar Allan Poe and the above-mentioned "Strange Fruit" by Lewis Allan are a case in point.)

   As for "The Listeners", one has to admit that he has succeeded in capturing the eerie, romantic atmosphere of the poem and translating it into a wonderful song. Of course, anyone who has heard Wahlbrinck sing will readily concede that his voice leaves much to be desired, but apart from that "The Listeners" is one of the finest examples of modern folk rock or so-called acoustic music.

   Why Wahlbrinck insisted on having just three songs on one CD remains a mystery. Then again, since the preceding CD featured just two songs, he seems to be improving. Let's hope for the next CD - it might even comprise four songs...

Farley Oktolik