Slow Train

Theessink has composed a stirring set of songs that seamlessly fuse his unplugged strumming, sonorous voice, and three-piece band into the very definition of laid-back comfort. His lovely Piedmont picking on “May the Road” is offset by harmonies that shift the tune halfway across the world. Such magnificent combinations of seemingly divergent elements drive this splendid album to spine-tingling heights. Theessink doesn’t play traditional blues here; instead, he deftly references the genre as one of many stops on his global trek through the Delta, into backwoods folk, and onward to Africa.
(Blues Revue, USA, Hal Horowitz, aug/sept.2007)



This is one of those 'wow' albums! 'Slow Train' by Hans Theessink is an absolutely stunning album that combines "blues, roots rock, Americana, worldmusic, folk, and gospel" and more... an enjoyable outing full of originality and fascinating performances. With his massive wealth of experience in the blues field, Theessink pulls it all together to come up with a stunner. Unique and totally absorbing, 'Slow Train' is simply divine!
(Peter J Brown, toxic pete, UK, 04.07)



This is also a magnificently crafted recording. The sound is clear and placed across an enormous soundscape with every voice and instrument ‘just so’ in the mix. The guitar work, the banjo and mandolin are played beautifully and Theessink’s voice is warm and natural The combination of the songs, the playing and the production lead to one of the most enveloping experiences in music this reviewer can remember for some time.
(Andy Snipper/ blues matters (UK)


With this release Hans once again confirms that he can hold his own with just about anyone in the contemporary blues/roots world. It is rare to find someone of his generation still pushing the boundaries, crossing the borders, and still prepared to stand up and be counted. More power to him!
(Norman Darwen, BluesArt Studio, A, april 07)


If anything “Old Man Trouble” proves you don’t have to be an Afro-American to lay down a true spiritual, and suggests the mark of an intuitive player with real feel and heavyweight songs to match.
Ry Cooder would probably love to have written something like this and perhaps the biggest compliment I can give this truly superb blues album is that at the very end of the closing ‘When Luther played the Blues’ you feel compelled to find out more about an artist who has just cut one of the albums of the year.
(get ready to rock (UK) Pete Feenstra / 2007.03)



Mit einem solchen Soundtrack im Gepäck steigt man freiwillig gerne in jeden noch so langsamen Bummelzug ein! (Jazz Podium (D) Mai 2007)



Ein ganz Großer seines Fachs, nämlich der Bluesmusiker Hans Theessink hat - wie soll man es anders bezeichnen? - ein wunderschönes Album eingespielt.
(Sound & Media (A)



Mit Slow Train setzt Hans Theessink seiner in Jahrzehnten gewachsenen musikalischen Unverwechselbarkeit die Krone auf. Ein Album, dessen Inhalt nicht nur das Blut seiner treuen Fangemeinde und das eingefleischter Blues-Freunde pulsieren lässt. Theessink’s erdverbundener Gesang, sein unnachahmlicher Gitarrenstil, sein ansteckendes Fickerpickung und Slidespiel, das jeden Musikliebhaber immer wieder in Erstaunen versetzt, die rhythmischen Bassläufe, die extrem groovenden Melodien und das fantastische Niveau der an der Entstehung des Albums mitwirkenden Musiker und Background-Sänger machen Slow Train zu einem echten, hochinteressanten Meisterwerk.
(Country Jukebox, D, april 2007)



Mit Slow Train beweist er ein weiteres Mal, dass er als Gitarrist und Sänger überragende Fähigkeiten besitzt. Ob solo oder, wie auf diesem Album, mit Band und unterstützt von drei Sängern - Theessink präsentiert sich gleichermaßen überzeugend. Es sollte gelingen, bei vielen Musikfreunden Station zu machen. (Folker (D) Annie Sauerwein, 3.2007)