MOTHER SUPERIOR REVIEWS FROM BARCELONA, SPAIN
JUNE 17, 2005

from Atiza

MOTHER SUPERIOR
17th June 2005 – Mephisto

"Finally Mother Superior arrived to Barcelona with their first Spanish tour after their debut at Azkena Festival last year and with very favourable reviews. The hot summer weather didn't affect the audience at all, which was extremely devoted until the end of the night.

It's been proved that Mother Superior is one of fittest bands nowadays. Their impeccable discography is complemented by their overwhelming live shows, thanks to their simple but dramatic mastery that pushes them up to the category of supergroup. I would even dare to say they're the reincarnation of Cream or Trapeze because they share many parallelisms with them, aside, obviously from the fact that they are a trio.

Both the vocal harmonies and the funky-soul side make us think of the band of Glenn Hughes, with Marcus Blake who could be his younger brother, and the fury alternated with the sweetest passages, added to the long instrumental jams that could be a clear evolution in the time of Clapton, Bruce and Baker.

The important thing is that they have fun on stage (great and funny pseudo country cover of "Ring of Fire" sung by the drummer) and that in eight years they got to release 7 albums, which proves how prolific they are at composing aside from the multiple collaborations with other musicians, both in studio and live."

from Riff Fanzine

Mother Superior
Mephisto (Barcelona), 17th June 2005

Once again the organizers of Azkena Rock Festival made a great show of their good judgement by importing another band which belongs to the most valuable of current Rock. The path opened up by Gov't Mule is used as a runway for the self-proclaimed Heavy Soul of Mother Superior.

That is, it is all about black roots and classic Rock and Roll. Two national bands of manifested competitivity like the rocky Soulbreaker Company and the wild R&B of Hash shielded the American trio like appetizer to the banquet that these learned boys made us presage.

Mother Superior is a reactionary band. Yes, but well understood and without alienating in their time. They surprised with a cruelty superior to the one registered in their albums, personalizing a completely current amplification that well brands the black ideas that boil in their white heads. The trio knows how to satisfy the lovers of authentic Rock, that one which comes from the frontier of the 60's and 70's and they never let the audience rest. Crack after crack, hitting constantly with the electric impedancy led by Jim Wilson, who has the lesson well learnt from the masters of R&B and he makes the most of the last drop of kerosene that flows from Marcus Blake's bass.

The impression is that these Americans make the most of their music, giving away these conjugations almost metallic raised on the American tradition with a surprising easiness. Their staging and their songs look so natural that it seems they do not require any preparation by their executors, proving that these prodigies don't need good Henry Rollins at all, of whom they were his accompaniment band, although this was useful to let us know about their high capacities.

They didn't renounce to give us a little sample of all their career, although there's no doubt they got their biggest triumph with the interpretations from that masterwork, the never praised enough album from 2002 called "Sin". Songs were echoed with devotion, especially the one which has become their unofficial anthem, "Jaded Little Princess," as well as the covers of The Who ("My Generation") and Led Zeppelin ("Communication Breakdown") scattered the peak of enthusiasm. And as a gift, two new songs that had the usual level plus some funky accents not much common until now and that predict a new great album from La Madre.

Brilliant show, on the same level as the category of these gentlemen. A trio like the old ones and I still curse the luck that hasn't led them to the level of repercussion that their science deserves.

Thanatos - 22.06.2005