‘Big Hand – 50 Years On The Road’

To mark fifty years of hit records in the music business, Ottar ‘Big Hand’ Johansen celebrates this landmark occasion with a brand new album. To give this latest record the title that is befitting of its status, ‘Big Hand – 50 Years On The Road’ sees one of Norway’s leading lights of country music reignite his passion for this particular genre. By teaming up with other artists including Claudia Scott, Too Far Gone, Billy T Band among others, the majority of songs making up this latest album are original compositions, which have received a working hand from the additional musicians involved in this project. There is definitely a nostalgic feel to the ten compositions making up ‘Big Hand – 50 Years On The Road’, which naturally extends from Ottar Johansen’s vast experience of living and breathing the dream as a singer-songwriter. Therefore, it’s no surprise that you have song titles by the name of ‘Honky Tonks We’ve Known’, ‘Just Like In The 50s’ and ‘Follow My Dream’. However, there is room for forward thinking here as well with two songs that bookend this album; namely, recent single ‘Starting All Over Again’, steel strings gleaming as it maintains a relaxed pace and in line with the reflective stance of the song, and ‘Carry On’ with its campfire confessions going long into the night by way of several of its collaborators and Ottar Johansen leading the line. The creativeness continues once the engaging ‘Outlaws’ makes its entrance and proceeds to identify itself by means of a surly expression, dexterous guitar playing and detailed punctuations of harmonica. In fact, it’s this very song that suggests Ottar Johansen is far from thinking about hanging up his Stetson and packing away his collection of guitars in their respective cases because there’s a sense of mischief to this song, which transforms itself to a sprightly energy during the aforementioned, ‘Just Like In The 50s’ and the “We’ve still got it attitude” of ‘Honky Tonks We’ve Known’. A remarkable comeback, ‘Big Hand – 50 Years On The Road’ celebrates the past yet is equally keen to focus on the present with a few ideas that suggest Ottar Johansen is ready for the next creative venture once the dust settles on this celebratory chapter.