Survivorman – Les Stroud Live and Acoustic

Les Stroud’s opening act for the launching of this new genre of music; Earth Music, is indicative of his pure roots and love of nature; the release, in August 2017 of Bittern Lake! Predominantly acoustic with a healthy dose of edgy rock, his new album Bittern Lake combines the traditional sounds of acoustic rock, blues and folk but bends and blurs the lines until you have something entirely fresh and new sounding. From the opening drone of an obscure J J Cale cover; Death in the Wilderness you get the feeling that you need to sit down and listen and not let go of the moment, because its going to be something special. His celebration of cover songs that seek to tell messages about the earth continue with the most outstanding and uniquely crafted and produced version of Joni Mitchell’s Big Yellow Taxi you will ever hear. In a nod to his Canadian background he brings home the dark lyrics of Bruce Cockburn’s If a Tree Falls in a way that honors the original like no one can. Finally he rounds out the album with the darkest and most searing version of a Ben Harper tune: Excuse Me Mr, you will ever hear. His “Hendrix-like” harmonica playing on that tune alone makes the album worth it. But Stroud has been a published song writer since he was 22 yrs old and he does not disappoint with his original lead single: How Long. Though the playing is a more standard style of folk/country/rock/pop, the message is compelling and lyrically speaking you just cannot turn away. While easily placed in a cross over of country/rock/pop/roots acoustic and folk it asks us all the question: “How long until we realize. Time’s no longer on our side?” Its message is a powerful lament to the current state of environmental affairs. The album is produced by legendary rock producer Mike Clink (Guns ‘N Roses, Metallica, Aerosmith) who jumped on board because as he says; “This music is powerful, Les’s talent and motivation are undeniable and the message is so incredibly necessary”.

But Stroud is a long way from done as he says with his trademark smile and confidence; “I’m just getting started”. Big words from the man who single handedly created the massive, multi-million dollar industry of survival TV. And so on the heels of Bittern Lake will be the release of an epic, art-rock album: Mother Earth. One again produced by Mike Clink, this massive undertaking by Stroud has been in the workings for a number of years. Based on numerous field recordings captured around the world while on his filming expeditions, the music blends world/rock/blues/acoustic into something powerful and new; Earth Music. Like Clink, two other rock legends lend their talent to the project only because they were made aware of the importance of the message married with incredibly well crafted songs; Slash and Steve Vai. Once Bittern Lake lets the world know that Stroud has come knocking musically with harmonica, guitar and powerful voice at the ready, Mother Earth will turn the worlds ears on their end with an intention to re-connect us all with nature. This is musical history in the making. And you were there to witness it and be motivated by it. This is a moment. One not to be missed.