Fred Hostetler
Wall of Dreams
Mukthiland Records
In a Parallel Universe This Will be The Soundtrack to the Fourth Summer of Love.
It doesn’t seem like five minutes ago that we first played Fred Hostetler’s ‘return to the fold’ album; FORTUNA REDUX, yet it was over a year ago …. and he appears to have spent the intervening time studying late 1960’s Psychedelic Pop Music; of the Beatles/Love/latter day Yardbirds ilk.
That’s actually a very good thing; as Fred has taken the best and most commercial of that genre as his template and breathed 21st Century angst and edge into his songs; starting with the opening track Wall of Dreams, which sets the mood and tone for what is to follow; leaving me nodding my head in time to the grooves and occasionally miming the lyrics …. especially the chorus.
This is neatly followed by the more edgy in construction; You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know which has more of a contemporary feel to the lyrics and even the way Hostetler delivers them.
It wasn’t a huge surprise to find a piece of whimsy tucked away in the middle; and while I’m not altogether sure what Olaf’s Daughter’s Finnish Knee High Leather Boots; although it could be a love song about finding love in the most unpredictable of places; the melody and keys are so catchy this song should have been a hit single on the Buddah Label back in the day.
Dreamer’s Dream again features a sitar as the lead instrument and as the title suggests is an absolutely dreamy four minutes designed to make you kick back and let the music heal your woes ….. if that isn’t too hippy-drippy for you.
The all too short 7 track release closes with River of Hope which is actually a lot more intense than the title would at first suggest; and feels like it will have the ability to spark off into several new arenas when ever played live.
While in every aspect WALL OF DREAMS has been a joy from start to finish; there is one really special song here; True True Love that will make you close your eyes tightly shut so as to let the words and music overwhelm your senses (which is a problem if you are driving!) and the chorus is going to be an earworm for hours afterwards too; by the very way!
Following his return to the West and the music industry in 2018 after spending 17 years in India Hostetler is certainly making up for last time; with each of his three previous releases being as different from each other as this is from Fortuna Redux ……. and in a parallel universe WALL OF DREAMS would be the soundtrack to the Fourth Summer of Love.
Released January 2022
https://fredsheartradio.com/
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https://fredsheartradio.com/album/2123183/wall-of-dreams-ep
The Rocking Magpie 