CD review: INGVAY – Ingo Schmidt։ One Magic Mile – 2024։ Video, CD cover

Well, just listen to INGVAY’s music, then definitely. Because “One Magic Mile” sounds so much like the American prairie, cowboy boots, straw hat and guitar that the album could easily come from the corresponding area in the USA.

Classic American roots rock from Hanover? Does it work? With a mixture of their own songs and cover versions of well-known genre pieces, INGVAY let their inner Americans run wild and conjure up the image of dry streets and slightly dilapidated saloons in their living rooms. It should be clear that originality is a foreign word in such a classic interpretation of the roots genre, but the musicians capture the attitude to life that characterizes this music quite well.

Almost every song gets your feet tapping, the slide guitar is a popular instrument and a kind of relaxed attitude runs through all the pieces.
Even if a little boogey time is called for in “Working Time,” the big partying tends not to happen.

“One Magic Mile” still has a lot to offer genre enthusiasts, as the album sounds consistently authentic and always hits the right note. It’s not original, but in this genre it’s not a mandatory criterion for good music.

Determined by classic guitar sounds, INGVAY’s “One Magic Mile” is an album that authentically sets the relaxed attitude of the Americana genre to music and pulls out all the stops that the genre allows, from roots rock to bluesy sounds. The album is certainly digestible for fans of the aforementioned sounds of American rock music.

Travel is a constant theme in Ingvay’s work. It goes into the distance, back into the interior and continues through the years of growing older. Ingvay says: Sometimes you have to go that extra mile and new doors open. I wanted a studio quality album with the energy and interaction of a live gig: no click tracks. No frills. Four musicians and off we go.

Ingvay and Co. know how to keep people entertained in front of the loudspeakers. Who could object to a great grooving opener called “Midnight Journey”? The combo rocks through the night with a lot of speed and two guitarists. A great album opening that makes you curious about further songs.
Immediately afterwards it becomes much quieter, because with “Here We Go” the formation glides into ballads and does it really well. The number is a fine singer/songwriter piece and shows that Ingvay also impresses with his singing.

Then the first cover song. J.J. Cale’s “Call Me The Breeze” is on. The interpretation was successful and then we’ll move on to the other third-party compositions. “One Step Ahead Of The Blues” can also be J.J. Cale may be credited, although the song was written by Roger Tillison. Here too, the protagonist and his band develop their own path to a number that one would like to think of as an alternative to J.J. Listen to Cale song. You can put a lot of pressure on with two guitars. In this piece, the audience is included as a choir for the chorus. It is also a live album that was recorded in the studio with an audience.

“Machine Gun Kelly”, very nice. On this rather relaxed number we enjoy the slide guitar sound, which is plentiful in this song, making it a listen. Is “Soulshine”, composed by Warren Haynes, as well received as the previous cover songs? As a partially acoustic version, the piece is successful, although in my opinion the frontman’s singing isn’t well received at times. A pity! The singing was good in the previous songs.

Ingvay’s own compositions – with the exception of “I’m On My Way” written with Ulrich Rode – are the icing on the cake on this record. The lively “Turn Out Life Around” goes well. The guitar action is fine here and this song is really exciting because you have to wait a long time until it really starts to rock.

“Working Time” features boogie and groove. Class! “One More Ticket” again brings the quieter moments on the CD to the fore. The six-string sounds dreamy and it creeps along nicely until it picks up a little speed and the accelerator pedal is pressed down a little more. With the relaxed ending the song comes full circle.

“I’m On My Way” convincingly serves the funk department in rock and “Walk On By” puts all the trump cards on the table. One card says rock’n’roll. Great how this piece turns out. Ingvay’s “One Magic Mile” is characterized by great guitar sounds. Ingvay’s “One Magic Mile” is a pleasure to listen to because the album is a successful release. Stay healthy and take time for good music to distract you.

“One Magic Mile” is a special album. It was recorded in one evening with about 30 fans and friends sitting with us in the recording studio at Magic Mile Music in Hannover – a live-recorded album in studio quality – something I’ve always wanted to do. Currently, I’m getting back into booking and hopefully some great concerts in 2024. The fellow musicians in our band are not only very skilled and experienced players but above all long-time friends and companions. We’ve all known each other for over 20 years and have experienced a lot together. I’m very grateful for these connections and the trust that comes with musical collaboration,- an interview with us said Blues guitarist INGVAY – Ingo Schmidt.

In addition to their own seven tracks worth listening to, the band has also recorded four selected cover versions, which are presented full of verve.

We recommend that you definitely own this CD and enjoy it.

1. Midnight Journey
2. Here We Go
3. Call Me The Breeze
4. Turn Your Life Around
5. Working Time
6. One More Ticket
7. One Step Ahead Of The Blues
8. I’m On My Way
9. Machine Gun Kelly
10. Walk On By
11. Soulshine

Ingvay (lead vocals, guitars)
Ulrich Rode (guitars, backing vocals)
Uwe Seemann (bass, backing vocals)
Matthias ‘Maze’ Meusel (drums)