Ulf Wakenius - Taste of Honey: A tribute to Paul MUlf Wakenius

2020 CD release.

Another Beatles album?! When Swedish guitarist Ulf Wakenius initially proposed the idea of recording a homage to Paul McCartney, Siggi Loch was highly sceptical. After all, it  is not as if there is a shortage of versions of The Beatles' ageless tunes. However, it soon not only became clear that Wakenius was really fired up for this project, but also that he had assembled the dream team to do it: Lars Danielsson and Magnus Öström were already on board, and that above all was what succeeded in winning Siggi Loch over. He was nonetheless keen for the choice of tracks to reflect some lesser-known aspects of McCartney, a thought which took him straight back into his own memories: he had witnessed the very early stages of The Beatles’ existence at close quarters. In 1962 he had been to several of their performances at the Star Club in Hamburg, the venue which launched the group internationally.

The high point of their Hamburg gigs would invariably be McCartney singing "A Taste of Honey", a Broadway song by Bobby Scott. This number, Loch felt, could not be left out of a tribute to Paul McCartney; it eventually became the album’s title track. Another priority was to include lesser-known songs from the "Wings" period. In the end, the careful selection process has resulted in twelve tracks which traverse a broad spectrum of McCartney's work, both chronologically and stylistically. Each of the three musicians has his own strong stylistic identity, and they have combined their individual talents to construct a new and unique monument to their idol.