Carl Carlton & The Songdogs

To book artists and talent such as Carl Carlton & The Songdogs for your corporate event, private party, fundraiser, or club, just use our Talent Request Form or Contact us.

Adventures are to the adventurous, and Carl Carlton has had quite a few of them. The musician and songwriter feels at home all over the world, just like his mascot, the one-eyed dog, symbol for the homeless adventurer Carl Carlton. Guitar-hero Carlton, originally born in Frisia, North Germany, but on the road since early youth, managed to make his name as an internationally renowned and extraordinarily talented musician. At the age of 17 he left home for good and moved to the Netherlands, where he signed up with rock bands like Herman Brood and Vitesse. A few years later he moved over to New York to play with Mink DeVille, from there he stopped over in London working for Manfred Mann and returned to play in Germany in this last decade, working with German stars like Udo Lindenberg, Peter Maffay and Wolfgang Niedecken. Carl Carlton currently lives in Dublin. And these are only the main stopovers of this adventurous and restless spirit, who finally makes his coming-out with the first solo album appearing now, �Revolution Avenue�.

Truly the one and only globetrotter in all of Germany�s guitar heroes, Carlton has been working continuously with drummer Bertram Engel and keyboarder Pascal Kravetz, all three of them playing for the above mentioned German artists, but there are international stars on their agenda too: Robert Palmer, Joe Cocker, Jimmy Barnes � to name a few. Nevertheless, all experiments with their own band New Legend failed. �Revolution Avenue� would never have seen the light of day, were it not for Robert Palmer, who really talked Carlton into finally settling down to record his own stuff. So this is what happened in Louisiana�s Dockside Studios during Septmeber 2000. If the southerly atmosphere of the album makes you listen up, wait till you read the credits: Here we have a choice sample of musicians who made US-American rock history, starting from Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones, who happens to be an old pal of Carl�s , living in the Dublin vicinity, and who contributed two songs to the album, �Breathe On Me� and �I Can Feel Ya Fya�. Then there�s Gary �Moses Mo� Moore (guitars) and Jerry �Wizzard� Seay (bass) of Mother�s Finest, the slide-guitarist Sonny Landreth, known for his work with John Hiatt, keyboarder Ian McLagan (Small Faces, Rolling Stones), and the two doyen of rock, Levon Helm (drums) and Garth Hudson (keyboards) of The Band.

The spirit that made The Band a personification of American rock, their ability to express a whole generation�s hopes, dreams and fears, their feeling of homelessness and loss, of being disoriented and at the same time ready to go, as Greil Marcus described it in his famous rock book �Mystery Train�, this whole atmosphere is recalled in Carlton�s �Revolution Avenue�. The 13 tracks offer a bright collection of what makes the heart of American rock music, a truly traditional and wide-ranging masterpiece of Americana. An album that through to the smallest details breathes the odyssey of its author, who has managed to focus his musical passions with true soulmates at his side. No wonder that the album features �From Four To Late� by Robert Johnson, foster-father of delta-blues-generated guitar-rock, and �God�s Gift To Man� by Tom Petty.

But, most importantly, Carl Carlton himself proves to be a versatile songwriter. If you like saddleproof shuffles, hot funk or down-to-earthRolling-Stones-style rock, this is your record. But there�s also room for that typical Mississippi-Delta blues and the swinging New Orleans-sound. �Revolution Avenue� leads straight to the heart of the American soul - no detours, no side-steps. No wonder, when you consider the all-star line-up, but it does seem like a miracle that a German musician should be able to spiritualize this cultural heritage so immaculately. It�s been a long way to �Revolution Avenue�, but worthwhile every step. Seems like Carl Carlton has reached the fulfillment of his dreams, and when he sings �Coming Home�, you know his home really is where his heart is. The one-eyed adventurous dog has finally settled down!

« Back to List