Folk and Roots presents 'Monday Monday', a night of the best of the folk and roots scene which will be held on the first Monday of the month in central London as from October 2009. See 
Turin Brakes - Live at The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
13th September 2009
Out on the road to promote their new album 'Bottled at Source', South London duo Turin Brakes appeared last night at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, a venue more used to families desperate to sing along with Nancy and Oliver than the quiet, well mannered, Guardian reading audience that number amongst Turin Brakes fans.
Olly Knight and Gale Paridjanian are childhood friends who've been playing acoustic pop/folk music for twenty five years! Still only in their thirties, with four albums already released, 'Bottled at Source' is a celebration; a double cd compilation of the best of the last ten years, including tracks like the Rolling Stones 'Moonlight Mile', voted for by fans.
The evening could have been simply a marketing opportunity to play all the tracks from this album, but nothing could be further from the truth. Starting acoustically, with Olly and Gale seated and joined by upright bassist Eddie Myer, the first half was a melodic journey from 'The Door'- the first ever single, to ' Never Stop'- a contemporary song full of golden summer Carpenters style harmonies hopefully due for release early next year. Joined on stage by a six piece female choir, this part of the evening was full of lush harmonies and heavenly voices, filling the theatre with a reverential church like atmosphere.
After the interval the boys returned with a full band for an upbeat second half. Electric guitars, drums and keyboards, and a version of Chris Isaac's Wicked Game that Olly makes his own. Olly Knight has a truly great voice- unusual, distinctive, honest and passionate; and a musical chemistry with Gale Paridjanian that is visible/ audible to all, whether that's jamming to the beginning of 'Long Distance' or singing the harmonies to 'Rain City'.
A Sunday evening spent in the company of Turin Brakes was a pleasure indeed, demonstrated by the standing ovation the band received at the end. They appeared genuinely taken aback and grateful and I couldn't help but feel these boys don't really believe in how good they are…
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Nick Wyke & Becki Driscoll - 'Beneath The Black Tree'
Beneath The Black Tree is an album of music that is as stark and beautiful as the imposing silhouetted tree and brooding, cloud-laden sky that graces the album artwork. Wyke and Driscoll's combination of fiddle and viola bring an alluring depth to this collection of primarily traditional material, with the full-bodied resonance of the viola adding a particular elegance and intensity. Andy Seward's double bass further heightens the potency, whilst varied and inventive percussion from Keith Angel provides an occasional contemporary leaning.
Wyke's bold and commanding voice brings an effortless potency to "Benjamin Bowmaneer," delivered with an authoritative military precision, whilst he sings with more sinister overtones on "The Robber." A mournful glockenspiel brings an eerie atmosphere to "The King Of Poland," played in a particularly redolent manner, before the piece builds to a majestic climax with the rousing warmth of Ellen Driscoll's French horn. There is a typically English feel to "Coronation Day" that perfectly evokes both reverence and regal celebration. Wyke and Driscoll's own compositions nestle comfortably amongst the traditional pieces, with a poise and spirit that is very much the equal of their predecessors.
Beneath The Black Tree succeeds by presenting traditional music through confident and considerate arrangements that avoid ramshackle pastiche, by opting for a refined performance that owes as much to chamber music as it might to folk music. The recording is beautifully open, allowing you to savour each subtle cadence and appreciate the uncluttered interplay between the instruments.
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Carrie Elkin – CALL IT MY GARDEN (Red House RHR CD. 237)
After a musical childhood involving singing in a church choir and playing the sax, then a dazzlingly diverse CV that took in competition-standard acrobatic gymnastics, physiology and organic chemistry, songwriter Carrie moved to Austin, TX in 2007 and released the album The Jeopardy Of Circumstance to considerable acclaim, landing her a spot on Bob Harris’ radio show. It’s taken me a while to investigate Carrie’s music though, and the first I heard was when I was sent this album, the followup, which once again turns out to have been produced by Band Of Heathens’ Colin Brooks, this time in collaboration with fellow Red House artist Danny Schmidt. The album sounds good, the arrangements – mostly involving banjos, guitars, mandolin, cello and soft-edged percussion – can’t be faulted. Carrie herself makes all the right moves for the successful folk-Americana artist: she sings well, lithely and charmingly, and with clear conviction, and takes what one might term the approved Nanci Griffith/Patty Griffin template seriously to heart; she looks great, and is clearly a charismatic performer. And yet there’s something a touch elusive about the actual songs she writes, something that kinda makes less of all those appealing qualities than might be expected. It may be indicative that Iowa is one of the most memorable tracks, and that’s a cover of a Dar Williams song. Sure, there’s much to like while the disc is playing, and the more tender items like Dear Sam (which sports a lovely harmony vocal from its dedicatee Sam Baker) and Landeth By Sea, together with the narrative song Shots Rang Out, all prove worthy of repeat plays, but the uptempo numbers like Guilty Hands and Jesse Likes Birds just seem empty even by contrast and seem unfortunate choices to head off the whole record, while the loose carnivalesque swirl of the closing song Edge Of The World topples it over that very edge in the end. I’ve given this disc plenty of exposure over the past months, but for some reason it strikes home significantly less than a whole raft of other recent singer-songwriter records and, production and musicianship apart, doesn’t seem to stand out much from the crowd.
David Kidman
Event: Voices for Nature / Barnsley House Concert
Venue: Old Moor RSBP Nature Reserve / The Wheelhouse
Town: Wombwell
Date: August 15 2009
Website: http://www.carrieelkin.com/
Carrie Elkin and Robby Hecht were the guests of the Barnsley House Concerts at the Wheelhouse tonight, their gig being the climax of an eventful day in and around Wombwell in the heart of the Dearne Valley. During the afternoon, the nearby Old Moor RSPB Nature Reserve held its first ever charity music concert in a specially erected marquee, which was positioned right next to the visitor centre in the sprawling 250 acres of wetland. The bird and nature enthusiasts who visit the reserve from all over the country, were treated to a different kind of song today, with an afternoon of contrasting musical styles and weather conditions.
The musicians that gathered together today were only too pleased to lend their support to such a worthwhile cause but were slightly concerned that their varied warbling might frighten the neighbouring birds. Marie, one of the volunteers at the reserve and organiser of the 'Voices for Nature' event, reassured everybody that the birds would probably welcome an afternoon of acoustic folk music and likewise the binocular laden 'twitchers' in attendance, not normally associated with the music.
Carrie Elkin and Robby Hecht were already booked for the Wheelhouse in the evening but made a special appearance during the afternoon, sharing a bill alongside a handful of more familiar performers to the area, Kellie While, Charlie Barker, Ray Hearne and the WW.Combo, all of whom brought along their own distinctive voices to the afternoon's event.
Being so close to nature, all four of the classical elements were with us this afternoon, in the space of three and a half hours. First 'Air' made itself known as Ray Hearne kicked things off, with the wind violently rattling the marquee, threatening to uproot the pegs at any given moment. Marie and her team knew the marquee was going nowhere, having spent several hours the previous day harnessing the thing to the Reserve lawn. Ray must sometimes wonder why he is always being asked to kickstart festivals, charity events and fund raising gigs but to be honest, it's simply because he's so good at it. Ray's local knowledge combined with his charismatic personality and abundance of warmth sets the tone for any event and on this occasion provided a friendly link throughout the afternoon as Master of Ceremonies. Frankly, I can't think of anyone who does it better. Ray opened with a few of his own songs including "The Day The Waters Came", a song about the recent local floods in such places as Toll Bar on the outskirts of Doncaster.
Such a song was almost prophetic as Charlie Barker took her guitar from its case, after a lovely introduction by Ray, who said 'here to wow you all with her voice and her songs and her beauty.." (I told you he was good). 'Water' was in no short supply as the heavens opened during Charlie's set, which included songs such as Nanci Griffith's "A Hard Life Wherever You Go" and Jo Dee Messina's "Even God Must Get The Blues". 'It might be chuckin' it down but it's boiling in here isn't it?' said Charlie as she introduced one of her own songs "Not the Way", a song about her days in a soul band. Indeed it was warm in there. As the rain came down, the marquee was bulging with just about every visitor to the site, huddled together to keep the rain off but the heat in.
In keeping with Britain's weird and wonderful weather patterns, 'Fire' soon replaced the rain in the form of the scorching sun, which came out once the clouds passed by and the audience was swapping their brollies for parasols as the marquee sides were raised to let more music out, and more people in. Kellie While didn't only bring along the sunshine, but also a handful of well chosen songs from her impressive repertoire, including the beautiful Paul Metsers song "When Lady Music Holds, You Sway" and "36 Miles Away From The Sea", a Julie Matthews song that she handles just as well on her own, as she does when her mum Chris While is around.
After a short break, where beer, sandwiches and cakes could be consumed in what turned out to resemble a sun-drenched village green, WW.Combo brought everything back down to 'Earth' with elements of homespun bluegrass and a couple of songs from the pens of messers Liam and ol' man Wilkinson (yours truly) aided and abetted by a bass-toting Gary Wells, providing their own brand of harmony singing and the odd Guy Clark song. I don't really relish writing anything in connection with my own performing endeavours, but on this occasion I will say that the other two were not half bad. "Breakfast on Bourbon" and "Crocodile Island", both requests, were played and received with presumably equal amounts of pleasure; a nice way to open the second half for our visiting American friends, Carrie and Robby.
The two singer-songwriter friends normally work separately but have teamed up on this particular tour, to share the stage and alternate between songs from their respective repertoires, each joining in on the songs they know, and often improvising through those they don't. I dare say by the end of this tour, they'll be more than familiar with every one of each others songs. Carrie and Robby played a short set to round off a successful and entertaining afternoon of music with songs including Robby's "Freight Train Lady" and "A Reckoning of Us" and Carrie's "Roots and Wings" and "Landeth By Sea".
Later in the evening, the Barnsley Concerts played host to a further two sets from Carrie and Robby, with an opening spot by Lou Marriott, whose singing and playing was just the thing to settle us into a nice and intimate night of songs and stories. The Wheelhouse suited the occasion perfectly, which was just the right environment for Robby's sensitive ballads, sung in the manner in which they were intended to be heard, up close and personal. Carrie has a much harder edge to her voice but managed to temper it by often singing to the side and sometimes to the back wall, which gave the desired effect.
Starting with "Two Tickets", Robby eased us into a night of mellow music, which included most of the songs from each of the songwriters' current albums, Carrie's 'The Jeopardy of Circumstance' and Robby's 'Late Last Night'. A well travelled troubadour, Carrie has spent the last ten years in various locations throughout the States, spending time in Cleveland, Athens, Taos, Steamboat Springs, Colorado Springs and Boston, but now resides in one of the music capitals of the Southern States in Austin Texas, whilst Robby, a native of Knoxville Tennessee, has recently set up home in another major music capitol, nearby Nashville.
Carrie's song "Ode to Ogallala" indicates precisely how well travelled the singer is, which was preceded by an elaborate story of how her VW bus 'Sandy' broke down in the middle of Nebraska, which led to the singer being taken in by a bunch of cowboys for a couple of weeks, whereupon they soon had her riding horses, knocking back beer and fixing fences. You get the feeling this girl can handle herself.
The Wheelhouse decor pays homage to many previous visitors to the little cabin at the bottom of Hedley Jones's garden, including Stacey Earle and Rachel Harrington, but the unmistakable sneer of one Bobby Dylan is most representative on the Wheelhouse interior walls. Many of the artists take this on board and most nights the audience will hear at least one of the whining bard's songs and tonight was no exception. Carrie's impassioned take on "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" could not have been more earnestly sung and that stunning performance brought a memorable evening, and day, to an end.
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Artist: KTB
Album: Indelible Ink
Label: Independent
Tracks: 13
Website: www.ktb.org.uk
I think the last time I singled out a song to play on repeat throughout the night was Jeff Buckley's "Everybody Here Wants You", which would have been ready for the bin by the time I'd finished with it, had it been on vinyl that is. I enjoy wearing out good records; it's an enormously fulfilling pursuit. I'm currently in the process of wearing out KTB's stunning "The Girl With the Sad Shoes" and in the process, unfairly neglecting to give the rest of the album 'Indelible Ink' the chance of a fair play through before I pop the imaginary needle back to the start of Sad Shoes once again, annoying both the neighbours and the cat in the process.
Let's not beat about the bush here, 'Indelible Ink' is a humdinger of an album. KTB, also known to her folks as Katy Bennett, has released her third full length album and has surpassed all former glories with a bunch of songs that encapsulate everything that is good about modern songwriters and modern song writing. The songs are at once melodic, highly memorable (well, especially if you've already played one of the songs a few hundred times already), well constructed and hugely enjoyable, even the sad ones, which are guaranteed to tear your heart out.
I first heard the name KTB when a young singer in Rotherham introduced a song called "Bluebird" at a gig two or three years ago and I made a mental note to check out what a KTB actually is. I now know that it isn't a hip hop band, nor the Russian secret service, nor is it a piece of yellow plant machinery, or for that matter a metal joist that lives up in your loft, but a very fine and deeply emotive singer songwriter currently residing in the Midlands, specifically Birmingham. 'You hide your accent well' I cheekily remarked in a recent interview. 'Don't even say that' Katy retorted, 'I'm from a very nice Oxfordshire home'. A KTB is also a pleasant person to chat to over the phone, after a morning singing with school kids, which I found out recently when I interviewed her for Northern Sky. Like Regina Spektor, Katy's voice seems equally at home with it’s almost Nick Drake-ish breathy quality, but when required, can be as forceful as they come. Take "The Girl With the Sad Shoes" for instance; towards the end of this stunning song, Katy manages to stir the emotions in the final chorus with an almost whispered refrain, only to belt out one final chorus, which encapsulates everything I love about Katy Bennett.
The jazz inflected "Ampersand" kicks the album off after a brief prologue in "Bell", a snippet of a song that is usually coupled with the final song on the album, sort of sandwiching the rest of the songs within. Stephen Molczanski's muted trumpet brings a 1920s feel to this hugely infectious stomper of a song, a song that suggests that all we need is that all important ampersand between two names to encourage blossoming love.
The title song "Indelible Ink" is heart wrenchingly gorgeous yet achingly sad at the same time; you tend to believe every single word as Katy pours her heart out. If you allow yourself to climb into this song, it will break your heart, yet it's rewarding to believe for a second that you might be 'one of the few who understands'. I recently asked Katy how she feels about singing such personal songs, to which she responded with a comparison to communal folk singing: 'I think if you can communicate a universal feeling to another person through a very specific feeling within you, which connects with another person, then that's just as valid as singing the same song together. Some people who hear my songs have said 'it really helped me', 'my husband had just died' - because when they were sad they'd listen to it, which is what people do; listen to sad music when they're feeling sad'.
Katy does sad songs remarkably well, in fact she admitted that her second album 'Bluebird' was 'stuffed with them', but on a song like "Back From the Deep", a song reflecting on a true incident that happened in Australia back in 2006, where a group of gold miners were trapped underground, Katy presents an uplifting song of hope, which is almost anthemic in its arrangement. It's these little glimmers of hope that give Katy's songs of despair, sorrow and unrequited love the accessibility they deserve. It's almost as if Katy allows us to enjoy her sorrow. "Willow Tree" like "Back from the Deep", lends itself to traditional folk balladeering and both songs could easily have been written a century ago.
Katy had Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in mind when she wrote "I Like You Like Me", one of the outstanding songs on the album. 'It was a fairly teenage moment of thinking I'd fallen for someone, I hadn't really it's just someone who is not really available, but which makes them more desirable in a way'. The theme of unrequited love is repeated in Katy's songs on all her recorded output to date but on this song the singer is resigned to accept that there are ultimately plenty more fish in the sea: 'I think I wrote that by the sea actually, down in Cornwall one year, hence the lyrics relating to fish in the sea'.
Indelible Ink' is a joint effort and any review of the album would be incomplete without a mention of Katy's collaborator Phill Ward, whose production work, musicianship and general multi-tasking has gone towards ensuring this third KTB album transcends everything that has gone before.
With one instrumental interlude, the twelve songs on 'Indelible Ink' are held together by an indelible thread, each with an enduring quality from the opening few bars of "Bell" to the closing refrain of "Cavalry Parade", where Katy's namesakes, the Bennett sisters in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, provide the romantic image of being pulled out of the crowd by the hand of destiny. The repeated refrain of 'Someone there will make your daddy proud', seems to stay with you long after the record has been put back in its sleeve, which at the moment is rare.
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Artist: Jess Morgan
Album: Crosses (EP)
Label: Independent
Tracks: 4
Website: www.jessmorgan.co.uk
Jess Morgan's long awaited debut album is recorded, in the can and ready for a bright pair of ears to stumble upon, preferably someone with distribution connections, and one who is prepared to get this ball rolling. In the meantime Jess has managed to finance the release of a single/EP, call it what you will, in order to tantalise your musical taste buds.
I first encountered Jess beneath a riverside cinema in York, opening for American visitors Rod Picott and Amanda Shires on a chilly October evening back in 2008. The handful of songs Jess performed that night stayed with me for days afterwards and I've periodically scanned her website and MySpace pages for news of an album release in the hope of hearing those songs once again; songs like "Onyx" and "Due Grace Coming", to name but two.
"Crosses" was the third song I remember from that night, a song I referred to back then as 'outstanding' in my live review. I still think of this song as outstanding as it appears on this recording, which was recorded in a studio in Norway, far from Jess's home of Norwich, and a world away from the city of York, where I first met her. In a recent interview I asked Jess how the album was coming along and the circumstances in which the four tracks were chosen for this single release: "It's recorded, mixed and almost mastered, ready to go, twelve tracks, that I'm really really proud of but the aim of the single is to drum up as much interest in the music as possible". The three other songs that make up this release are "Pamela", "Gut Row" and "Who Killed Cock Robin", all of which showcase Jess's versatility as a songwriter, with subjects ranging from family dramas, the local fishing industry of Great Yarmouth and the obligatory song about 'talking birds and frogs and animals and things', which any self respecting folk singer should have in their repertoire. The four songs included here are sparsely arranged to include little fuss apart from the odd bit of slide guitar, a touch of bass and some atmospheric violin, all of which allows us to concentrate on Jess's unique voice and the individual songs themselves. 'There's no drums on there but there are other instruments" Jess pointed out. "I kind of ummed and ah'd about whether it was going to be completely pure and just me, but I thought well I do that live so I'll offer people something else.'
That 'something else' largely consists of some atmospheric fiddle courtesy of David Vogt and some inventive slide guitar work from co-producer H.P. Gundersen, the Norwegian musician who Jess corresponded with over several productive months, culminating in the recording of these twelve songs. Hopefully it won't be too long until we have the complete set.
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Rallion, One For Sorrow
Scotland-based Rallion, follow up their début album of 2006, For No One And Everyone, with this bold and vibrant collection, that leaves a truly indelible impression from the very first listen. Rallion are a four-piece band with a sound that carries the force of a much larger ensemble. At the heart of this intensity lies the rock inclinations of Stevie Lawrence, a formidable presence on guitar and bouzouki, who brings immeasurable drive to the band's traditional sounds. The twin fiddles of Fiona Cuthill and Andrew Lyons combine to provide some of the album's most fluid and exhilarating moments, whilst Marieke McBean sings with the fervour and abandon of a wild banshee. The strength of One For Sorrow is undoubtedly its raw, live qualities; the authentic, unadulterated sound of music being played with a wholehearted passion and enjoyment.
One For Sorrow offers a veritable feast of traditional and self-penned material, and their own compositions reveal an impressive talent for writing alongside their formidable playing skills. Fiona Cuthill's "Waiting For Dawn" is a most beautiful, mournful piece of music, that perfectly captures the solitude and insecurities of the early morning hours, during which it was written, to yield a piece of music that is extraordinarily moving. Andrew Lyon's "Askival" was written after the band's performance at the Rum Festival, and the closing tune of the set captures well the chaotic, carefree zest of a festival atmosphere.
The exotic rhythms of Egypt are conjured up on Stevie Lawrence's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Fez," a tune whose droll title belies its intricate and perceptive demeanour. Marieke McBean sings with unerring commitment throughout, be it on the rowdy Dutch drinking song, "Wat Zullen We Drinken," or on the stirring a cappella interpretation of Robbie Burns' "Lassie Lie Near Me." In fact, it is Marieke's rumbustious insouciance on the traditional opening song, "There's Nae Luck Aboot The Hoose," that really sets the tone and pace of One For Sorrow from the outset.
Venturing beyond their Scottish territory, on the somewhat misleading "Norwegian Tunes," Rallion explore the sounds of Sweden and Norway, whilst Fiona Cuthill pays tribute to the men of Canada! It's intriguing to hear how the band take these alien rhythms and melodies and blend it with their own dynamic musical sensibilities to present a wonderful synthesis of traditions. I'm well aware that Rallion are travelling to other corners of the world this year, and I wait with eager anticipation to hear how they integrate their musical souvenirs on their next recording. In the meantime, One For Sorrow will certainly provide ample enjoyment!
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Wendy Arrowsmith – Seeds of Fools (Own Label, ARRCD. 2009)
In the two years since releasing her debut CD (Now Then?), the multi-talented Glasgow-born, North-Yorkshire-based Wendy has become a very familiar (if close on ubiquitous – tho’ I do mean that in a nice way!) face at folk clubs and festivals around the region and beyond, either as a solo performer or as one-quarter-part of the band Blind Summat!. She’s also scored a well-deserved hat-trick in winning songwriting competitions: at Saltburn (2007), Scarborough (Seafest 2008) and Ryedale (2009). The Visiter appeared on Now Then?, while the latter two are proudly included on this latest CD. Right at the outset, I’d say that Seeds Of Fools definitely fulfils, and exceeds, the promise Wendy had already showed in spades on Now Then? It’s not quite perfect – but what it does so very well is present all the various facets of her musical personality in sensible proportion, in a sympathetic and largely very believable recording which enables her enviably many talents to be heard to really good advantage. It’s also an extremely well balanced collection, showcasing seven of her own compositions (that’s half of the 14 tracks) alongside one exceptional contemporary cover, an attractive and atmospheric setting of Lady Nairne’s Land O’ The Leal (1798), and five well-contrasted traditional songs, at least two of which prove to be especially brave interpretations of classics of the repertoire. The whole disc is impressive, but the first four tracks make an especially strong impact. The disc leads off with what can only be described as a stunning interpretation of The Blacksmith (adapted from an arrangement by Kim Guy from Cornwall) that eclipses virtually any other version I know. Wendy’s special achievement here is to lay bare the singer’s intensely fragile, volatile emotional state, creating an intriguing internal dialogue (one key moment of realisation is especially tellingly dramatised); this is achieved by thoroughly rethinking the song in terms of expressive response and then creatively reflecting this in the musical accompaniment, which marries an unsettling interruption to the metricality of the accepted bar-lines to a singularly queasy swoon of weaving fiddle and cello while the guitar part almost numbedly tries to keep things calm and controlled.
After the emotional turmoil of The Blacksmith, we’re treated to Sleep Well ’Til Morning, Wendy’s 2008 competition winner, which could easily be taken for a traditional fisherman’s lullaby from the Western Isles, on which Wendy’s own multitracked voice is boosted with some sensitive and delicate harmonies from The Young ’Uns. Then comes the first of two highly individual responses to modern-day war crises: Holy Ground, a cracking song by Missouri songwriter Steve Bailey, beautifully sung by Wendy and embellished with the sweetly intricate guitar of Chris Davison. This is followed by a compelling, menacing drone-based arrangement of Cruel Mother (featuring Blind Summat!’s Becks and Joolz), and Wendy’s catchy and stirring anthem The Ribbon. Following which (space considerations preclude discussion of each and every track!) we’re treated to spirited, full-sounding takes on The Gypsy Laddie and Twa Recruiting Sergeants (where Wendy’s Scots lineage surfaces authentically!), and the lovely Counting The Dolphins (Wendy’s experience of motherhood evidently informs songs written to be sung to children!), one of a clutch of Wendy’s own songs which rounds off the disc in quite intimate fashion. Gaza To Argyll strikes home most poignantly (if a little too consciously recalling From Clare To Here perhaps), and the closing Hearth Song makes a real virtue out of its simplicity of sentiment and arrangement; with the disc’s title song, however, although built around a great central concept, its theme then feels insufficiently developed to fulfil its initial promise. Performance-wise, it’s hard not to remark on just how good a singer Wendy is, her voice displaying tremendous presence and her singing having also developed increased assurance (especially in the handling of contours and dynamics) since Now Then? (itself a not unimpressive demonstration of her vocal versatility): even a mild imperiousness, or the occasional trace of self-conscious articulation (the tarrily legato approach to John Anderson, for instance) doesn’t spoil the ship. Instrumentally, Wendy’s very capable too (although she’s the first to over-modestly undersell her accomplishments, which here embrace guitar, banjola, mandolin, whistles, accordion and bodhrán!) – she plays to genuinely enhance the musical landscape rather than call attention to tricksy note-spinning. As regards the recording, I could criticise a few matters of internal balance – e.g. Marjorie Paterson’s fabulous cello playing is unduly recessed, too far in the background, and Wendy’s own guitar sounds over-forward at times (heavy and clangy on The Ribbon), as are Joolz’s congas on Cruel Mother maybe – but these are minor details that will in all probability not seriously mar your enjoyment of this well-rounded, truthful (and well-packaged and appealingly designed) portrait of Wendy’s artistry.
David Kidman
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Live Review: Boyle, Tyrrall, Boyle – The New Variety Club, Russell Street, Keighley; Sunday 28th June 2009
A uniquely mouth-watering combination of musical talents, and one not to be missed! Of course, the two Boyles – wondrous singer Maggie and equally wondrous guitarist Gary (no relation) – have already been teamed for a year or two in the intriguing trio Sketch (along with bass player Dave Bowie – who’s now joined up with Steve Tilston… hey, d’you feel a family tree coming on?!). But the Maggie-Gary combination in Sketch has hitherto produced some spellbinding music that fluidly roved around the folk-jazz axis, so was too good an experiment to “take off the boyle” (sorry, couldn’t resist!) or jettison completely. Now, reconstituting a trio complement with the addition of the mighty Gordon Tyrrall to the team, there’s a chance for an even more folky mix of talents, ideas and personalities, with the very best of all potential worlds – or so it seemed at this convivial gig, which I was surprised to learn formed this particular lineup’s debut live public appearance. It was evident that rather a lot of careful rehearsal and planning had already gone into the musical programme they were presenting, and the easy interaction and high standard of musicianship totally belied any sense of a tentative or nerve-wracked first-performance.
The set-list was well balanced and intelligently planned, to give a thoroughly professional contrast and good variety between successive items. I think it’s fair to say that in general the material more or less alternated between Maggie-driven and Gordon-driven items (at least in terms of lead-voice or principal input), but this is a perfectly sensible gambit from which to start out, and satisfies followers of both camps (as it were) while not alienating either faction. Notable features throughout? Naturally, Maggie’s superb singing – respectful of sean-nos and tradition, while refreshingly unafraid to utilise other expressive nuances to telling effect, especially when responding to and inspiring the other musicians. Then there was the magical way in which the two guitarists interacted and traded ideas, motifs and melodic lines. And those perennially deeply satisfying embellishments and jewel-like solos that Gary worked (seemingly effortlessly) into the arrangements at strategic points, yet without ever any sense of contrivance or misplaced loyalty. And Gordon’s flair and drive, no matter what role he was playing within the trio dynamic, knowing just when to hold back and refusing to dominate even when his voice or guitar was required to be placed forward in the mix (as it were).
The first set opened purposefully with a forthright, and typically adventurous, treatment of the traditional Jolly Ploughboy, before the two flautists embarked on the first of the evening’s dazzling instrumental sets. Shortly after which, in direct contrast, we were treated to one of Gordon’s beautiful Shakespeare sonnet settings (the second-set counterpart – sonnet 91 – was arguably even finer). The first set concluded with a brace of contemporary songs, complementing the preceding (predominantly traditional) items: Mike Silver’s Not A Matter Of Pride (lovingly phrased by Maggie) and Michael Marra’s enigmatic, distinctly quirky Constable Le Clock. After the interval, a pleasing Rocks Of Bawn was followed by Gordon’s retelling of the Matterhorn tale, composed in the style of a traditional ballad, and after a further scintillating set of reels came a trio of second-set highlights: a matchless performance by Maggie of Erin The Green, a lovely fluted rendition of the air Lord Mayo (deftly paired off with a hornpipe) and the aforementioned Shakespeare-Tyrrall collaboration! Peter Case’s Hidden Love provided the set’s (official) finale, after which came riotous applause and (inevitably) an encore, this being the typically Tyrrallian Lennon-McCartney medley of A World Without Love and I’ve Just Seen A Face (the latter complete with deliberate fluff!!!). Sure, there were some rough edges, and some slightly awkward transitions, but these were for the most part only really noticeable (and then momentarily) by the cognoscenti, and the whole gig was a vastly more than credible debut for BTB (or whatever they decide to be called henceforth!).
Finally, just a few words re The Gin Jammers, whose brilliant 45-minute support set opened the evening. Pete & Hazel seem to take their basic cue from Gillian Welch & David Rawlings – right down to a comparable approach to their respective stage roles (Hazel mostly singing the lead) and guitar apportionment (Pete taking on the intricacies and embellishments of the lead part while Hazel provides the flatpicked rhythm part), not to mention enjoying a similar mix of repertoire (choice covers, including some Gillian W and Dylan, alongside approved oldtime classics, with some of their own material in there too). If the foregoing description makes the Gin Jammers sound derivative, then that would indeed be a harsh – and unfair – judgement. For they’ve got so much going for them as performers in their own right, both being strong singers and skilled instrumentalists and possessing a fresh, easygoing presence, which all adds up to an exuberant, infectious and winning presentation. (And in any case, I gather it’s relatively early days yet for them too.) What mattered most on 28th June was that The Gin Jammers and BTB together made for a satisfying and inspirational evening’s music-making: one that was clearly warmly appreciated by the capacity crowd.
David Kidman
www.myspace.com/maggieboylemusic, www.myspace.com/garyboylegames, www.gordontyrrall.co.uk
Vienna Teng – Inland Territory (Rounder/Decca DINT. 0219)
Vienna Teng is a New-York-based Chinese-American pianist and singer-songwriter whose fourth CD (the first to gain a full UK release, and I’ve not heard any of the previous three) is a strange beast indeed, and one that takes a lot of effort to come to terms with (and yes, I’m not sure I’ve done so even yet!). The first half of the disc is the most maddeningly impenetrable, with the opening song The Last Snowfall a perplexingly glittery, tinselly, faux-scratched-vinyl-ridden opus that with its lush choir is almost too glutinous to be true; the ensuing fractured electropop rhythms and unstable guitar lines of White Light can’t find a purchase on my mind either. Things improve a bit with the Kate Bush alter-ego vibe of the classical-style piano-and-string cascades of Antebellum and the fragmented wuthering keyboard-dominated Stray Italian Greyhound. I was also intrigued by the cautious and elusive jazzy ambience and languid backbeat shuffle of Kansas. The comical staccato bassoon trot leading off In Another Light recalls nothing less than a cabaret piece based on Puppet On A String, which even a carefree swing-clarinet riff can’t redeem, and the electronic flamenco of No Gringo doesn’t quite convince, but Grandmother Song is altogether more satisfying, a playful patter-gospel number that whoops it up from acapella hand-clappy to primitive fiddle-and-drum with call-and-response. Actually, Vienna’s keyboard work throughout strongly recalls that of the 70s prog band Renaissance and also has shades of Tori Amos, and I rather like her air of confidence on the forthright anthem of Augustine, but the final three tracks are the most satisfying – the disturbingly eerie soundscape and rippling gamelan-tintinnabulations of Watershed, the quirky syncopations and rollercoaster mood and tempo shifts of Radio, and the uneasy carousel-finale St. Stephen’s Cross. I wish there were a lyric sheet enclosed to, for from what I can discern Vienna’s got some rich and rather interesting wordplay going on amongst the strange and aromatic musical settings.
David Kidman
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Jo Hamilton – Gown (Poseidon PSDN. 001)
Readers will doubtless be approaching this singer’s debut solo recording from the perspective of her recent stint with Ashley Hutchings’ Rainbow Chasers, in which context she proved herself both as a stunning singer and a rather creative classically-trained violist. Here on Gown, though, Jo shows she has many more strings to her bow (so to speak), on a set of self-penned songs that give fullest rein to her voice while exploring the possibilities of electronica alongside fuller textured backings and occasional more delicate acoustic passages. It’s a brave step to take, and its alternation of intimate empathy with lavish canvases and more strident experimentation will doubtless scare away those used to more traditional forms of expressiveness – but that would be a pity, for Jo’s work deserves to be treated with an open mind. Although at times her delivery can variously recall Imogen Heap, Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, P.J. Harvey and even Regina Spektor, Jo’s actually quite an individual singer whose voice is hard to pin down, and though some of Jo’s sonic experiments might recall the recent albums of Rose Kemp the innate optimism in Jo’s lyrics is a world away from the latter’s goth-poetic shadowings. Jo’s mixed parentage and whirlwind world-travelling upbringing are both reflected in the field-recordings from Cambodia which are threaded between the songs, and refracted in the songs themselves in their kaleidoscopic myriad of influences. The genuinely eclectic, obstinately complex multicultural bazaar that is the world of today is represented in the at times overwhelming music Jo uses to clothe her songs, from the insistent Gabrielesque pounding African beats of How Beautiful to the cheekily swooning jazzy reeds of All In Adoration, the fractured breathiness of Exist, the tentative but ultimately jubilant quest of Deeper (Glorious) and the obscure, enigmatic, multi-layered intimacy of Paradise. Some of the most strikingly memorable tracks are the more intimately or acoustically scored, like the swansong There It Is and the drifting, gamelan-inspired Mekong Song. Winter Is Over starts like a primitive old-time waltz but soon acquires a They Shoot Horses opulent decadence, and the closing Think Of Me stays just the right side of whimsical in its eccentricity, whereas Liathach errs in the other direction, disappointing in its ponderous prog-like posturing, too smooth to evoke the rough grandeur of the majestic and terrifying Torridonian mountain. All through Gown, I’m amazed at how much Jo is able to conjure from simple means and creative programming, and she gets plenty of currency from around a dozen well-chosen musician-collaborators. Brilliant and attractive package design too, by the way.
David Kidman
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Melissa McClelland – Victoria Day (Six Shooter SIX. 049)
The third album from this Canadian singer and songwriter is at first hearing an elusive and frustratingly disparate collection on which Melissa can’t seem to make up her mind how best to shake off her girl-next-door country roots. Here Melissa changes tack and idiom with quite alarming unpredictability; but if you take it all at face value, though, and enjoy each track for its own sake, you’ll quickly discover a consistency of vision that transcends the overt quirkiness and stylistic waywardness. Every single shift of style is managed believably, from the opening Patsy-Cline-soundalike A Girl Can Dream to the swaggering rock’n’roll-cum-50s-swing of Victoria Day (May Flowers), the weird pre-industrial clanking Glenrio (shades of Tom Waits) to the sinuous Doris-Day-meets-R&B jive of I Blame You via the streetwise alt-gospel of God Loves Me and the dirty heavy-duty geetar-twang of Money Shot, while Melissa can also very credibly handle the delicate meditative acoustic ballad (Brake is up there with the best, and definitely a disc highlight). For Melissa’s transformation from country-gal to jill-of-all-trades singer, much of the credit is evidently due to her husband Luke Doucet, a charismatic artist in his own right, who’s been allotted the producer’s chair here and plays quite a few instruments himself along the way. Some torchier moments (eg the heavenly choir toward the close of Segovia) are a touch cheesily uncomfortable, a trifle excessive maybe, but for the most part Luke’s more lavish arrangements hit the spot right enough, and he knows Melissa’s voice well enough to be able to steer the songs for maximum impact. And luckily, Melissa has the vocal chops to carry it all off – and with honours. Cry On My Shoulder could well have come from the soundtrack of a 50s Hollywood movie (or a lost Patti Page session even), while the alleycat-stroll vibe of When The Lights Went Off In Hogtown belies its “darker” subject-matter. There are some neatly-conceived horn and string arrangements that stay the right side of tasteful, while Ron Sexsmith turns in a smooth duet vocal on Seasoned Lovers (another song that feels like it came from a movie!). Leaving aside those unavoidable impressions that Melissa’s a bit of a singing chameleon, Victoria Day is a largely pretty persuasive collection that makes me wonder what she might have left in her song-cabinet for next time.
David Kidman
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Kev Boyle – Palestine Grove (Blue Sky Music BSM-CD. 02)
The Boyle family from Donegal have for many years been mainstays of the London-Irish folk music scene, latterly embracing residencies at Hammersmith’s Riverside Studios and even playing for Ballet Rambert’s production Sergeant Early’s Dream. Throughout the 60s and 70s, father figure Paddy had inspired and encouraged his three children Kevin, Maggie and Paul, nurturing their undoubted musical talents. Paul (who sadly was to die young) was by all accounts a brilliant fiddler, and Maggie, whom we know from her many wonderful ventures including harmony trio Grace Notes, is one of the country’s finest singers and a flautist and bodhrán player of no mean stature. Kevin, on the other hand, is a multi-instrumentalist who carved an early reputation as skilled (piano) accompanist for fiddle maestro Sean Maguire, moving on to become the driving force behind the fiery supergroup Le Cheile which was built around the talented musical regulars at Fulham’s White Hart. But I first encountered Kev’s music over ten years ago in quite another context, on his very unusual CD Bon Cabbage, which was (less than helpfully) credited to Movies CB (the initials somewhat perversely standing for Ceili Band, which the contents of the CD itself most definitely did not reflect…). That album was a collection of original songs written by Kevin himself, defiantly idiosyncratic in character, which took a wry slant on aspects of London life. On that album, Kevin’s voice was backed by a host of other excellent musicians; but on his long-awaited followup record, Palestine Grove, the majority of the backing is provided by the album’s producer/engineer, that remarkable multi-instrumentalist Gerry Diver, the address of whose Wimbledon studio where it was recorded gives the collection its name. So, although (aside from Kev himself, and uillean piper Paul Brennan guesting on one track) the new record’s personnel are almost entirely different, its dominant presence is still – as it should be – formed by Kev’s ultra-distinctive singing voice, a voice that gives shape and personality to the engagingly quirky character of his songwriting. His gruff, growling, gravelly timbre is something really special, and will appeal to anyone who appreciates the singing of Tom Waits, but there’s an added fire in Kev’s full-bodied delivery, a rich and powerful passion that pervades his very being and breathes the lyrics right into the listener’s soul – a quite extraordinary achievement.
Kev’s writing has a combination of deep humanity and sardonic sideways humour that at times put me in mind of Michael Marra perhaps, although Kev’s messages, while every bit as thought-provoking and intrinsically truthful, are arguably less obscurely expressed. The commanding authority of Kev’s voice certainly constitutes a binding thread for the dozen almost maddeningly diverse songs presented here: there’s a dark, poignant beauty in The Walls Of Eden and Lines On The Death Of Martin Israel, whereas the title song is a cri-de-cœur from us helpless individuals, a rather savage indictment of those in control of our destinies. On the other hand, O We Who Dream With England movingly counterpoints Kev’s poet’s address with a paraphrase of the tune better known as Dives And Lazarus. The latter is one of four songs (not quite correctly identified on the booklet credits, by the way) which capably utilise individual melodies from traditional folk songs (well, maybe I’m not quite so convinced about The Blue And The Gray, but this may be due to inevitable associations impinging too vividly from the tune used). On the lighter, almost playful side, there’s contrast from the rollicking Big Blue Train, the breezy cartoon-style gallop of Sunny Little Avenue and the jaunty 60s-holiday-twang of So Summertime. And Kev brings back the old Beefheartian gambit of putting the previous album’s would-have-been-title-track (ie. here, Bon Cabbage) onto album number two – and it turns out to be one of those gloriously eccentric concoctions that wouldn’t have sounded out of place on a Strangelies album. All in all, Kev’s songs hit home so successfully with their companionable simplicity of expression that the sometimes almost inordinately busy instrumental settings – though delightful in their own right – can distract just a little with their plethora of skittery, clattery percussion and occasionally cluttered (albeit brightly, cleanly recorded) textures. But the other way of looking at it is that there’s such a degree of genuine creativity and invention here, whether in the settings or performances or in Kev’s sharp, vital lyrics, that you’ll never get bored and most likely gain an enormous amount of pleasure and stimulation from many successive playthroughs of this consistently intriguing album.
David Kidman
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Kieran Halpin – THE DEVIL AND HIS DEALING (SOS Records SOS.021)
I probably say this every time Kieran releases a new album, but his latest offering is invariably perfectly consistent in quality with all that’s gone before in his long career: Kieran’s singing voice is immediately recognisable, as are the distinctive traits of his personal expression and musical idiom. It’s not an easy trick to pull off time and again when it could easily become so predictable, but Kieran always manages to ring the changes and keep the listener’s interest even when exploring familiar themes in his songwriting. This time round, the devil’s even more in the detail, so to speak: for this set of brand new songs has a well-defined sound, contemporary acoustic with a strong electric contingent that enhances rather than swamps essential elements. As ever, Kieran is adept at surrounding himself with a crack backing crew – here headed by the amazing guitarist Jimmy Smith (playing both nylon-strung and electric models), with long-term collaborator percussionist Yogi Jockusch, with Percy Pursglove (double bass), Manfred Leuchter (accordion) and Marion Fleetwood (backing vocals) in tow. The songs themselves radiate Kieran’s typically assured demeanour, his solid, unflinching and yet supremely sensitive stance; inevitably there’s still a hefty measure of anger and aggression (largely at the state of the world) that’s to be worked through, and the opening pair of songs kinda gets it out of the system, by railing against the lack of viable alternatives (the title track) and an anthemic expression of our understandable lack of faith (God Has No Plan). Kieran so often voices one’s own innermost feelings in language that’s so simple we wonder why we’ve not written the songs ourselves, but it’s Kieran’s skill as a songwriter that makes something special out of these reactions, beliefs and experiences. This applies whether Kieran’s examining political issues or helping us to come to terms with romance, relationships and “real life”, and he’s almost always able to derive a measure of comfort from adversity. Several songs are air-punching homilies that make optimum use of devices such as repetition, staccato rhythms and smart rhymes to get their messages across. Then, on the other side of Kieran’s songwriting coin, we find the powerful, world-weary rueful remembrances of October Moon and New Year’s Day and the tender entreaties of Year After Year. It’s All Up To You is another confidence-builder much in the vein of (I May Not Have) All The Answers, contrasting with the helpless acceptance of an unexplainable turnround situation that produces a Persona Non Grata. Finally, the enigmatic pairing of Long Lost Friends (distant cousin of that Angel Of Paradise?) with an uncredited bonus cut (a tasty jazzy revisit of Heart & Soul from Mission Street) closes the disc stylishly.
Yes, sometimes it can feel like it’s always Closing Time In Paradise, and there are still occasions where a series of thoughts and ideas is left hanging in the ether after two verses and could be developed more, but invariably Kieran’s songs still make you think and leave you thinking, which is never a bad thing. Long may Kieran keep coming up with provocative new songs to make you think again and over again.
David Kidman
Kieran Halpin – The Deal We Made With God (SOS Records SOS. 019)
Recently returned from a year’s sabbatical, Kieran has shown with some storming live gigs that he’s lost none of his touch, his winning way with an audience or his powerful presence; or, on the evidence of this CD of (almost all) brand new material, his gift for creating memorable and passionate songs. Each new Kieran Halpin CD brings at least a couple of immediate standouts, songs that just couldn’t have been written by anyone else and employ Kieran’s distinctive trademarks yet still have something significant to add to his total œuvre. In the case of The Deal We Made With God, pride of place may well go to So Long John, a simple yet powerful and heartfelt tribute to the late John Wright (who was a very close friend of Kieran’s). The anger and desperation of Still Bleeding Wound also hits hard, as does the regretful The Road Ahead, another very relevant song tackling Kieran’s familiar preoccupation with examining the clash between past and future in the light of present feelings and experiences. Road Train Driver is another typically thoughtful slice of Halpin life-philosophy, set to a catchy melody and driving beat, while Bankers is a right-on vituperative piece with a particularly catchy chorus. Kieran’s backing musicians on this latest disc comprise his regular collaborators Maart Allcock and Yogi Jockusch along with guitarist Jimmy Smith and jazz keyboardist Dave Milligan; this is an ideal ensemble, other than that on the first three songs (the title track especially) Dave’s glitzy Wurlitzer tones sound too jazzy-lounge in style for the material, diluting its impact I feel.
While one or two of the songs will undeniably come across more intensely and make a more immediate impact in Kieran’s visceral live voice-and-guitar setting, the quite lengthy travelogue Found Australia, which palls a little in live performance, seems to work better on record with its playful country-mode geetar frolics. Finally, after the nine new songs, the CD concludes with a reworking of Kieran’s anthemic 1995 classic Glory Dayz, which gains extra poignance with its additional verse written in direct personal tribute to the brilliant guitarist Chris Jones, with whom Kieran worked closely for over ten years and who sadly died in 2005 shortly after recording for Kieran’s CD A Box Of Words And Tunes. Well there’s no need to worry – Kieran’s back, on form and in fine voice, and his fans should not hesitate in acquiring this new CD.
David Kidman
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Tom Rush – What I know (Appleseed APRCD.1115)
On his emergence from the early 60s Boston/Cambridge folk scene, Tom’s craftsman-like songs and comforting voice guided many a soul through the turning of the decade and on into the 70s, with key songs like No Regrets forming a soundtrack for many folk. But 1974’s Ladies Love Outlaws album was Tom’s last excursion into the recording studio – until now, that is. Continued touring and sporadic live releases had kept the flame alive over the past thirty years, but now this brand new studio set comes along to rekindle that flame all over again with a set of 15 well-chosen songs that suit Tom’s relaxed, warm and gentle delivery down to the ground. Right from the start, while clearly a proven master of his own talent for generous and straightforwardly expressive songwriting, Tom’s always had a knack for spotting and performing great songs by then-obscure writing talents, and that trend continues on into this new offering, which places five of his own new original compositions alongside personal renditions of songs that in the main are likely currently to be unfamiliar to most listeners. These include Eliza Gilkyson’s gorgeously seductive Fall Into The Night, Steven Bruton’s regret-filled Too Many Memories, the emotionally uncomplicated desolation of A.J. Swearingen’s You’re Not Here With Me, Mishka’s Lonely and the touchingly tender No-One Else But You (by Bill Miller and David Hoffner). Other special successes come with a stylishly spare and reflective rendition of Mentor Williams’ Drift Away and a perceptive treatment of Jack Tempchin & John Brennan’s thought-provoking East Of Eden. In Tom’s capable hands, and oh so subtly backed by producer Jim Rooney’s reliable Nashville crew (which includes Fats Kaplin, Mark Howard and Mike Henderson), these songs come straight to life and effortlessly insinuate themselves into our consciousness, so much so that by second playthrough they feel like old friends already. As do Tom’s own mellow compositions, best of which here are the restive River Song and the child’s-eye view of events Silly Little Diddle. And indeed, Tom shows he can still transform a traditional source with the best of them, on his sympathetic recounting of the tale of Casey Jones (with guest harmony vocal from Nanci Griffith). What I Know is a neatly coordinated, thoroughly pleasing set that will definitely measure up to anyone’s expectations of what a quintessential Tom Rush album would sound like.
David Kidman www.tomrush.com
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Sam Carter – Keepsakes (Captain CAP. 002)
Rutland-born and now east-London-based, Sam is a tremendously assured young singer-guitarist-songwriter who rather against the odds quite knocked me out when I saw him perform at last year’s Derby TMA Festival, at which point he’d just released a taster five-track EP Here In The Ground which revealed a more-than-just-promising emerging talent. This is emphatically not just another “kid with a guitar” coming out of nowhere to fool the world into thinking he’s the next Big Thing – Sam’s startling maturity is there for all to see, but he wears it lightly and unassumedly. His followup record, Keepsakes, picks up exactly where the EP left off, in fact, with Sam’s powerful, biting vocal perfectly matched by his simply outstanding guitar playing, displayed to excellent advantage – and in a supremely cleanly focused recording – on nine self-penned original songs framing an isolated trad-arr cover. The latter (Oh Dear, Rue The Day), might in such company be easily treated (and summarily dismissed) as a makeweight, but it’s a bitter and intense reading with a natural folk-revivalist feel that’s hopefully not the last we’ll hear of Sam’s evident feel for traditional material (there’s some great fiddle playing from Sam Sweeney on this track too). Back to the original songs, and these maintain a high standard indeed. The opening salvo Yellow Sign dazzles with the intricacies of Sam’s fingerpicking complemented by his distinctly Simpsonesque vocal – little surprise, then, that we learn that Sam was taught guitar by Martin Simpson, but he’s fast developing his own individual style as the rest of the CD shows. Sam’s songs reflect tellingly and quite conversationally, and by the way with considerable maturity of outlook, on everyday matters of life and love and work. He seems to draw on the acclaimed English folk troubadours for inspiration both musical and lyrical, but of that mix he proves more than able to concoct his own special brew. While his affectionate and yet at times knowingly dry wit when commenting on English foibles may recall Chris Wood, Robb Johnson or even Billy Bragg, his (slightly nasal but not offensively so) singing voice strongly reminded me variously of early Roy Harper, Robert Wyatt (Station Road, Taxi), Chris Wood (Hired Hands, Pheasant), or Alasdair Roberts (Dew). The fresh acoustic musical settings, while revolving around Sam’s exceptional picking, also display ingenuity with use of a string section (Captain), Pentangular-inspired jazzy percussion (Pheasant), a more conventional rhythm section (Fight, Taxi) and occasional piano and cello (notably on the masterful, melancholy closer Spill Those Secrets). Finally, a mention for the album artwork, which neatly reflects the treasurable nature of the audio artefacts within: a perfectly formed and realised gem of a record. David Kidman
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Judy Dyble – Talking with Strangers (FXTRCD. 113)
Judy’s the lady who’s come back in from the cold – and with a bit of a cultish vengeance! Originally vocalist with Fairport Convention Mk.1 back in 1967, Judy subsequently co-founded Trader Horne and crossed paths with many prog and rock legends before taking almost thirty years out from music, only returning to appear at the special Fairport anniversary edition of Cropredy in 1997. Less than a decade on from that momentous occasion, however, Judy made a fabulous comeback with a trilogy of brilliant albums in collaboration with Marc Swordfish, swiftly followed last year by an acclaimed single with The Conspirators. Judy’s certainly astute in her choice of collaborators, and for her latest recording venture, Talking With Strangers, she gathers together a batch of brand new songs co-written (co-conceived) with No-Man’s Tim Bowness and Cromer Museum’s Alistair Murphy. Perhaps uncharacteristically for the work of a librarian (sic!), the disc’s contents defy easy classification – for if anything, it’s an even more intelligent mix of psych-folk, retro and prog, with spellbinding textures that are lush and heady yet with strands keenly, crisply separated by virtue of abundantly imaginative scoring and an adept use of new technology. But however consistent the purely musical vision, it’s nevertheless Judy’s ultra-pure, utterly distinctive (and still tremendously beautiful) singing voice that remains both the most vital unifying force of the project and its aural focus, invariably stopping the listener in his/her tracks and compelling one’s attention. Judy sweeps us along with her on a spiritual journey from the deliberately uncomplicated, gentle acoustics of the deceptively simple folky Neverknowing, by way of the mysterious and charming exotic innocence of the swirling, swooning autoharp-rich Jazzbirds, the enigmatic chansonnière of (Greg Lake and Pete Sinfield’s) C’est La Vie (the album’s one cover), and the pleading, desperate searching of the title track, thence by way of the confidences of Judy’s Dreamtime and the melancholy reality of Grey October Day onto the final stage of her quest.
Here Judy bares her soul and (you might say) lays down her weary tune (through “the strength of strings”, of course) on the epic (19-minute) and necessarily episodic Harpsong; here the joyous optimism and celebration of the power of musical creativity that has become a constant for her personally, conjoining then and now and the future, becomes an overpowering life-mantra. The experimental wyrd-folk of Trader Horne meets the nascent prog-rock of King Crimson head-on during the course of this final track, with an extensive instrumental middle-section that wouldn’t have sounded out of place on In The Wake Of Poseidon, say. Harpsong sets the artistic seal on an inspirational record: one that’s all the more extraordinary an achievement for having been recorded remotely – such is the technological expertise of Tim and Alistair in giving Judy’s songs wings in order to fly in contributions from all over the globe. These have come from near at hand (Simon Nicol, Jacqui McShee, Julianne Regan, Robert Fripp), France (Celia Humphris), and the USA (Ian McDonald, Pat Mastelotto), while the list of other musicians involved includes Mark Fletcher, Laurie A’Court, Rachel Hall, Sanchia Pattinson and at least four different guitarists! And setting the seal on the music on the disc itself is another strongly unifying signature of the project: the exceptionally fine cover and inlay artwork (by John Hurford and Koldo Barroso respectively), which has a very striking visual impact and is acutely well conceived and reproduced. The press release statement, that “Judy feels it’s the best album she’s ever produced”, proves no hollow claim. It’s magic, it really is.
David Kidman
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Barbara Helen – An Unfamiliar Place (Own Label)
It’s been a while since we heard from this Saltburn-based singer-songwriter (the last occasion being the fine duo album Beyond The Sand that she recorded with her partner Les Cameron). This time round, Barbara treats us to a whole album of her own compositions, now tellingly reflecting on her experiences of love and life and on the essential journey that brought her to her current “safe plateau” state, the “unfamiliar place” that gives the CD its title. Although Barbara’s lyrics tell of having been through the emotional mill in her personal quest, she’s emerged on the other side stronger and wiser: there’s a real sense of being at peace here and now, a contentment that’s not born out of complacency but is honest and hard-won. Her stance is optimistic and uplifting, but realistic: the key would seem to be having the courage to move on from a familiar place, which seemed safe (but was not a good place) while tempering one’s belief and trust with a measure of caution. If you’re seeking musical reference points, I guess the most obvious of Barbara’s influences is Joni Mitchell, not least in her sharing of a specific vocal characteristic: an enviable fluidity in range and technique which enables her to make effortless glides and leaps over the gap between registers. This can very occasionally lead to an over-use of decoration or unnecessary ornamentation (as on Stop Me Falling Again), but for the most part it constitutes an attractive and distinctive feature of Barbara’s singing. The spirit of early Joni also pervades some of Barbara’s melodic contours and progressions and her sense of bright-eyed (yet not exactly innocent) wonder (as on the Chelsea Morning-like My Own Patch Of Blue Sky). Sandy Denny is sometimes called to mind too, especially on Pretend, one of the disc’s standout songs. Other highlights within a very strong set are the exhortation to Believe, the simply expressed dreams and aspirations of Little Bird, the touching When You Look At Me, the clever expression of frustration Say Something and the jazzily insouciant Let It Go. The musical settings are clear-toned and clear-sighted acoustic-based textures centred around Barbara’s own simply judged guitar playing, with Les Cameron adding some delicious lead guitar work on two tracks and mandolin on another, together with some keenly-managed additional instrumentation (piano, bass and programmed percussion) courtesy of sound engineer John P. Taylor; I usually find synthesised backings a tasteless and soulless turn-off, but John’s contributions are brilliant: softly creative, sensitive and genuinely appropriate. To many a prospective listener, I suspect the theme and concept of this disc might appear anathema, a merely insular and introspective navel-gazing voyage, yet the end result is actually anything but: for it’s an absolutely charming, often profoundly moving – and in the end distinctly inspirational – record of a universal journey. A release to really treasure.
David Kidman
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Chris Scruggs – Anthem (Cogent Records 004UKJL)
Chris’s key contribution to the music of alt-country legends BR-549 (and many of their peers) is already well-recognised, so his solo album is rather eagerly awaited in many quarters, and I’m glad to report that it doesn’t disappoint – although at times it may rock a little heavier than some will expect (and the press release quite helpfully tags it as close to “towards the far left of alt-country”). Although Chris himself is responsible for all the writing (bar one track), its dozen cuts initially seem a bit of a mixed bag, whose slightly thrown-together nature nevertheless makes for a refreshingly ragged disunity. I wouldn’t exactly class Chris as a maverick, but he sure has a taste for lively eclecticism. There are a few tracks where the unusual combination of electric guitar, steel guitar and vibes imparts a kind of weird signature to Chris’s music, but there’s also a fair bit of variety when guests like Howe Gelb, Chuck Mead and Harvey Brooks add their own imprimaturs to the versatile musicianship of Chris himself. Following the full-on barrage of sound of the opening salvos (Josephine, the Dylanesque-rockabilly-styled It Ain’t Right, and the outright rockers Running From The Graveyard and Troubled Times), things then calm down just a bit, with the disc’s middle stages embracing the cool vibes-bedecked swagger of A Victim’s Song and a plaintive voice-and-guitar take on The Open Road, The Open Sky (penned by Chris’s late uncle Ron Davies, who was best known as writer of It Ain’t Easy from Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust LP). Thereafter Chris whips things all up again for one of the standouts – the juicy, twangy hillbilly honky-tonk of Where The Wind Might Blow (Don Herron’s sparky fiddle fair lettin’ its horse-hair down!). In the pure backwoods campfire ambience of Old Souls Like You And Me Chris is joined for some vocal harmony by Kelly Hogan no less, and the jazzy swoon of the closing Change Your Made Up Mind (complete with lazy piano solo from Nick Luca) drifts us back in time to the western-swing era. Perhaps Open Letter and Sing Your Tune are a touch self-consciously gawky, but the rest of the songs all ring true and there’s some interestingly crafted wordsmithery at the heart of the best of Chris’s writing.
David Kidman
www.chrisscruggs.com and www.myspace.com/chrisscruggs
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Event: Corinne West and Doug Cox
Venue: The Wheelhouse
Town: Wombwell
Date: August 30 2009
Website: http://www.corinnewest.com
Corinne West appeared in Wombwell tonight as part of the Barnsley House Concerts series, together with Canadian Dobro and slide guitarist Doug Cox, co-producer of Corinne's current album 'The Promise'. The flags were out for our visitors from across the pond, with stars, stripes and maple leafs fluttering above the Wheelhouse as everyone settled down for what promised to be another special night at the Jones's. The intimate environment seemed to suit both musicians as they eased into a couple of impressive sets, where at times you could hear a pin drop and at others, nothing but loud and enthusiastic applause. In between all that, there was a beer flowing bar, a lovely pie and peas supper, Rory the dog wondering why so many people were in his kennel (again) and seventeen songs of outstanding quality to behold.
At most any other venue, Corinne would normally utilise every bit of the stage with her impassioned and animated performance, but was understandably restrained at the Wheelhouse, where space is at a minimum. No matter, the singer gravitated to a small patch of stage and what was spared in her restricted movement was made up for in her soulful singing and playing. With her engaging eyes shadowed by the peak of her fisherman's cap for most of the performance, Corrine chose a selection of songs from all three of her albums together with a few additional treats, all with a little help from her audience, whose requests poured in throughout the evening.
Joined by Doug Cox on Dobro throughout, Corinne brought her own blend of country infused blues, Americana and what she describes as 'Progressive Folk', to yet another packed Wheelhouse audience. Once again, there was absolutely no need to enhance the sound electronically, as the small venue prompts just the one possible consideration, that of getting the acoustic balance right, which is left very much up to the players. If Doug's only concern was that the Dobro might be drowning out Corinne’s voice, the audience responded with a resounding 'no', to which a single voice from the back added 'in fact it's a bit quiet actually'. We later discovered he was a Dobro player himself!
The balance was perfect and Corinne's guitar and Doug’s Dobro played off one another with seamless precision. Added to that, Corinne's soulful and bluesy vocal delivery made the fact that there was no PA even more rewarding. Starting with "It's Your Time", originally from Corinne's debut album 'Bound for the Living', both guitar and Dobro found a comfortable volume at which to rest as Corinne delivered a gorgeous vocal performance on one of her most engaging songs.
The new album 'The Promise', which was recorded in the idyllic setting of Harrison Hot Springs in British Columbia, was showcased tonight with a selected four songs from it; "Pollen", "Lily Ann", "Whisky Poet" and "Everybody's Talkin", the former being three of Corinne's most accomplished songs on the new album and the latter being the very same Fred Neil song as featured on the soundtrack to Midnight Cowboy, albeit warbled by the late Harry Nilsson. Doug swaps Dobro for guitar for the one and only time during the night, on Corinne's smoothed out and slowed down version of the song, which captures its essence and transforms what is essentially a radio friendly pop tune to a beautiful and soulful ballad.
Much of the set though was revisiting some of Corinne’s best known songs from both 'Bound for the Living' ("Amelia" and "Angel") and 'Second Sight' ("Roses to Rust", "Cabin Door" and "Hand Full of Dust"), her two excellent previous albums. On "Deep Elem Blues", Corinne gave a convincingly gritty performance, which combined the ballsiness of Memphis Minnie with the grace of Bessie Smith. With the blues, Doug Cox finds his comfort zone, with some suitably emotive notes that you'll never find in Classical music however hard you search.
Before the show I had a few words with both Corinne and Doug as they sat on the edge of the small stage, now incidentally decorated with colourful stud lighting, keeping very much with the tradition of having at least one thing new upon each visit to the Wheelhouse. Corinne spoke candidly about her early adventures, of leaving home at a very young age destined for a life on the road. Literally in her case; having hopped onto a converted yellow school bus with a bunch of free spirited artists and activists in the tradition of Kesey and Kerouac before her. 'We had a full pot bellied cast iron stove in there, with a pipe that went out the side and we cooked on it and had a fire going'. Corinne was quick to confess that they didn't have the fire going whilst they were driving of course, but with a hammock in there, it all seemed the right thing to do and the right way to live. 'I had a kick in my step' she added with a grin.
Doug Cox is an outstanding and innovative Dobro player who has experimented with the instrument for a good deal of his professional career. Equally at home with standard bluegrass playing and fine accompaniment, such as with Corinne tonight, he is also interested in discovering hybrids of musical styles, working with Eastern musicians Salil Bhatt with Ramkumar Mishra for instance. Doug is keen to point out that anything is possible with an instrument that is essentially still in its infancy: 'One of the most interesting things about the Dobro is that it's not completely discovered; it's really fine to take it outside of its traditional places'. Concluding with the driving "Gandy Dancer", incorporating Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues", and a final encore of "Writing on the Wall", again from the 'Second Sight' album, Corinne and Doug left their indelible mark on an especially pleased audience, all of whom showed their gratitude with a particularly healthy final applause as well as a definite promise to return. Let's hope they are not the only folks there tonight to pledge a return visit soon.
Corinne West – The Promise (Make Records MRC. 444)
Californian songwriter Corinne made quite an impression on me with her last album Second Sight (and sadly but inevitably, I’ve still not tracked down her first), but The Promise is even finer: a spectacularly haunting record that’s both quite different from Second Sight and yet recognisably cut from the same cloth.
For a start, Corinne’s gorgeous – and unmistakable – singing voice is the ideal vehicle for her gripping yet simply voiced songwriting (let’s face it, not all songwriters can boast that killer combination!). But whereas on Second Sight Corinne ingeniously took a loosely folky-bluegrass template and gave it a certain gloss of commercial appeal, on The Promise Corinne harks back to the golden age of late-60s west-coast singer-songwriterdom, this time placing her poetic creations in a more sparse (though actually quite rich-textured) folky-Americana setting. On these nine new tracks (eight originals and one cover), Corinne communicates an even fresher immediacy and honesty, her smoothly contoured and yes, highly sexy (not a word I use lightly!) delivery hooking you in close and true, and straightaway, never letting you go. It’s like you’re lyin’ there beside her in the dappled sunlight taking in her confessionals. Although Corinne was, we learn, greatly inspired by the beauty of the recording location, a remote cabin by a secluded lake in British Columbia, and each song shares a glorious intimacy of purpose and genuinely relaxed execution, equally every track’s got its own distinct atmosphere. The album, co-produced by Corinne herself and slide-guitarist Doug Cox, uses an entirely different support crew from Second Sight (here including Daniel Lapp, Jennifer Scott, Phil Wipper and James Nash), and individual instrumental colours are sparely deployed – but how! The settings are full of presence yet at the same time unobtrusive – contradiction tho’ that may sound. Stylistically, the closest track to bluegrass here is the lovely Lily Ann (nice mandolin from John Reischman); the rest take their cues from classic west-coast Americana. I’d never consider charging Corinne with being in any way that counts derivative, although she perhaps betrays a slight hint of early Joni Mitchell on Lady Luck and the soft dynamics of the title track. The slinky slow-waltzer The Stranger is an eloquently soulful, riveting study in alienation (Rene Worst’s double bass playing on this track is outstanding), and The River’s Fool (another highlight) is one of those timeless philosophical-insight pieces (and it sounds a bit like prime Judy Henske too). The deceptively gentle ripples of Turn The Wheel and the pounding desperation of Pollen are two more choice cuts, while Corinne’s resignedly weary take on the Fred Neil song Everybody’s Talkin’ is a stroke of genius. The Promise is a work of deep feeling and deep inspiration, on which Corinne’s sure excelled even her own previous high standards.
David Kidman
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Rachael McShane, No Man's Fool
As one might expect from a musician who has spent the last three or four years reinventing the sound of English folk music as a member of Bellowhead, No Man's Fool is an album that further pushes at the boundaries of the folk genre. Rachael takes ten traditional songs and sets them in an aural landscape that flirts with the contemporary sounds of lounge-jazz and funk. Ultimately though, it is Rachael's exquisitely clear and unfussy voice that furnishes the album with an eternal charm; in fact, it would have been interesting to also hear the songs being performed a cappella, so as to appreciate their stark beauty before they don their new clothes. There is however a certain allure to hearing these songs of fair maidens and May mornings set amongst a thoroughly modern and inventive soundscape.
Right from the outset, "Captain Ward" benefits from a subdued bass and a piano that saunters along with a jazzy insouciance, with an accordion and fiddle providing an instrumental nod towards the more traditional sound that one might associate with this song. "My Johnny Was A Shoemaker" receives a groovy makeover thanks to some effortlessly cool keyboards, and a harmony-laden refrain that may well provide the most memorable pop hook that traditional music has ever heard!
"The Drowned Sailor" demonstrates undeniable class, with an understated performance where Rachael's cello sets a mournful tone alongside sensitive accompaniment that allows the full lustre of Rachael's gorgeous voice to dominate. "Miles Weatherhill" starts out as a tender recounting of a love story between a young weaver and a parson's servant, before said weaver embarks on a bloody killing spree, at which point the panoramic musical accompaniment reaches epic proportions to perfectly heighten the drama.
Rachael McShane is a classy musician and a singer of striking elegance on this confident début. The arrangements are often daring, though sometimes alarmingly smooth, but the quality of the traditional material, and the unpretentiousness of Rachael's voice shines bright throughout. This marriage of traditional spirit, jazzy improvisation, and urbane rhythms genuinely offers something different at a time where even the folk scene can offer increasingly bland and unimaginative alternatives. No Man's Fool surely marks the beginning of an altogether more interesting journey.
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Rhymes and Reasons - Catherine Fraser & Duncan Smith
Scottish Fiddle is quite unique in it’s style and it has to be acknowledged that there are many
fine exponents around the world. Catherine Fraser must surely be considered to be among
the elite.
Rhymes and Reasons is an album where perfection was non-negotiable and I’m not just referring to the fiddle playing. The recording, the production and of course the accompanying musicians, all contribute in making this album truly outstanding. There are no surplus components in this recording, a trap which many musicians fall into once they get into the studio. The impressive list of musicians that Catherine associates with are testament in itself that she has achieved credibility within the Scottish Fiddle genre. These are more than just hired guns, they provide sensitive yet solid ground on which Catherine is able to take the listener in the direction she dictates.
Of the 11 tracks on Rhymes and Reasons there are 4 of Fraser’s original compositions and they blend seamlessly with the more traditional material. The one slight departure would be the final track ‘Raoghull agus Cairistine’ which incorporates some elements of world music percussion. For me, this was a nice touch to finish the album on.
Instrumental albums aren’t everyone’s cup of tea and therefore the market can be somewhat limited. However, for lovers of all things Scottish this will stay on the CD player for some time.
Pete Titchener
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Various Artists, Borders Tunesmiths
Produced by Shona Mooney, this latest volume in the Borders Traditions series sees nine of Scotland's most gifted traditional musicians, gathered together to produce a collection of new instrumental music, taking inspiration from the Borders region. A diverse collection of instruments, including a delicate harp, a varied selection of strings, the punchy border pipes, and the contemporary rhythmic flamboyance of cajon and stomp box, ensure that the pace and flavour is varied throughout. The fact that the entire project was recorded live on just one night, adds further atmosphere; no mean feat when you consider that the musicians had just four days to rehearse!
"On Auld Lauder Licht" is inspired by the Lauder Light Railway, that once linked small border towns to the the main Waverley Line from Edinburgh to Carlisle. The rhythm of the instruments are deployed intelligently to represent the mechanical nature of the old steam trains that would have ploughed the route, starting out at a saunter before building with speed and purpose. Elspeth Smellie's harp chimes with a graceful eloquence to begin "Write A Bar Or Two," luring the other musicians to join her in an ensemble of discerning elegance. "Harp vs. Accordion" finds jazz-soaked guitar flourishes from Innes Watson setting the backdrop for Christopher Keatinge's lithe accordion, in a set that begins with flavours of the continent, while Smellie's harp ripples politely in the background. Martin Marroni's reading of the Border poet W. H. Ogilvie's "The Hill Road to Roberton," is absolutely sublime, with an understated charm and authenticity that is matched by Marroni's subdued composition that beautifully underscores his plaintive voice.
"Cheese Well" completes proceedings; a collaborative composition of three tunes written by all nine musicians. "Hume Castle" begins the set with a suitably commanding grace, winding towards the more muscular melody of the closing tune, "Waverley Route," where the combined resonance of the strings and border pipes give a wonderfully replete sound. The set ends to an understandably rapturous round of applause from the audience.
The decision to record this project as a live concert pays dividends, retaining an air of spontaneity that genuinely brings a touch of magic to the whole recording. This is music that beams with pride, and the celebratory nuances make it impossible not to enjoy.
Visit the Borders Traditions website for more details!
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Kimber's Men – In Port (A Private Label APL12)
Kimber’s Men are something a little extra special…a shanty crew that everyone can enjoy! Consisting Joe Stead, Neil Kimber, Dave Buckley, Gareth Scott and John Bromley the ‘Men’ all have fine voices each as good as each other and then there’s that resonant bass ringing masterfully at the end of “Fire Marengo”. Captured live in concert by Tony Bottomley this handsomely packaged double album is a true testament highlighting how powerful good shanty singing can be…full of passion but with plenty of warmth. The sailor’s life is not always a happy one and of course the tragedies and tribulations, conveyed in the lyrics of Bill Meek’s “Harry Eddom” and Neil & Roz Kimber’s “Don’t Take The Heroes” show that this particular style of song will echo through the ages unlike the pap that purports to be popular music nowadays. Now, I don’t quite know what it is but the performance of “God Moves On The Water” led brilliantly by Gareth Scott brings to mind how Martin Simpson might sound with a shanty crew and trust me…that’s a compliment. On a more optimistic note, Joe Stead & Pete Seeger’s poignant “Darkest Before The Dawn” is the kind of ballad that encapsulates the thoughts of sailors and better days to come whilst familiar rousing choruses including “Blow Boys Blow” and “Leave Her Johnny Leave Her” coupled with strong contemporary story-telling this is an album that more fully satisfies than most in a year that has seen the passing of Johnny Collins (another great shanty singer) and couldn’t have come at a better time. If you do purchase the album (and I sincerely hope you will!) at the very reasonable cost of £15.00 that includes a donation to the RNLI don’t be confused by the unconventional track listing on the back sleeve. It’s just there so that you can skip the introductions if you want to. Glorious stuff!
Pete Fyfe
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Le Vent Du Nord, July 23rd 2009, The Stables, Wavendon
Le Vent Du Nord blew into a sadly undersold Stables on Thursday night and proceeded to demonstrate a total mastery of Quebcois traditional folk music.
Playing from a tradition they describe as influenced by the music brought to Canada by French, Breton, Scottish, English, and Irish settlers gives them tunes that are far from the British tradition and others which could have been used to accompany Morris dancing. They bring family songs to the mix, and have gathered a number of songs from singers in the Quebec region and from the city of Detwa ("it's a French founded city in the great lakes.... oh, do you say Detroit ?") .
The four band members are all multi-instrumentalists, with fiddle, guitar, acoustic bass, piano, jaws harp, melodeon, piano accordion, mandolin and hurdy-gurdy being featured, and most tunes driven along by fiddle player Olivier Demers' foot percussion. They all sing as well producing some exquisite harmonies. They are slick and rehearsed but not to the point of losing an element of fun - when Nicolas Boulerice adds a jazz piano riff into a tune set, or pops up with his piano accordion beside melodeon player Rejean Brunet there's an exchange of glances clearly indicating an "ok, so we're doing that tonight are we ?".
Guitarist/mandolin player Simon Beaudry also takes lead vocals, and having ascertained that the audience is almost completely non-fluent in French boldly introduces call and response songs throughout the concert - fortunately as the night goes on the responses become simpler, so by the end we feel like we've sung along after all.
They cover all bases - love, death, knights who search for lost sheep, dance music and music for nuns to bake giant pasties to, and the two sets just whizz by in a flash. Astounding music and amazing sounds, a joy to behold and to hear.
Jonathan Aird
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Catherine MacLellan – SILHOUETTE (True North)
This, the Canadian songwriter’s fourth album, pleasantly straddles the musical territory between Americana and folk-tinged country without offering any challenges to the ears or the sensibilities. It’s an uncluttered-sounding, well-produced set, presenting thirteen new compositions (together with a nice cover of the old Anne Murray hit Snowbird that was penned by Catherine’s dad Gene and here features backing vocals from Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo); these fairly intimately explore heartache and loss, reliably if a touch less long-term-memorably than you might wish for. There’s ample craft in these songs, and Catherine sings well; she’s also blessed with solid musicianly support from Chris Gauthier, Remi Arsenault, Jason Sniderman, Burke Carroll and Reg Ballagh, who make all the right noises and maintain a commendable composure. So what’s there not to like? Nothing in fact, so it would probably be churlish to say I find some of Catherine’s songs just a touch unremarkable, and on occasion the instrumental work is possibly of more interest than the lyric. But when all the elements get to cohere more fully together – as on Trickle Down Rain, Lines On The Road, True Love and the strangely insistent piano-backed final number Chop That Wood – the result is definitely more long-lasting. To sum up then – well OK, if I’m pushed, I might say that Catherine’s music is unlikely to seriously disappoint, but on the other hand it doesn’t attain the status of first-rank keeper, simply because on a number of the songs there’s a nagging feeling of having heard it all before, especially in terms of melody lines, and she’s not coming up with anything really new even though her music is a wholly likeable proposition.
David Kidman
Catherine MacLellan - 'Water In The Ground'
Water In The Ground is an album lightly infused with country music sounds, wrapped up in a breezy, summery production that proves to be deliciously contagious, making repeated listens absolutely essential. This third album from the Canadian singer-songwriter finds her ploughing a furrow not dissimilar to Mindy Smith, though with hints of darker undertones that owe more to the likes of Lucinda Williams.
Opening with the 1950s rockabilly sound of "Take A Break," conjuring up images of poodle dresses, vintage jukeboxes and coffee shops, MacLellan instantly demonstrates the potential for a catchy, radio-friendly hit. This sound is revisited later on "Not Much To Do (Not Much To Say)," with a dominant double bass lending solid rhythms, whilst MacLellan's voice offers a bluesy indifference. The uplifting, gospel-soaked harmonies of "Set This Heart on Fire" also carry nuances of a similar vintage.
MacLellan also offers a more contemporary, carefree country-pop, with the title track offering a first glimpse of MacLellan's romantic optimism: "all the snow will melt into the stream / leading me back to where I want to be." Further reassurance emerges on "Everything'll Be Alright," a number that soothes and comforts with insouciant hopefulness: "don't you worry any more / we'll let the rain fall, we'll let the sun shine / and everything'll be alright."
These buoyant offerings punctuate MacLellan's otherwise wistful, confessional material with songs that immediately set your toes tapping, though the more introspective numbers offer their own dark beauty. "All Those Years" takes a doleful backwards glance to a life left behind: "but it's someone else's now / and the ghosts of my past just drift on alone." MacLellan returns to a similar viewpoint on "Again From The Start," vowing not to return to the road already travelled, yet rueful of the loneliness that life's journey sometimes deals, and seemingly looking for a helping hand.
Included with Water In The Ground is MacLellan's début album, Dark Dream Midnight, previously only available by mail order, and a much more sparse and melancholic affair. It is this effortlessness with which MacLellan moves between styles that promises much in the way of longevity and versatility for this accomplished songwriter.
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Sean Taylor – Calcutta Grove (Own Label)
Kilburn-based Sean is described as a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, but that tag doesn’t begin to do the breadth of his talent justice. Calcutta Grove, his third recording, is a veritable one-man extravaganza that shows Sean to be a consummate artist indeed. Blessed with a uniquely compelling combination of intelligence and soul,
Sean impresses right from the off, with sharply characterised and exquisitely moulded guitar work, a voice that speaks volumes in its
expressive nuances, and some emotionally sensitive songwriting that makes thoughtful commentaries on the human psyche and the state of the world. Over just a few years he’s keenly absorbed sounds and influences ranging from classic blues, soul, R&B and Motown to contemporary roots mavericks, yet his singing always takes a long, deep breath to convey its thoughts, more than
anything recalling John Martyn (in its smokily hushed confidentials) but at the same time remaining original and supremely distinctive. Sean’s guitar playing, while admirably economic, is tough in character and attack, and yet it can be remarkably understated; whatever, it’s abundantly imaginative at every juncture.
The title song is a sparse and close-rendered lyrical metaphor for life’s journey, intoned to an eloquent, almost improvisatory guitar part with telling but bare interleaved piano soundings. Three tracks in particular stand out within a record with no disappointments and many high points:
Buried Alive is a bleak, pained and claustrophobic depiction of abuse and violence, eerily embellished and darkly atmospheric. Sean’s highly innovative and strongly individual take on Skip James’ Hard Time Killing Floor Blues takes the song out of its rhythmic and structural straitjacket and floats timelessly in the aural void yet retains its essence through a Chapmanesque drawling delivery of the lyric set against cascading, rippling electric slide figures. Finally there’s the extraordinary eight-minute Nightmare, which fuses a feverish scattergun stream-of-consciousness lyrics with a dreamlike, almost hallucinatory backdrop (psychedelic acoustic and
electric guitars generating a weird pulsing onward-driving beat, overlaid by insistent piano interjections and Norman Whitfield-style jazz trumpet (courtesy of the album’s only guest musician, Gemma Fuller). Sean also bravely reinterprets Richie Havens’ own celebrated version of Freedom, in a kind of musical homage inspired by having personally seen Richie perform; in contrast, Hold On To Your Love is a simpler, tender exhortation in the form of a Liebeslied piano ballad, while the jauntier tempo and slightly banal glittery keyboard and harmonica setting chosen for the more country-blues-styled Revelations offsets (and yet is strangely appropriate for) its pointedly biting commentary tinged with hope.
The brief instrumentals Salvo and The Concept Of Irony function as concise, almost Eno-esque ambient scene-changes, the drawing-across of a musical curtain between songs. The River Merchant’s Wife is an impressionistic but beautifully reflective Satie-esque shifting piano piece inspired by an Ezra Pound poem, and forms an unusual, if in the end fitting conclusion to the record.
Sean will be taking to the main acoustic stage at Glastonbury, and he’s many other dates in the offing.
David Kidman
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Calexico – Live from Austin TX (DVD) (New West NW. 8057)
This live set, part of a series of archive gigs from the Austin City Limits TV show, dates from September 2006, a fairly key time for Joey Burns’ celebrated band as they toured their then-recently-released Garden Ruin album (which had so divided critics with its fuller, bigger sound). Perhaps indicatively, though, the 75-minute set focuses less on Garden Ruin than might be expected, with only four songs from that record, the remainder being drawn from Feast Of Wire, Hot Rail, The Black Light and some more obscure EPs. The set as a whole has a reasonable unity and is fairly well paced for contrast and interest, but there are times when it seems the band is going through the motions, playing by numbers almost, having pulled off their trademark eclectic blast of mex-country-alt and shown all their cards early on (so to speak). The audience whoop it up mex-style when they can, and there’s clearly plenty of appreciation for the musicians, but some songs are almost muted in their expression. There are exceptions of course, such as the eerily atmospheric and extended Sonic Wind (great trumpet solo from Martin Wenk), the crashing, rockist All Systems Red, and the more urgent Letter To Bowie Knife, but Across The Wire is definitely disappointing and by and large it’s curious that for the most part the band, and the set generally, both seem to gain a new energy only when they introduce guest stars Salvador Doran (that voice on Roka!) and Iron & Wine’s Sam and Sarah Beam (on He Lays In The Reins). One other factor in my reservation may be attributable to the actual recording, which seems to’ve flattened out the group sound so that the dynamic range ain’t quite there and the usual frontal impact of the band’s presence doesn’t really get across. So this is a good set, in that it fairly represents a stage in the band’s live show that documents a transition to a less spare, more blowsy sound, but it still doesn’t seem to reflect Calexico on full fire.
www.casadecalexico.com and www.newwestrecords.com
David Kidman
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Gretchen Peters – HELLO CRUEL WORLD (Scarlet Letter/Proper PRPCD. 094)
Hello Cruel World is country singer-songwriter Gretchen’s ninth album, and the tongue-in-cheek ambience of its title hides a year of great emotional turmoil (“when the universe threw its best and worst at me”, Gretchen says) – a heady mix that had to be ridden during the composition of its eleven songs. Together they spin a beautiful variation on the time-honoured theme of a triumphant survival in increasingly complex and troubled times, finding strength, joy and growth in everyday life. Matters such as religion also find their place in the emotional undercurrents that run deep within these songs; however, although Gretchen’s poetic portrayal of the resultant state of mind tends to be achieved by her lusciously warm vocal tones crooning equally luscious melodies while cocooned by soft-edged yet clear-sighted instrumental settings, it’s still not an entirely cosy experience even though the overriding impact is of a tremendous uplift and empowerment.
Gretchen’s surrounded herself with some ace sidemen to help her realise her captivating stories-in-song: these include Viktor Krauss, Will Kimbrough, Doug Lancio, John Gardner, David Henry, Chris Carmichael and Gretchen’s husband Barry Walsh, and Kim Richey contributes backing vocals and “angel choir”. Particular successes come with The Matador (an exploration of the nature of art, which features atmospheric twang guitar from Doug and swirling accordion work from Barry), the allegorical tale Idlewild, the belief-questioning double-edge of Paradise Found (with its funky string section), Dark Angel (a duet with Rodney Crowell which includes the immortal line “life is still a beautiful disaster”!), the regretful reflection Five Minutes and the limpid, simply-managed character study Camille (which features some charismatic muted trumpet playing from Vinnie Ciesielski).
But there’s not a weak track, and I feel sure that this set will in time come to be regarded as containing some of Gretchen’s best songs, while I’m just as sure that fellow-artists will very soon be queuing up to cover several of them. Gretchen will be touring the UK through March and just into early April 2012.
gretchenpeters.com
David Kidman
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Gretchen Peters with Tom Russell – One To The Heart, One To The Head (Western Songs WSTN. 001)
Although Gretchen’s become one of Nashville’s most successful singer-songwriters, she’s always retained a poetic sensibility that undoubtedly stems from her Colorado roots and her sympathy for western heritage and themes, all of which inevitably shaped her outlook, musically and otherwise. In this respect, she’s found a perfect soul-mate and musical travelling companion in Tom Russell, who spent long and fruitful hours with her sifting through songs for this project.
Tom’s genial aura extends over the whole recording, even though he only sings on a handful of the disc’s 14 tracks and contributes just one composition (albeit a very fine one, Guadalupe, which is a disc highlight). His distinctive grainy, bourbon-soaked rasp turns out to really complement Gretchen’s crystalline vocal tones (their duets on Stephanie Davis’ Wolves and Dylan’s Billy 4 being especially compelling), and two of his own paintings are used on the package’s artwork. The songs themselves have been unerringly chosen to celebrate the American West in all its moods, also its effect on the singer’s internal landscape; they may not be particularly well-known songs, but every one’s a gem. One real standout is the bleak, starkly violent If I Had A Gun (from the team of Rebecca Folsom, Celeste Krenz, Elizabeth Barnez and pen of Diana Jones), which shows an altogether different side to Gretchen’s voice than the sweet, clear delivery we normally associate with her. Other excellent choices include Mary McCaslin’s Prairie In The Sky, Ian Tyson’s Blue Mountains Of Mexico, Rosalie Sorrels’ reflective Last Go Round and Townes Van Zandt’s Snowin’ On Raton. There’s an authentic borderland-texmex-cantina feel to much of the rest of the album, credit for which must go to Tom’s co-production and to the choice of accordionist Joel Guzman and pianist/multi-instrumentalist Barry Walsh for the roles of primary instrumental colours within the accompaniment (though the fine ancillary contributions of Mark Hallman, David Henry and Al Perkins should not be underestimated). Barry also supplies some beautiful, gentle vocal harmonies on songs like Tom Dundee’s eulogy to These Cowboys Born Out Of Their Time.
I’m convinced that this album may well be considered Gretchen’s finest hour vocally, for there can be no denying that she’s clearly much inspired by Tom’s influence and presence and by the western themes and imagery of the songs themselves. When a songwriter delivers an album of mostly nowt but covers, it’s rarely this consistently, and exceptionally, satisfying.
David Kidman
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Stephanie Lambring – Lonely to Alone (Own Label)
Twenty-two-year-old Stephanie, raised in Indiana and a recent graduate of Nashville’s famous Belmont University, hereby releases a debut album that shows her to be already a singer-songwriter of considerable maturity. Lonely To Alone, characterised by its prevailing heartfelt, expressive country-folk writing, is by anyone’s standards a lovely collection of beautiful and sensitively-crafted (all but one original) songs: a collection whose only failing might be judged its overall uniformity as regards pace (gentle mid-tempo) and mood (wistful, often achingly sad and ruefully reflective). Stephanie’s blessed with a voice that is perfectly suited to conveying the special emotional climate of her songs, betraying shades and inflections that recall Patty Griffin or even Alison Krauss (though not as sweet-toned). Her writing is intensely personal but not exclusive, and her confidential yet open-hearted delivery is telling and easily draws the listener into her world. There are some gorgeous songs here that I wouldn’t be surprised to hear covered by other Americana-country singers pretty swiftly: If I Could, and most of all Tonight and the sublime title number. The instrumental settings truly complement, rather than directly reflect, the songs’ internal melancholy and delicately balanced emotional landscape, with soft fingerpicked acoustic guitar, bass and gently shaken or stirred percussion – and occasional sympathetic touches of cello, mandolin, bouzouki, balalaika, sitar, accordion or oboe, with a string quartet on the title track – courtesy of (among others) Tom D’Angelo, Rudy Miller, Joe Spivey, Dongdong Zhang and Phillip Wolfe. My earlier comment about the album’s uniformity being regarded a possible fault shouldn’t really weigh too heavily in the balance against the sheer quality of the individual songs, for this is a finely-judged and deeply-felt set that in the final analysis really does ring true.
www.myspace.com/stephanielambring
David Kidman
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Spiro – Lightbox (RealWorld)
Spiro is a quartet of accomplished musicians who’ve been plying their trade for around 15 years but only now have got round to releasing an album with any degree of profile – and it’s their third. Their instrumental complement (violin, piano accordion, mandolin and guitar, with occasional cello) might indicate quite a folky mix, if not predominantly so. Contemporary classic? Acoustic? Folk? Their music has elements of all of these: it’s possibly not to be classed as easy listening, at any rate at first, but it’s nevertheless a uniquely exhilarating and fast-moving tapestry of sound that’s characterised by a hard-driven yet fluid (and often unexpectedly lyrical) momentum, whether the tempo or pulse of each piece be fast or slower. Spiro have over the years been engaged for film, theatre, TV and contemporary dance work, which is hardly surprising in view of the high, near-scientific level of intricate organisation and planning that goes into each of their compositions, and the astonishingly high degree of discipline with which the music is played. In that respect their music is definitely closer to that of the Penguin Café Orchestra and contemporary classical composers Nyman and Reich than the world of pure folk song and dance (even their most obviously closest bedfellows on the folk scene – Hoover The Dog, Thought Gang – allow their individual musicians more independence of thought and execution!). Dance and pipe tunes from various manuscript books (Offord, Playford, Peacock, Dixon) do form the basis of a little under a half of the 17 cryptically-named tracks, but the source-tunes are imaginatively reconfigured rather than merely reinterpreted or recreated. There’s no ornamentation, no session-style solos or showy bravura passages, but instead the band play in “locked-in” mode, in a relentlessly insular sound-world that Spiro themselves refer to as “the mesh”. Contrary to expectations, though, this makes for a euphoric and very much involving (and far from soulless or clinical) listening experience, where chordings and attendant textures are particularly rich. Its inherent sense of urgency is born of a cultivated, cultured (rather than spontaneous) brand of momentum. And yet there are also significant moments of relative repose: stiller epicentres where textures drift apparently motionless in a kind of impressionistic-baroque way. It’s not easy music to describe, especially if none of the above reference points are in any way familiar, and thus can on first acquaintance sometimes seem distinctly unsettling although the sometimes fractured forward momentum exerts its own kind of fascination and draws you in and onward. At its most compelling, Spiro’s musical world is simply mesmerising, although for some listener sensibilities its tender lyricism may seem to lack an obvious linear progression. And when you learn that the whole of this album was recorded live in the studio with no overdubs or enhancements, its achievement is all the more astounding.
David Kidman
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Ellen Mary McGee – The Crescent Sun (Midwich WYND. 004CD)
Midlands-born though of Irish and Romany gypsy descent, Ellen was inspired by traditional folk song from an early age, but then went on to form the band Saint Joan, whom she fronted for a little over five years. Since 2007 she’s returned to her roots and started writing her own off-kilter folksongs informed by her wayward, unconventional childhood and the fantasy worlds into which she would escape. Ellen’s music has been compared to that of Vashti Bunyan, but it actually seems to have more in common with that of current English-folk-inspired American nu/psych-folk artists like Pamela Wyn Shannon and Marissa Nadler. Ellen has a bold and confident voice, albeit one that contains more than a hint of wavering fragility, combining its innate lightness and flexibility with a darker melancholy of tone and some really pained nuances; she accompanies herself assuredly on banjo, guitar and zither. On this, her debut album, her most powerful material – like the majestic, eerie He Is No Earthly Man and the prescient, Wilfred-Owen-referenced Upon Death And Dying – tends to reflect upon those time-honoured folksong themes, with The Wintering drawing the focus even closer and more directly personal with a moving tale of a suicide-note. Several of Ellen’s songs concern themselves with transient characters whom she has known, loved and lost, while the more sinister aspects of her childhood world are evoked on The Fatal Flower Garden. Sometimes, too, Ellen draws parallels with mythological episodes (as on Teeth Of The Hydra, which has a quite scary Kate-Bush-meets-Linda-Perhacs feel, and Theseus), while the gentler Acolytes has an altogether more pastoral, if whimsical feel that recalls The Sun Also Rises. Outside of her own compositions, however, I’m not quite as convinced by Ellen’s rendition of the purely traditional Lord Franklin, which promises well but ends rather suddenly before realising its full potential. The musical arrangements Ellen adopts are staggeringly simple for the most part, with very few instrumental colours deployed at any one time (aside from Ellen’s own contributions, there appear to be some guest musicians, on piano, cello, glockenspiel, harmonica and assorted percussion, but I was unable to unearth any further details); only some mildly obtrusive squeaking guitar action on the opening song A Watch Of Nightingales disturbs the peace (so to speak) of the settings. The biggest quibble is that at barely more than half-an-hour’s duration, this utterly intriguing and exquisite album is over far too soon, and I can only hope that Ellen has a followup already in preparation.
www.myspace.com/thecrescentsun and www.southern.com
David Kidman
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CLECKHEATON FOLK FESTIVAL, West Yorkshire – 3rd to 5th July 2009
Now there are folk festivals and there are folk festivals… and I’ve been going to both kinds for as long as I’ve lived here in God’s Own County. Some stay pretty much the same year upon year, with a near-identical guest-list and unchanging organising team – for some of these, the “tried-and-trusted“ formula works to their advantage, whereas for others it spells stagnation and complacency… and then, other festivals change according to the quality of the guest-list, or the tastes of the organiser or committee.
Cleckheaton has always been one of the stalwarts among the smaller festivals, with a fiercely loyal clientele, a healthy measure of support from the Local Authority (Kirklees Council) and an organising committee who’ve an enviable record of getting so many things right over a long period of time. It’s also one of the longest-running of the smaller festivals, and 2009, its 22nd year, has to be counted one of its best, not least due to its rather fine lineup but also due to a fresh and dynamic buzz that was around the town throughout the weekend.
Any review is necessarily based only on snapshots that the writer has been able to experience first-hand, even though he may’ve wanted to be in two (often more) places at once… On Friday evening I was running a singaround, which attracted some fine participants and continued on through to midnight – so I missed the main concert at the Town Hall, which according to folks I spoke to was stunning, with Tom Bliss’s farewell to Yorkshire leaving nary a dry eye in the hoose and the collected wit and wisdom of MrsAckroyd bringing the aforesaid hoose to its knees in mirth to close proceedings. At the same time, local heroes Blackstone Edge turned in a storming performance fit to bring down the rafters of St Paul’s Church Hall.
On to Saturday, and again you were spoilt for choice, for following the Grand Parade came a succession of companionable Meet The Artists sessions, each one with much to commend it, yet all competing (to some degree) with the main concert attractions. Stars of the afternoon Town Hall concert were undoubtedly the young (and some say obscenely talented!) Manchester quartet 4Square, whose trademark high-octane, hi-energy chillout music proved full of invention and presence and impossible to resist, furnishing an intriguing contrast to the seriously gorgeous voices and harmonies and ever-excellent choice of songs from Liz and Sue aka Scolds Bridle, who’d opened the concert.
During the daylight hours, the Church Hall hosted two Special Events, Jeff Parton’s fine Going For A Soldier presentation and Tom Lewis’s fascinating exposition of Songs Of The Sea – both of which could easily have been extended to twice their length without a chance of boredom setting in. Another local hero, Duncan McFarlane, excelled himself (and made many new converts!) with two sparkling appearances, while Stoke-on-Trent worthies His Worship & The Pig both delighted and provoked with their winning mix of hilarity (much in the tradition of the modern-day music-hall) and piquant, thoughtful tales drawn from local or regional issues and events. The manic duo Belshazzar’s Feast was another of the festival’s big successes, the two Pauls currying our favour at the Aakash by providing a massive, all-embracing menu of riotous humour allied to dazzling musicianship – quite honestly, there’s no other act like them!
Cleckheaton had also engineered a major coup in getting that ultra-charismatic seadog Tom Lewis onto the bill for two concerts on Saturday and one on Sunday, and true to form he held all in thrall with his abundantly powerful voice and persuasive repertoire of sea songs, folk balladry and tall stories, with virtually no items duplicated through the weekend (how refreshing!).
Another massive success on Saturday was the enigmatically-named five-piece Something Nasty In The Woodshed, who (true to their publicity!) achieved an audience reaction louder than their own act, especially in the Town Hall where they rocked the foundations with their gut-punching, electrifying blend of skirling bagpipes and drum-driven rockin’ electric folk.
Back in the Church Hall, more of Clecky’s local heroes appeared in an evening concert, with Russ Hughes stealing the show from the start with his well-coordinated and melodious set. Over in the Wickham Arms, the singing continued all day, in several places at once; and well into the night by all accounts… and others who wanted to expand their own musicianship in the practical sense were enabled to retreat to the relative safety of an instrumental workshop or session! There was also a lovely little afternoon singaround in the Rose & Crown, and several other new and/or small venues were utilised on each day for friendly, informal events. Not to mention the early-evening Ceilidh, and the return of the Hiring Fair – both of which I had to miss…
But in the end, the last word on Saturday belonged to the magnificent Eric Bogle, on his “final farewell tour” accompanied by the trusty John Munro; Eric and John turned in a splendid finale to the evening’s Town Hall concert, playing many of Eric’s greatest songs (though not all – he’s written enough to fill several concerts!), of which indisputable highlights were Singing The Spirit Home, The Reason For It All, And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda, and Leaving Nancy. I can never tire of hearing these songs performed by “his master’s voice”, and though it’s sad we can all understand Eric’s desire to quit while he’s still ahead in terms of live performing (even if his songwriting muse hasn’t yet run dry!). It was hardly surprising, then, that the “full house” notices had to be dusted down and displayed for Eric’s part of the concert.
Highlights of the Sunday’s entertainment for me personally were the rousing Sunday Sing, ably and fairly steered by Sylvia Needham, and the marvellous concert performances by celebrated harmony trio Cockersdale. They may be scaling down their live gigs, but they’re in better voice than ever I swear, and their definitive renditions of the songs of the great Keith Marsden are unlikely ever to be surpassed. Earlier, back in the Town Hall, Ruth Notman sadly could not appear as scheduled due to a family bereavement, but Oldham duo BetterLate did a grand job deputising, with a finely judged set delivering elegant, sensitive and clear-sighted performances of contemporary and traditional folk material alike. And how better to round off the afternoon than with a hefty dose of the very best of Scottish songs and tunes from the marvellously multi-skilled Battlefield Band, who effortlessly radiated warmth and commitment from their winning combination of virtuosity and versatility. Finally, Sunday’s evening concert at The Marsh reintroduced us to a selection of the artistes who had entertained us earlier in the weekend.
Organisation-wise, Cleckheaton 22 was a baptism of fire for its fearless new Festival Director, Dave Minich, who proved himself unafraid to make changes to the well established format set by his predecessor (truly a hard act to follow), and, judging by the intensely positive vibe that folks noted over the weekend, the whole festival felt fresh as a result. Clearly he (and with all due credit to his loyal, hardworking team!) has passed this acid test with colours flying high. Cleckheaton 22 can be deemed a resounding success, and itself will undoubtedly now prove a hard act for 23 to follow!
David Kidman