Red Dirt Skinners - "Sinking The Mary Rose" - Album
Barely eighteen months ago, The Hat saw this talented duo playing in the corner of a small cramped room in a now closed bar in Hebden Bridge. Much impressed, I wrote then that I was certain that we would be seeing a lot more of them and their highly original style. Now, such a short time later, they have a great new evocative name, are clutching a handful of award nominations in both British Blues and British Country and they have produced yet another top class album that is a wonderful magic bag of country, blues, blue grass and rootsy down-home americana.
The album demonstrates exactly why this exceptional multi-instrumental husband and wife team are making such a mark. The ten tracks, mostly self-penned, range from the slow and heart-breaking 'Just 18' to the get-up-and-dance 'Idabel Blues'. Throughout, they give us the tightest of warm harmonies and some quite brilliant instrumentals and solo vocals. Notably, the album is bursting with fine and sensitive lyrics and it is impossible not to to be moved by the sad but beautifully expressed sentiments in 'Alone' and 'Black Eyes', this last being a tough, Dory Previn-like statement of the gritty truth about a violent relationship. The short title track positively spits anger about a moment in their lives from which they need to move on.
You will find jazz and blues here as well and throughout, the soaring, roaring and sometimes wild and mad saxophone of Sarah Skinner winds its way through the album like a capricious friend with Rob providing a whole orchestra of support. Two fine musicians, song-writers and singers have delivered a hugely entertaining and accomplished piece of work.
Showing posts with label recorded music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recorded music. Show all posts
14 Dec 2015
Red Dirt Skinners: Live at the Blue Lamp Aberdeen
Red Dirt Skinners: Live at the Blue Lamp Aberdeen
I will own up immediately. I love these guys. Not just because they are constant in their spirited campaign to put their fingers up at the blues and country police and their refusal to be comfortably filed in the genre index – although that is to be admired by any sensible commentator - but mainly for a whole host of proper musical reasons. They can sing beautifully, they can write terrific lyrics and they are both consummate musicians who can turn their hand to original work, old standards and re-interpretations all the while throwing in delicate boundary pushing border crossing harmonies.
If you have seen The Red Dirt Skinners live, you may wonder, like many other artists, whether their live performance would hold up when it is transferred to disc. Will the magic still be there? Will the recorded audience ruin the spell of the performance? Will the production standard be up to bringing you the moment without killing the event with clinical cleansing?
Live recordings can be like Marmite. I have some live recordings where the out of time clapping and the absurd yelping and screaming destroy the performance and make you wonder why the record company bothered. On the other hand, some live recordings have gone into historical legend and will always be with us. In these you are in the audience and the artist and producer lure you into a front seat where you can turn up and enjoy the show as often as you like.
The 'Live in Aberdeen' album is a terrific show piece for the duo. Although much of the audience response and stage banter has been fine-tuned down there is still more than enough in there to leave you in no doubt that this was a hellova night out with the Skinners throwing the whole package out there to a really appreciative audience. These two can move from smooth sentiment to stunning stramash in a heartbeat.
The fifteen tracks on this live concert album are taken largely from the spectrum of their previous recordings and show exactly why this duo is now so highly regarded and have been on an exciting upward trajectory for the last few years. There is something here for everyone. They both have subtle bluesy voices (Sarah can also throw in a bit of Janis when she pleases) but the set takes them from in your face country shouty swing with a rousing audience chorus (Up All Night) to tender romance (Forever Young and Lay Me Down) where the close personal relationship between them is manifest. Many have tried to classify them – blues, americana, country – but this album throws the spotlight on all their talents and you can see why they find the labels so irritating. They do what they do – and they do it like no others that I know of....
Just to make sure they won't fit in your genre box, straight out of left field, there is a quite superb arrangement of 'Space Oddity' with Rob absolutely on song, taking a powerful vocal lead and Sarah's saxophone flying with him in their tin can to the stars. This would be a show stopper on a main stream radio station let alone in an adoring club in Aberdeen.
Live recordings find you out. You can't go back and do it again and when it comes to the quality of your performance the microphone is unforgiving. This is a fine atmospheric album. The guitar, sax and voices are beautifully balanced. The smart production lets you in the door and doesn't intrude. As the gig progresses you can feel the warmth between the Skinners and their audience growing and their on-stage banter lets you in to their party.
If you want a great night out, with one of the best duos in the business then you should pull up a chair, pour the malt and put on the 'Live in Aberdeen' album.
I will own up immediately. I love these guys. Not just because they are constant in their spirited campaign to put their fingers up at the blues and country police and their refusal to be comfortably filed in the genre index – although that is to be admired by any sensible commentator - but mainly for a whole host of proper musical reasons. They can sing beautifully, they can write terrific lyrics and they are both consummate musicians who can turn their hand to original work, old standards and re-interpretations all the while throwing in delicate boundary pushing border crossing harmonies.If you have seen The Red Dirt Skinners live, you may wonder, like many other artists, whether their live performance would hold up when it is transferred to disc. Will the magic still be there? Will the recorded audience ruin the spell of the performance? Will the production standard be up to bringing you the moment without killing the event with clinical cleansing?
Live recordings can be like Marmite. I have some live recordings where the out of time clapping and the absurd yelping and screaming destroy the performance and make you wonder why the record company bothered. On the other hand, some live recordings have gone into historical legend and will always be with us. In these you are in the audience and the artist and producer lure you into a front seat where you can turn up and enjoy the show as often as you like.
The 'Live in Aberdeen' album is a terrific show piece for the duo. Although much of the audience response and stage banter has been fine-tuned down there is still more than enough in there to leave you in no doubt that this was a hellova night out with the Skinners throwing the whole package out there to a really appreciative audience. These two can move from smooth sentiment to stunning stramash in a heartbeat.
The fifteen tracks on this live concert album are taken largely from the spectrum of their previous recordings and show exactly why this duo is now so highly regarded and have been on an exciting upward trajectory for the last few years. There is something here for everyone. They both have subtle bluesy voices (Sarah can also throw in a bit of Janis when she pleases) but the set takes them from in your face country shouty swing with a rousing audience chorus (Up All Night) to tender romance (Forever Young and Lay Me Down) where the close personal relationship between them is manifest. Many have tried to classify them – blues, americana, country – but this album throws the spotlight on all their talents and you can see why they find the labels so irritating. They do what they do – and they do it like no others that I know of....
Just to make sure they won't fit in your genre box, straight out of left field, there is a quite superb arrangement of 'Space Oddity' with Rob absolutely on song, taking a powerful vocal lead and Sarah's saxophone flying with him in their tin can to the stars. This would be a show stopper on a main stream radio station let alone in an adoring club in Aberdeen.
Live recordings find you out. You can't go back and do it again and when it comes to the quality of your performance the microphone is unforgiving. This is a fine atmospheric album. The guitar, sax and voices are beautifully balanced. The smart production lets you in the door and doesn't intrude. As the gig progresses you can feel the warmth between the Skinners and their audience growing and their on-stage banter lets you in to their party.
If you want a great night out, with one of the best duos in the business then you should pull up a chair, pour the malt and put on the 'Live in Aberdeen' album.
Rabbit Foot - Dark Tales
Rabbit Foot - Dark Tales
Every so often The Hat hears a new release that is so refreshingly different that he is obliged to play it again to catch all the nuances and sub-texts. The new EP coming from Rabbit Foot is just such an album.
I have watched the progress of this talented duo for a few years now and their spirited left-field approach to the blues is still a joy to hear and - even if you wanted to - impossible to pigeon-hole. They started out some time ago as purveyors of what they then called Swamp Boogie Blues - although you would be hard pressed to locate Tony Joe White in there anywhere - and quickly earned a reputation as a truly exciting live act.
With Carla Viegas powering up the drums and bringing her beautiful liquid crystal voice to play across everything like an irresistible naiad and Jamie Morgan driving it all along with his extraordinary and very personal fierce guitar sound mixing blues, rock and vibrant staccato tribal rhythms and lead licks, together they have created a totally distinctive sound that has gathered loyal fans to them wherever they have played. Although they set themselves a hard task to try and capture that live electricity onto a studio album, with these five tracks they have managed to bring us at least the essence of their sound.
As the title suggests, the album apparently reflects some strange times encountered by the duo and overflows with some very smart but really mean lyrics about how low down you can go, whether you care, possibly wishing you were dead and how do you get rid of the pain. This is tough stuff. Fuzz, wah-wah, echo and even feedback are deftly employed to this end.
Nevertheless, the lead track 'Tip My Hat' hits a more cheerful note in which Carla wraps her voice around you with smooth promises of love and you are left to decide whether she means it or not. The same ambiguity of lyric crops up everywhere and echoes the dark sentiment of the album. In 'Stubborn Child', Jamie gets to sing about the doctor who tried to deal with his youthful lows and on 'She Comes to Me' pain, clouds and rain pervade the issue of how well you really know someone. In 'Suite 136', the duo give a sideways look at the role of church and alcohol in alleviating all that stuff that can mess your head when your down. This track also sees Jamie really strutting his stuff, showing us how he can really fly with his guitar and what talent he has. The final up-beat piece '1234' intimates that they may just have some answers to some of these problems - perhaps moving on from "can't take no more" - and it appropriately ends with a gleeful cackle from the pair of them.
This is a really interesting, highly original and exciting piece of work. It is a great balancing act between cynicism and hope. These five tracks demonstrate not only how talented they are as musicians but it also shows how they are able to write lyrics that are amusing and clever but also take a grown-up and demanding look at situations that can beset us all. Due to be released late January.
Every so often The Hat hears a new release that is so refreshingly different that he is obliged to play it again to catch all the nuances and sub-texts. The new EP coming from Rabbit Foot is just such an album.
I have watched the progress of this talented duo for a few years now and their spirited left-field approach to the blues is still a joy to hear and - even if you wanted to - impossible to pigeon-hole. They started out some time ago as purveyors of what they then called Swamp Boogie Blues - although you would be hard pressed to locate Tony Joe White in there anywhere - and quickly earned a reputation as a truly exciting live act.
With Carla Viegas powering up the drums and bringing her beautiful liquid crystal voice to play across everything like an irresistible naiad and Jamie Morgan driving it all along with his extraordinary and very personal fierce guitar sound mixing blues, rock and vibrant staccato tribal rhythms and lead licks, together they have created a totally distinctive sound that has gathered loyal fans to them wherever they have played. Although they set themselves a hard task to try and capture that live electricity onto a studio album, with these five tracks they have managed to bring us at least the essence of their sound.
As the title suggests, the album apparently reflects some strange times encountered by the duo and overflows with some very smart but really mean lyrics about how low down you can go, whether you care, possibly wishing you were dead and how do you get rid of the pain. This is tough stuff. Fuzz, wah-wah, echo and even feedback are deftly employed to this end.
Nevertheless, the lead track 'Tip My Hat' hits a more cheerful note in which Carla wraps her voice around you with smooth promises of love and you are left to decide whether she means it or not. The same ambiguity of lyric crops up everywhere and echoes the dark sentiment of the album. In 'Stubborn Child', Jamie gets to sing about the doctor who tried to deal with his youthful lows and on 'She Comes to Me' pain, clouds and rain pervade the issue of how well you really know someone. In 'Suite 136', the duo give a sideways look at the role of church and alcohol in alleviating all that stuff that can mess your head when your down. This track also sees Jamie really strutting his stuff, showing us how he can really fly with his guitar and what talent he has. The final up-beat piece '1234' intimates that they may just have some answers to some of these problems - perhaps moving on from "can't take no more" - and it appropriately ends with a gleeful cackle from the pair of them.
This is a really interesting, highly original and exciting piece of work. It is a great balancing act between cynicism and hope. These five tracks demonstrate not only how talented they are as musicians but it also shows how they are able to write lyrics that are amusing and clever but also take a grown-up and demanding look at situations that can beset us all. Due to be released late January.
Northsyde - The Storyteller's Daughter
Northsyde - The Storyteller's Daughter
Anyone who has seen this band live will know that together, they have that ability to lift a whole room into another stratosphere and front lady Lorna Fothergill can both strip the paint from the walls and hold you close and whisper in your ear. To translate that onto an album is not easy but this has to be one of the best vocal led blues-rock releases of 2013. There is so much to like about it and there is not a track on it that disappoints.
The formula for their success is obvious. Firstly, it is clear that this is a tight, solid collective of brilliant musicians who have paid their dues and who think as one. With Ian Mauricio and Hayden Doyle at the back - so close that you can't separate them with the proverbial Rizla - and the stunningly talented guitarist Jules Fothergill conjuring solos, rhythms and fills from nowhere, Lorna's raw and beautifully powerful voice is given the perfect platform to fly free and unfettered.
And then there are the lyrics. Apparently all crafted by Lorna they are incredibly smart and tell compelling, sometimes bitter sad stories many of which, if you have ever been in a one-sided relationship, will have you nodding a knowing glance at your past. Sometimes, the sentiment feels so angry you want to clap in agreement. The outburst on 'Chicken Shit' reminds me very much of the Marianne Faithful/Keith Richard fiercesome attack song “Why'd Ya Do It?” But it is not all sad despair and as the title track says, sometimes 'you can catch her with her guard down and her head on straight'. So. Fine band. Brilliant lyrics.
And then there are Jules and Lorna. So well crafted are the arrangements that you only first notice Jules' brilliance when he opens up and lets go in 'Spinhead' and later he is given the freedom of the six minute track 'Messing Around'' to show just how spellbinding and soulful the guitar can be. Echoes here of Jim Mullen at the top of his game.
And then there is The Voice. Having seen her live, I try and refrain from making comparisons. (Lorna can sing Janis, Plant, Amy, AC/DC, anybody - check Youtube). The blues/rock music scene is currently blessed with some fine female singers but Lorna's voice is unique and this album shows exactly how powerful, raw and sensitive a top class singer can be when she has the right material and some fine musicians around her..
Go get this album. I lived in a road called Northside for fifteen years....it was never this exciting...
Anyone who has seen this band live will know that together, they have that ability to lift a whole room into another stratosphere and front lady Lorna Fothergill can both strip the paint from the walls and hold you close and whisper in your ear. To translate that onto an album is not easy but this has to be one of the best vocal led blues-rock releases of 2013. There is so much to like about it and there is not a track on it that disappoints.
The formula for their success is obvious. Firstly, it is clear that this is a tight, solid collective of brilliant musicians who have paid their dues and who think as one. With Ian Mauricio and Hayden Doyle at the back - so close that you can't separate them with the proverbial Rizla - and the stunningly talented guitarist Jules Fothergill conjuring solos, rhythms and fills from nowhere, Lorna's raw and beautifully powerful voice is given the perfect platform to fly free and unfettered.
And then there are the lyrics. Apparently all crafted by Lorna they are incredibly smart and tell compelling, sometimes bitter sad stories many of which, if you have ever been in a one-sided relationship, will have you nodding a knowing glance at your past. Sometimes, the sentiment feels so angry you want to clap in agreement. The outburst on 'Chicken Shit' reminds me very much of the Marianne Faithful/Keith Richard fiercesome attack song “Why'd Ya Do It?” But it is not all sad despair and as the title track says, sometimes 'you can catch her with her guard down and her head on straight'. So. Fine band. Brilliant lyrics.
And then there are Jules and Lorna. So well crafted are the arrangements that you only first notice Jules' brilliance when he opens up and lets go in 'Spinhead' and later he is given the freedom of the six minute track 'Messing Around'' to show just how spellbinding and soulful the guitar can be. Echoes here of Jim Mullen at the top of his game.
And then there is The Voice. Having seen her live, I try and refrain from making comparisons. (Lorna can sing Janis, Plant, Amy, AC/DC, anybody - check Youtube). The blues/rock music scene is currently blessed with some fine female singers but Lorna's voice is unique and this album shows exactly how powerful, raw and sensitive a top class singer can be when she has the right material and some fine musicians around her..
Go get this album. I lived in a road called Northside for fifteen years....it was never this exciting...
Mississippi MacDonald and The Cotton Mouth Kings - American Accent
With their second studio album 'American Accent' Mississippi MacDonald and the Cottonmouth Kings have produced an elegant classic.
Apparently conceived as a musical voyage from Chicago to The South, this is a terrific showcase for Mississippi as he supplements his usual core band with piano, Hammond and occasional backing vocals. He tells an interesting and absorbing story as he moves from acoustic to electric and back and Rossco blues winds his cool Sonny Terry riffs around the tracks.
There is some real stand-out music on here. The title track 'American Accent' is a wonderful sly look at the cosmetic need to sing with an American accent if you want to get a radio play and the lyrics reference all those echoes from our youth, including Dylan. In true Bob fashion the track lasts nearly ten minutes taking us from quiet finger pick to the wonderful full house electric and wrap-around Hammond finish.
Mississippi is of course known for his straight forward belief in the need for authenticity in traditional blues and the whole album trip bears that out. The soulful 'If I could only hear my mother pray again' takes us directly back to church gospel with his vocal playing against some brilliant rollin' and strollin' piano from Adam King, while on the beautifully ironic 'You said you were leaving' we are back in the familiar blues land of dodgy morality lyrics and sad singing guitar.Every track takes you some place new and you want to stay and listen.
Here is an album that not only demonstrates great musical skill and talent but is full of single tracks that all have something to say – and that doesn't happen very often. This is one of the best albums of 2015 so far. Mississippi has been under the radar for far too long. American Accent should change that.
Apparently conceived as a musical voyage from Chicago to The South, this is a terrific showcase for Mississippi as he supplements his usual core band with piano, Hammond and occasional backing vocals. He tells an interesting and absorbing story as he moves from acoustic to electric and back and Rossco blues winds his cool Sonny Terry riffs around the tracks.There is some real stand-out music on here. The title track 'American Accent' is a wonderful sly look at the cosmetic need to sing with an American accent if you want to get a radio play and the lyrics reference all those echoes from our youth, including Dylan. In true Bob fashion the track lasts nearly ten minutes taking us from quiet finger pick to the wonderful full house electric and wrap-around Hammond finish.
Mississippi is of course known for his straight forward belief in the need for authenticity in traditional blues and the whole album trip bears that out. The soulful 'If I could only hear my mother pray again' takes us directly back to church gospel with his vocal playing against some brilliant rollin' and strollin' piano from Adam King, while on the beautifully ironic 'You said you were leaving' we are back in the familiar blues land of dodgy morality lyrics and sad singing guitar.Every track takes you some place new and you want to stay and listen.
Here is an album that not only demonstrates great musical skill and talent but is full of single tracks that all have something to say – and that doesn't happen very often. This is one of the best albums of 2015 so far. Mississippi has been under the radar for far too long. American Accent should change that.
Eddie Martin: The Blues Took Me By The Hand
Sadly, the front or back porch is something that doesn't really figure in British architecture but if you had one, that would be the best place to pull up your favourite easy chair and listen to this evocative album. Although there are only a couple of covers included - the rest being self-penned - Eddie Martin's new album 'The Blues Took me By The Hand' in turn takes the listener by the hand and leads you down a wonderful acoustic blues-lined sometimes sweet, sometimes raw and mean avenue of superb classic blues.Eddie has already released thirteen albums and this is the first part of a two album retrospective - the second to be electric based. Apparently, he even took the risky democratic step of canvassing his thousand of fans to get a view on what to reprise. You may know him as a One Man Band, his spectacular harp playing, or fronting a trio or quartet or a big band complete with horn section. Eddie has been a travelling man and as well as hard touring for twenty years or more around Europe, he has paid his dues elsewhere, living in Texas and gigging in Beal Street, Memphis and Clarksdale Mississippi. All those influences have been absorbed and many are evident here from from Broonzy to Barrel House and Beyond. Everything about this retrospective has a nostalgic and authentic feel and yet, weirdly, there is nothing here more than a couple of decades old.
The opening and title track gets straight on with the job in both mood and location and by using a double bass and having the brilliant piano of Paddy Milner rolling and barrelling along with him (on this and some other tracks) this kinda defines the rest of the album. Quickly followed by the highly traditional 'Keep on Working', we know where he is coming from. There are many examples here of his huge talent as a musician with both guitar slide and pick as well as harp and the album also underlines his ability and versatility as a song-writer. He moves from the rollicking driving lick of 'Kind Lady Moon', the subtle bossa nova of of 'Month of Mondays' with its plaintive harp and the atmospheric 'Gone away to Canada'. If you want to hear his distinctive voice in serious action go straight to his splendid cover of 'Key to The Highway'.
Having a look-back album can be a risky business. The pop chart remainder bins are full of them. Eddie has shown here that if you have such a huge back catalogue of top quality stuff then the hard bit is deciding what to leave out. This is good proper original acoustic blues. Looking forward to the electric album due in November.
The Little Devils: The Storm Inside
Over many years, The Hat has never offered up stars, ratings or any other daft gradings to music he gets to listen to, see or review. There are good reasons for this, the most obvious being that it is not 'Strictly Come Dancing' so what the hell does a 'reviewer' do when they have imperiously handed out a 'Ten' – and something better comes along – invent an Eleven? Nah.This terrific album is a fine example....The Little Devils recent release 'The Storm Inside' is a classic candidate for re-writing the ratings rule book - if I had one. This is a passionate, powerful, clever and beautifully executed album with the mix of superb vocals, lyrics, musicianship and arrangements coming together in a way that would put any rating system into meltdown in every department. The whole album journey concept of 14 tracks is well-ordered and interesting.
Making a name for themselves on the 2014 festival circuit, this is apparently the first album that last year's 'live' line-up of musicians have collaborated on and despite the transition from live to studio CD - which is always a hard trick to pull off - it works with huge success. The mix is terrific. On some levels, it is a like a festival performance. On the one hand, there are some foot-stomping pieces and on the other there is much that is heart-rendingly sad and thoughtful. It would be difficult to find a single track on this album that could not be put straight onto a live performance stage and yet the production allows an intimacy that can be beamed straight into your own stereo. This band has presence. It would take too much space to give all these tracks the proper respect. There is a bit of blues here plus some soul, a tiny touch of country, a bit of shed-a-tear and some kick-off-your shoes. But, above all, pay attention to the lyrics.
There is no avoiding the power of Yoka Qureshi's deliverance of the potent lyrics – and the song-writing, all penned by Ray Qureshi and Graeme Wheatley, is top quality. Yoka sings on them all but for one track where there is a left-field transfer of responsibilities - in 'Long Time Ago' and Graeme gets the wistful lyrics while Yoka (wearing her Roland Kirk hat no doubt) stands up front with her beautiful ethereal flute. It is difficult to avoid the directness and pain of some of the songs, and the killer soul that Yoka brings to a number like the much lauded 'Deep Inside', amongst others, could barely be matched by Dusty Springfield at her finest, saddest and bluesy best. Many of the song constructions are interesting too - in that they use the device of a chorus repeat as an integral part of the song, sometimes to underline the sentiment set out before and on other occasions to offer a redemptive counterpoint to to an earlier cry of sadness or reflection.
But let's not over-think this.. All four in this band are clearly hugely accomplished, with Yoka adding quite brilliant haunting flute and saxophone to great effect while Big Ray's guitar, even when letting loose, dovetails economically into every arrangement in a perfect partnership. Graeme Wheatley's bass and Sara Leigh Shaw's drumming never put a beat out of place and it is nice to hear them given a bit of space when the number permits.
Curiously, the album opens with a very short haunting guitar track, 'Storm Warning', offering up a desolate Cooder style slide, harp and cool vocal - and you wonder where that is going to lead you. Well, as the title suggests, this is a stormy journey, but we are in safe hands. They take us through some sad stuff delivered with passion and feeling and not a little humour. This is an outstanding album and the Little Devils have put down a substantial claim-marker to be one of the high flyers of 2015. Forget the star rating. Just go and buy it.
Jo Harman: Found A Place
Jo Harman: Found A Place
You would need to have a heart made of reinforced concrete not to be totally entranced and taken over by this stunning new piece of work from Jo Harman.
An EP entitled 'Found A Place', it apparently started out as something of a studio experiment, but developed into a fans only 'thank-you' album to those who have loyally followed this exceptional singer from her first ventures, club and festival gigs, through her majestic debut album 'Dirt On My Tongue' and now as she prepares for a follow-up to be be recorded stateside next year.
This is a beautifully produced stripped-back affair where Jo's close-up voice (the production is such that you can almost touch the breathing and phrasing) clutches you from the very first note of the very first poignant track 'Lend Me Your Love' and will not let go until the fade of the last number. If you have ever been lucky enough to have seen Jo live you will know how demonstrative she is on stage. I saw her many years ago totally absorbing the high vaulted acoustics of an old chapel like a lightning conductor – so to be able to retain that electric magic in a studio, as she does, is a sure sign of the emotional power of her distinctive voice.
Jo has always been surrounded by top class musicians and one of the things that make this album so impressive is the way their classy presence - particularly the oh-so-delicate piano (Mark Edwards) and string arrangements – is so beautifully dovetailed into the songs that they are barely noticeable. In consequence, the voice, quite rightly, has nowhere to hide. One of the covers on the album, Jo's absolutely heart-breaking rendition of the Michael McDonald song 'I Can Let Go Now' is a fine example of the subtlety of the accompaniments, even when she is reaching out with increased volume and passion. This track alone would make a best-selling single but everything on here is a fabulous demonstration of her ability to get right to the core of a song and imbue it with her own distinctive magic.
I don't care if Jo sings the blues or ballads or boogies to some swing. What has become clear over the years is that her voice is an extraordinary, unique, powerful and emotional blessing. It is obvious that she totally engages with her material, wherever it comes from – and if you get this album, I guarantee you will find it difficult not to take that emotive journey with her. A wonderful piece of world class artistry.
You would need to have a heart made of reinforced concrete not to be totally entranced and taken over by this stunning new piece of work from Jo Harman.
An EP entitled 'Found A Place', it apparently started out as something of a studio experiment, but developed into a fans only 'thank-you' album to those who have loyally followed this exceptional singer from her first ventures, club and festival gigs, through her majestic debut album 'Dirt On My Tongue' and now as she prepares for a follow-up to be be recorded stateside next year.
This is a beautifully produced stripped-back affair where Jo's close-up voice (the production is such that you can almost touch the breathing and phrasing) clutches you from the very first note of the very first poignant track 'Lend Me Your Love' and will not let go until the fade of the last number. If you have ever been lucky enough to have seen Jo live you will know how demonstrative she is on stage. I saw her many years ago totally absorbing the high vaulted acoustics of an old chapel like a lightning conductor – so to be able to retain that electric magic in a studio, as she does, is a sure sign of the emotional power of her distinctive voice.
Jo has always been surrounded by top class musicians and one of the things that make this album so impressive is the way their classy presence - particularly the oh-so-delicate piano (Mark Edwards) and string arrangements – is so beautifully dovetailed into the songs that they are barely noticeable. In consequence, the voice, quite rightly, has nowhere to hide. One of the covers on the album, Jo's absolutely heart-breaking rendition of the Michael McDonald song 'I Can Let Go Now' is a fine example of the subtlety of the accompaniments, even when she is reaching out with increased volume and passion. This track alone would make a best-selling single but everything on here is a fabulous demonstration of her ability to get right to the core of a song and imbue it with her own distinctive magic.
I don't care if Jo sings the blues or ballads or boogies to some swing. What has become clear over the years is that her voice is an extraordinary, unique, powerful and emotional blessing. It is obvious that she totally engages with her material, wherever it comes from – and if you get this album, I guarantee you will find it difficult not to take that emotive journey with her. A wonderful piece of world class artistry.
Jocks Juke Joint - Three Compilation Albums 2012/13
Jocks Juke Joint - Three Compilation Albums 2012/13
Not a lot of people know that The Hat is a direct descendant of a fearsome and very successful clan of murdering Border Reivers, Raiders and cattle thieves. By rights, I should be living in Stobs Castle, Roxburgh, wearing my rare blue family clan tartan and drinking proper drink. This quite reasonable aspiration was sadly thwarted because in 1712 some ungrateful and churlish wretch burned down My Castle and most of the legal records of My Rightful Inheritance. I mention this, not to unnerve you with my impressive lineage, but to add credence to my observations on a recent piece of Scottish musical history.
Even if you have only a passing interest in the background of any of our much loved music and how it came to be archived, you will probably know that Alan Lomax was one of the greatest of American folk and blues music collectors. Similarly, Cecil Sharp was the extraordinary man who collected our huge inheritance of English folk music. The wonderful title 'Songhunter' was attached to these two and many more dedicated individuals who painstakingly collected names, music, lyrics, dates and recordings,so that we, in the future, could enjoy what they found before it disappeared for ever.
With the arrival of the internet, digital storage and compact recording equipment, this task is now made much easier but it is still a rare breed that does the job thoroughly and makes it easier for the rest of us. One such riveting example of how important this is and how exciting it can be when it is put together with care and love is the recent Jocks Juke Joint trilogy comprising three discs crammed to overflowing with a stunning cross section of the contemporary Scottish blues community.
Kick-started with a fire-in-the-belly passion and enthusiasm by Nick and Lewis Hamilton and Duncan Beattie, it is easy to see how the project took off and developed a life of its own. You can understand how the mad meetings and the back of an envelope notions caught the imagination of the artists and turned into an internet-led success. Every musician, singer and song writer clearly gave it their all - as eager publicists as well as artists. The seed of a smart idea grew rapidly into a national and international viral sensation with thousands of hits. The first album was launched to great acclaim in September 2012 and amazingly, was followed just a few months later by the second. Spring 2013 saw the launch of the third album. Somehow, they have gathered together fifty three tracks full of surprises and thrills covering everything from electric and acoustic to folk blues and even a bit of swing. The reviews are consistently warm and supportive.
What was particularly encouraging about the reception given to the project was the way the reviewers and internet stations got behind it – not simply because it is a Great Listen, but also because it represented, possibly for the first time, a serious coming together of a significant collection of Scottish blues music and a major acknowledgement of a traditional depth of Scottish talent where amongst others, Tam White, Alex Harvey and Frankie Miller have proudly led.
The Hat has previously wondered out loud about the value of compilation albums. Often they are simply a re-run of the 'best of' with a few 'make-weights' thrown in to make up the numbers. The JukeJoint project is different, not only because its long arm reaches right into the heart of the blues in Scotland; not only because it is hot, exciting and contemporary but particularly because its driving forces have, in putting it all together, managed to follow in the footsteps of Lomax and Sharp and have carefully documented and recorded for us a classic moment in Scottish blues history. You have to agree that took some nerve, ambition and imagination... I'll raise a dram or two to that...
Not a lot of people know that The Hat is a direct descendant of a fearsome and very successful clan of murdering Border Reivers, Raiders and cattle thieves. By rights, I should be living in Stobs Castle, Roxburgh, wearing my rare blue family clan tartan and drinking proper drink. This quite reasonable aspiration was sadly thwarted because in 1712 some ungrateful and churlish wretch burned down My Castle and most of the legal records of My Rightful Inheritance. I mention this, not to unnerve you with my impressive lineage, but to add credence to my observations on a recent piece of Scottish musical history.
Even if you have only a passing interest in the background of any of our much loved music and how it came to be archived, you will probably know that Alan Lomax was one of the greatest of American folk and blues music collectors. Similarly, Cecil Sharp was the extraordinary man who collected our huge inheritance of English folk music. The wonderful title 'Songhunter' was attached to these two and many more dedicated individuals who painstakingly collected names, music, lyrics, dates and recordings,so that we, in the future, could enjoy what they found before it disappeared for ever.
With the arrival of the internet, digital storage and compact recording equipment, this task is now made much easier but it is still a rare breed that does the job thoroughly and makes it easier for the rest of us. One such riveting example of how important this is and how exciting it can be when it is put together with care and love is the recent Jocks Juke Joint trilogy comprising three discs crammed to overflowing with a stunning cross section of the contemporary Scottish blues community.
Kick-started with a fire-in-the-belly passion and enthusiasm by Nick and Lewis Hamilton and Duncan Beattie, it is easy to see how the project took off and developed a life of its own. You can understand how the mad meetings and the back of an envelope notions caught the imagination of the artists and turned into an internet-led success. Every musician, singer and song writer clearly gave it their all - as eager publicists as well as artists. The seed of a smart idea grew rapidly into a national and international viral sensation with thousands of hits. The first album was launched to great acclaim in September 2012 and amazingly, was followed just a few months later by the second. Spring 2013 saw the launch of the third album. Somehow, they have gathered together fifty three tracks full of surprises and thrills covering everything from electric and acoustic to folk blues and even a bit of swing. The reviews are consistently warm and supportive.
What was particularly encouraging about the reception given to the project was the way the reviewers and internet stations got behind it – not simply because it is a Great Listen, but also because it represented, possibly for the first time, a serious coming together of a significant collection of Scottish blues music and a major acknowledgement of a traditional depth of Scottish talent where amongst others, Tam White, Alex Harvey and Frankie Miller have proudly led.
The Hat has previously wondered out loud about the value of compilation albums. Often they are simply a re-run of the 'best of' with a few 'make-weights' thrown in to make up the numbers. The JukeJoint project is different, not only because its long arm reaches right into the heart of the blues in Scotland; not only because it is hot, exciting and contemporary but particularly because its driving forces have, in putting it all together, managed to follow in the footsteps of Lomax and Sharp and have carefully documented and recorded for us a classic moment in Scottish blues history. You have to agree that took some nerve, ambition and imagination... I'll raise a dram or two to that...
Half Deaf Clatch: The Life and Death of A.J Rail
I first caught Half Deaf Clatch live a year or so ago when he was riding high on the success of his terrific album 'A Road less Travelled'. It was, to coin a HatPhrase, 'true blues and no messin'. In his new album The Life and Death of A.J Rail, he is back on that dust road and has conjured up a charming, wry and raw tale of one man's journey long ago in the deep south.His hero is a bit of a fatalist, resigned to his lot and as such, Clatch picks up on and sings about all the tough grittiness and injustices of a hard life. However, the evocative lyrics of the whole album take that shrug-of-the-shoulders stoical stance that is so very familiar of the whole chapter of tough blues that came out of the deep south at the time. There is always hope. The sentiment is 'Yep. It's hard but that's the way it is...I ain't complaining, I'm dealing with it'.
It may be no accident that Rail is an anagram of Liar and in our mind's eye perhaps the guy sitting on the porch with his guitar, banjo and ready audience may be getting just a bit fanciful with his stories. Tracks about the 1927 Flood and the 1930s drought tell of the river rising and hard, hard times and throughout we hear – in, for example, 'Singing with Old Scratch', 'Old Time Soul' and Make Your Own Way', his complaint that his life means nothing to him and that you 'shouldn't believe in nothin'. One suspects that they are meant to play on the listener's sympathy in the way that many old bluesmen before him have done and one recalls the infamous blues/folk singer Abner Jay who was often economical with the truth. There is the familiar 'Boneyard Bound' message - the Final Gig – and of course, there comes the warning that 'you can't outsmart The Reaper'...and there's The End. Ok Rail, thanks for the tip-off.
We have to wait for the title hooked song 'The Ballad of A J Rail' until we get the inevitable meeting with the Devil at the Crossroads. This is a great atmospheric track. The Devil appears in a 'strange red glow'; the soul is handed over with a shrug - 'I won't need my soul' and in a nice twist, Rail figures aloud that singing in Hell ain't so bad a deal. There is also a delightfully optimistic track 'Boxcar Bulldogs', where we share the boxcar jumpers dream that maybe one day he'll get to Paris, France and all will be ok.
Throughout, Clatch's clear and uncluttered picking and occasional resonating slide hit exactly the right economical and unobtrusive note. There are some subtle storm effects and over-dubs slipped into the production and on a couple of tracks, the banjo is well employed to emphasise the down-home feel. Across it all, his rasping, sometime growling vocals hold us firmly in their raw deep southern story grasp.
This is an accomplished and thoughtful blues and roots concept album crafted by a fine musician and story-teller. Some of you will know that Blind Willie Johnson's track 'Dark is The Night' is out in deep space somewhere playing for ever on a Voyager satellite. I'd like to think that sometime in the future, A.J Rail will still be telling his story somewhere in the universe. In the multi-faceted history of the blues, this album is a classy reminder of where much of it started – and long may it continue...
Tony Devenport: Back in The Land of The Living
I first stumbled across Tony Devenport when he played a live set last year on the famous Raven boat on the Thames when, amongst other things, he delivered a stunning version of the Thin Lizzy classic 'Still In Love With You'. You must catch this here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2Y6w2oWjZ8 and you will get my drift when I talk about 'the voice'.This five track Cd, which is presented as an eloquent dedication to his late father, is all about the Voice. His accomplished album 'Concrete Bound', released last year, got far less attention than it deserved and it is to be hoped that this CD, which is already getting some good air-play puts that to rights. Tony's voice on here is pretty special.
What you hear is a very raw and soulful vocal talent. His apparent early influences, Sam Cooke and Bill Withers would be proud he has picked up the torch and carries it with such style. There is pain and grit and every kind of emotion as he delivers some stylish and poignant lyrics. The clever accompanying arrangements, with both plaintive and feisty guitar,bass and drums, never intrude and provide the perfect platform for whatis a compelling and experienced soaked voice.
Devenport's biog hints of some tough times and a life of some knocks and one suspects that it is this colour that has brought him to this point in his career. He has served his dues over a long musical life and clearly worked with some major talent, both musicians and song-writers. He appeared to great acclaim at the Blues on The Farm festival last year and it seems that he is now, after a long time in the shadows, emerging, quite rightly onto centre stage. This CD has put down a solid marker for a serious talent.
Robert Cray: In My Soul
Robert Cray: In My Soul
Over the years The Hat has taken many opportunities to see Robert Cray perform live both in the UK and in the USA and I slowly determined over the years that there were actually two Mr Crays. One was the intense, powerful and moving soulful blues man who could hold an audience in his hand and take them wheresoever he chose and the other was the hang-loose festival performer, shaking it all up on stage with his mates and some extrovert joyful abandon.
On reflection, it not that difficult to understand. Cray has always been something of an enigma as a public performer and those who first came to him as a blues player often see him as a 'Marmite' character. Apart from eschewing virtually all effects boxes and the sometime irritating habit of having his techy changing or re-tuning his guitars after every number, Cray has always insisted on
ploughing his own furrow and trying not to compromise for the sake of sales and popularity.
This is not a blues album although it has Cray's blues credentials all over it. This is wonderful laid-back sometime retro soul. Produced by the experienced and acclaimed Steve Jordan (who as well as playing on some of the tracks, many of you will know from the John Mayer Trio and his fun stuff with Keith Richards famous Winos), it has a lean, spare and haunting soul atmosphere mostly throughout.
Cray is reported as saying that on this (his seventeenth) studio album the emphasis is on the story of the song and in an album of eight self-penned and three covers, the clarity of his voice is paramount. With an instrumental nod to Booker T in 'Hip Tight Onions' and covering Otis Redding, Lou Rawls and the fabulous Bobby Bland number 'Deep in My Soul' - which gives the album its title number - it is, for The Hat, the self-penned stuff that gives the album its real appeal. While in the slow and melodic 'What would you say' Cray is on familiar political ground, the opening 'You Move Me' and 'You're Everything' and 'Hold On' he is back talkin' 'bout love and its power. Those three in particular have a potency that will appeal to the romantic in all of us. I'm guessing that the 'Fine Yesterday' track will become a radio play favourite. Not only does it feature Cray's beautiful clean guitar and voice, the quizzical lyrics will take you straight back to the classic sixties soul era and you will once again understand why this multi Grammy award winner is able both to sneak up on us from left field and still be brilliantly entertaining. This is a superb album and Cray fans will be delighted to know that he is coming to the UK in the next few weeks.....
Over the years The Hat has taken many opportunities to see Robert Cray perform live both in the UK and in the USA and I slowly determined over the years that there were actually two Mr Crays. One was the intense, powerful and moving soulful blues man who could hold an audience in his hand and take them wheresoever he chose and the other was the hang-loose festival performer, shaking it all up on stage with his mates and some extrovert joyful abandon.
On reflection, it not that difficult to understand. Cray has always been something of an enigma as a public performer and those who first came to him as a blues player often see him as a 'Marmite' character. Apart from eschewing virtually all effects boxes and the sometime irritating habit of having his techy changing or re-tuning his guitars after every number, Cray has always insisted on
ploughing his own furrow and trying not to compromise for the sake of sales and popularity.
This is not a blues album although it has Cray's blues credentials all over it. This is wonderful laid-back sometime retro soul. Produced by the experienced and acclaimed Steve Jordan (who as well as playing on some of the tracks, many of you will know from the John Mayer Trio and his fun stuff with Keith Richards famous Winos), it has a lean, spare and haunting soul atmosphere mostly throughout.
Cray is reported as saying that on this (his seventeenth) studio album the emphasis is on the story of the song and in an album of eight self-penned and three covers, the clarity of his voice is paramount. With an instrumental nod to Booker T in 'Hip Tight Onions' and covering Otis Redding, Lou Rawls and the fabulous Bobby Bland number 'Deep in My Soul' - which gives the album its title number - it is, for The Hat, the self-penned stuff that gives the album its real appeal. While in the slow and melodic 'What would you say' Cray is on familiar political ground, the opening 'You Move Me' and 'You're Everything' and 'Hold On' he is back talkin' 'bout love and its power. Those three in particular have a potency that will appeal to the romantic in all of us. I'm guessing that the 'Fine Yesterday' track will become a radio play favourite. Not only does it feature Cray's beautiful clean guitar and voice, the quizzical lyrics will take you straight back to the classic sixties soul era and you will once again understand why this multi Grammy award winner is able both to sneak up on us from left field and still be brilliantly entertaining. This is a superb album and Cray fans will be delighted to know that he is coming to the UK in the next few weeks.....
The California Honeydrops: The River's Invitation
The California Honeydrops: The River's Invitation
The California Honeydrops are about to release a fabulous, feel-good, fun-fest album of joyous musical partying. If you wanna dance, sing, groove and do some serious smiling - this is one you are going to have to buy. Every track absolutely insists there is no hiding place for wallflowers.
The Honeydrops have a wonderful musical back story which gives us all hope. Starting out busking on the streets of Oakland, they absorbed musical and vocal influences from the Californian club circuit, mainstream soul and jazz singers, funk, soul, blues roots and rhythms and slowly found themselves occupying that much coveted place called Original - with a style that is as vibrant and energetic as it is creative. Subsequently, having done their time and learned their chops and with several tours under their belt and supporting roles with BB, Buddy Guy, Alan Toussaint and Dr John they have now produced their fifth album 'A River's Invitation'. It illustrates, with some panache, that they have lost nothing of their brilliant street vibe on their musical journey.
The opening title track, 'A River's Invitation' leaves you in no doubt as to what's in store. If you listen to this in decent stereo then two things happen. Firstly you are grabbed by the brilliant balance, production and inventiveness of some really complex arrangements – there is a part for everyone and everyone plays a part, coming at you from all sides - and then, for a moment you wonder whether Sam Cooke had popped in a session. Central to the whole album is the voice of the band founder, Lech Wierzynski (yep, he's Polish but flushed through with southern drawl) which just oozes that clean and pure soul influence. It's all there from Memphis soul to eighties funk. He is also a professional trumpeter and the swinging brass influenced arrangements on a number of tracks are central to the feel-good nature of the album.
There are some really beautifully arranged, subtle and interesting keys on the album, clever backing vocal fills and even the melodica gets to star. As if to highlight this band's terrific range, I can point you to three consecutive stand-out tracks: 'Cry Baby Blues' and 'Jolie' followed by 'Crazy Girls' where they manage effortlessly to move from cool blues via an up-tempo reggae beat to an almost fever pitch, brass led gospel swing. Wow – you would have to be tied up not to leap up and throw some shapes to that lot....!
This a great sound blast of an album, difficult to resist its stomping charm, difficult not to admire its musicianship and above all, difficult not to wave your arms and shake your booty. Out soon, go get.
The California Honeydrops are about to release a fabulous, feel-good, fun-fest album of joyous musical partying. If you wanna dance, sing, groove and do some serious smiling - this is one you are going to have to buy. Every track absolutely insists there is no hiding place for wallflowers.
The Honeydrops have a wonderful musical back story which gives us all hope. Starting out busking on the streets of Oakland, they absorbed musical and vocal influences from the Californian club circuit, mainstream soul and jazz singers, funk, soul, blues roots and rhythms and slowly found themselves occupying that much coveted place called Original - with a style that is as vibrant and energetic as it is creative. Subsequently, having done their time and learned their chops and with several tours under their belt and supporting roles with BB, Buddy Guy, Alan Toussaint and Dr John they have now produced their fifth album 'A River's Invitation'. It illustrates, with some panache, that they have lost nothing of their brilliant street vibe on their musical journey.
The opening title track, 'A River's Invitation' leaves you in no doubt as to what's in store. If you listen to this in decent stereo then two things happen. Firstly you are grabbed by the brilliant balance, production and inventiveness of some really complex arrangements – there is a part for everyone and everyone plays a part, coming at you from all sides - and then, for a moment you wonder whether Sam Cooke had popped in a session. Central to the whole album is the voice of the band founder, Lech Wierzynski (yep, he's Polish but flushed through with southern drawl) which just oozes that clean and pure soul influence. It's all there from Memphis soul to eighties funk. He is also a professional trumpeter and the swinging brass influenced arrangements on a number of tracks are central to the feel-good nature of the album.
There are some really beautifully arranged, subtle and interesting keys on the album, clever backing vocal fills and even the melodica gets to star. As if to highlight this band's terrific range, I can point you to three consecutive stand-out tracks: 'Cry Baby Blues' and 'Jolie' followed by 'Crazy Girls' where they manage effortlessly to move from cool blues via an up-tempo reggae beat to an almost fever pitch, brass led gospel swing. Wow – you would have to be tied up not to leap up and throw some shapes to that lot....!
This a great sound blast of an album, difficult to resist its stomping charm, difficult not to admire its musicianship and above all, difficult not to wave your arms and shake your booty. Out soon, go get.
Paul Butler: Cities Made of Gold
In another profession Paul Butler would be known as a sleeper. He was there. He disappeared and decades later he emerges from the shadows, still fully formed, totally professional and delivering the goods. He first crossed my horizon in the distinguished company of Stan Webb at the end of the 70s (one of the many Chicken Shack line-ups) but he was well known before that for fronting the British Blues Band Jellybread and his work with the famed drummer Keef Hartley. Recordings with BB King and Mike Vernon are also part of his back list. And then... like so many talents, struggling for a foothold in the shambolic music business at that time...he decided that he should give it a rest. Thankfully for us, in 2009 he picked up his guitar again and in 2013 produced his well received CD 'Days Will Come'.The new CD 'Cities Made of Gold', released this month is a terrific example of how, even after decades of absence, a talent steeped in such a technicolour musical history can still produce a fascinating mix of blues tinged tracks that keep you absorbed from beginning to end. As a bonus, the album is overflowing with nods to musical influences and styles.
With the very first notes of the very first track 'Just One Bite' he has you brassing your way back into New Orleans - maybe walking behind the coffin - whilst Paul ironically reflects on being in love with a vampire. As a storyteller, - and many of these tracks are tales of some dark life – Paul Butler has the perfect cool lived-in blues voice.
The arrangements are first class and he has some pretty accomplished musicians with him, notably Pete Wingfield on piano and Tammy Rogers on violin. The piano strides centrally in the up-tempo and atmospheric house party 'I remember Mabel' where some female backing singers join in the fun. By dramatic contrast, the very next track, the terrific 'Can't Make That Call' could have been produced by Dylan at his saddest and most mellow. In another side-step 'She Runs with the Foxes' took The Hat straight back to the Hot Club de Paris. Tammy's violin dives and slides while the guitar teases with some Django full chords. Loved it.
This is a first-rate album and you should get it on your listen list. It is certainly different. Pretty rootsy rather than bluesy but there are any number of really thoughtful tracks on here, displaying the talent to advantage – brass arrangements, some mellifluous picking on the title track, delicate slide, mandolin, harp and even some steel pan gets a look-in. It is good to see Paul Butler back in business.
Dan Burnett: The EP
Dan Burnett: The EP
Brilliant high profile UK front line keyboard soloists like Paddy Milner, Ben Waters and Dale Storr are becoming as rare as hen's teeth, so when a good one comes along we must nurture him or her. One such is Dan Burnett who has just released a four track EP, his first, that gives a glimpse of what he can do. Bear with me a moment.
There was a time, not too long ago, when the single keyboard or piano man was a star - particularly in the jazz world where names like Erroll Garner, Earl Hines, Keith Jarrett and Art Tatum abounded. Later, Dr John, Professor Longhair, James Booker and Fats Domino covered another corner and then the rockers Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard did things with the keys that most of us can only dream about. Piano crossed into the mainstream without pausing for breath.
But that was then and now they are becoming more of a rarity. After the dozens of early blues pianists faded out of ear-shot (when did you last hear a track from Memphis Slim or Otis Spann?) and their music gets played less and less there has been a sad lack of British soloists. The talented keyboard players are out there of course but they tend these days to be subsumed by the band they are in. One of Pink Floyd's worst kept secrets was the brilliance of Rick Wright and the fabulous Jonny Dyke tends only to reach a wide audience with Matt Taylor's Motives – and you will certainly know of many others performing spectacularly behind a flamboyant frontman.
The Hat first saw Dan Burnett and reviewed him doing a solo live set at the final Hebden Bridge Blues Festival last year. He smashed it. Subtle and innovative, using the whole keyboard, he left his mark as a talent to take note of. Of course he didn't just appear out of nowhere and he has served his time over many years supporting some major artists in both the UK and abroad.
Three of the four tracks on this EP have his group backing him. All of the songs are self-penned. He opens up with 'Happiest Man Alive' which showcases both his ability to lay down a nice funky upbeat groove and work an arrangement with a tight band. 'Before you go' is a dramatic change of mood, slow with some sumptuous brass and backing vocals which give the sad story lyrics a great platform. 'More Than You Deserve' gives full range to his bluesy voice and lets the band open up, with lots of inter-action across the drums, horns and guitar. Great number to get the audience off their seats and bopping.
The last, and stand-out track is 'You're Going To Shine'. Everything about this is quality. The lyrics and vocals are sublime and the keyboard work shows the subtlety of someone who is totally at home playing and singing solo. This is a beautifully written piece and it's worth downloading his EP just for this on its own.
I understand that this is Dan's first step towards a full album later in 2015. For my part, I would like to hear much more of his solo work without band support on the final album as his range is obviously substantial. Buy this EP - and make a note now - this guy is going to be around a long time.
Brilliant high profile UK front line keyboard soloists like Paddy Milner, Ben Waters and Dale Storr are becoming as rare as hen's teeth, so when a good one comes along we must nurture him or her. One such is Dan Burnett who has just released a four track EP, his first, that gives a glimpse of what he can do. Bear with me a moment.
There was a time, not too long ago, when the single keyboard or piano man was a star - particularly in the jazz world where names like Erroll Garner, Earl Hines, Keith Jarrett and Art Tatum abounded. Later, Dr John, Professor Longhair, James Booker and Fats Domino covered another corner and then the rockers Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard did things with the keys that most of us can only dream about. Piano crossed into the mainstream without pausing for breath.
But that was then and now they are becoming more of a rarity. After the dozens of early blues pianists faded out of ear-shot (when did you last hear a track from Memphis Slim or Otis Spann?) and their music gets played less and less there has been a sad lack of British soloists. The talented keyboard players are out there of course but they tend these days to be subsumed by the band they are in. One of Pink Floyd's worst kept secrets was the brilliance of Rick Wright and the fabulous Jonny Dyke tends only to reach a wide audience with Matt Taylor's Motives – and you will certainly know of many others performing spectacularly behind a flamboyant frontman.
The Hat first saw Dan Burnett and reviewed him doing a solo live set at the final Hebden Bridge Blues Festival last year. He smashed it. Subtle and innovative, using the whole keyboard, he left his mark as a talent to take note of. Of course he didn't just appear out of nowhere and he has served his time over many years supporting some major artists in both the UK and abroad.
Three of the four tracks on this EP have his group backing him. All of the songs are self-penned. He opens up with 'Happiest Man Alive' which showcases both his ability to lay down a nice funky upbeat groove and work an arrangement with a tight band. 'Before you go' is a dramatic change of mood, slow with some sumptuous brass and backing vocals which give the sad story lyrics a great platform. 'More Than You Deserve' gives full range to his bluesy voice and lets the band open up, with lots of inter-action across the drums, horns and guitar. Great number to get the audience off their seats and bopping.
The last, and stand-out track is 'You're Going To Shine'. Everything about this is quality. The lyrics and vocals are sublime and the keyboard work shows the subtlety of someone who is totally at home playing and singing solo. This is a beautifully written piece and it's worth downloading his EP just for this on its own.
I understand that this is Dan's first step towards a full album later in 2015. For my part, I would like to hear much more of his solo work without band support on the final album as his range is obviously substantial. Buy this EP - and make a note now - this guy is going to be around a long time.
Pete Brown & Phil Ryan: Perils of Wisdom
Pete Brown & Phil Ryan: Perils of Wisdom
This album came out eighteen months ago – but given that Pete is right now putting together the finishing touches to what promises to be a fascinating film based on and around his long career and his book 'White Rooms and Imaginary Westerns' – plus the fact that he recently delivered a well-received stonking live set at the Skegness Rock and Blues Festival, I thought it was well worth having a fresh listen.
Working again with long time collaborator, arranger and keyboard genius Phil Ryan, an old mate from his Piblokto band days, this album is a rich mixture of mainly jazz based numbers, laced with a bit of swing and an occasional laid back blues. The arrangements on this fusion of material are absolutely terrific and are the solid core making of the album with Phil's keyboard and the superb sax, trombone and horns frequently mixing it and overlapping with the sweet female backing vocals. Pete would be the first to admit to not having the biggest range or the most distinctive of voices, but as with all his stuff, this is as much about the lyrics as anything else and they are as strong and as interesting as ever. Whatever the project, Pete seems always to have been true to his roots of poetry and lyric.
Given that he set out over fifty years ago reading poetry in The Partisan coffee bar in Soho and segued through working with the beat poets, lyric writing with Jack Bruce and much other material for Cream, plus establishing himself as a sought-after record producer by others in the industry, it is great to see that he can still turn a lyric for himself.
As always, some of his stuff is ironic and humorous ..'Don't Want Nothing Old In My Life', some is wistful and mournful as with the poignant 'Eva's Blues' and - as you would perhaps expect from a long-time bolshie rebel - some can be angry and bitter.....as in ' Living In The Sleaz System'. For me though, everything comes together on the final track 'Go Down Fighting' where the stunning quality of the arrangement (every instrument breaking out a groove) shines through and Pete's lyrics...' we are only growing; when we come back we'll be really blowing' kick the track along to mean effect.
An interesting album that is in some ways a curate's egg of work with some tracks more notable than others. It reminded me briefly of the material jazzman Tony Kinsey did with the poet Christopher Logue in the sixties. Good jazz-based arrangements and fine words can work if they are fine tuned.
This album came out eighteen months ago – but given that Pete is right now putting together the finishing touches to what promises to be a fascinating film based on and around his long career and his book 'White Rooms and Imaginary Westerns' – plus the fact that he recently delivered a well-received stonking live set at the Skegness Rock and Blues Festival, I thought it was well worth having a fresh listen.
Working again with long time collaborator, arranger and keyboard genius Phil Ryan, an old mate from his Piblokto band days, this album is a rich mixture of mainly jazz based numbers, laced with a bit of swing and an occasional laid back blues. The arrangements on this fusion of material are absolutely terrific and are the solid core making of the album with Phil's keyboard and the superb sax, trombone and horns frequently mixing it and overlapping with the sweet female backing vocals. Pete would be the first to admit to not having the biggest range or the most distinctive of voices, but as with all his stuff, this is as much about the lyrics as anything else and they are as strong and as interesting as ever. Whatever the project, Pete seems always to have been true to his roots of poetry and lyric.
Given that he set out over fifty years ago reading poetry in The Partisan coffee bar in Soho and segued through working with the beat poets, lyric writing with Jack Bruce and much other material for Cream, plus establishing himself as a sought-after record producer by others in the industry, it is great to see that he can still turn a lyric for himself.
As always, some of his stuff is ironic and humorous ..'Don't Want Nothing Old In My Life', some is wistful and mournful as with the poignant 'Eva's Blues' and - as you would perhaps expect from a long-time bolshie rebel - some can be angry and bitter.....as in ' Living In The Sleaz System'. For me though, everything comes together on the final track 'Go Down Fighting' where the stunning quality of the arrangement (every instrument breaking out a groove) shines through and Pete's lyrics...' we are only growing; when we come back we'll be really blowing' kick the track along to mean effect.
An interesting album that is in some ways a curate's egg of work with some tracks more notable than others. It reminded me briefly of the material jazzman Tony Kinsey did with the poet Christopher Logue in the sixties. Good jazz-based arrangements and fine words can work if they are fine tuned.
The Boom Band - Taster CD
The Boom Band - Taster CD
Oh, super! Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it is the beautifully formed and delightfully packaged promo Cd from The Boom Band landing at Hat Mansions. The word 'super' gets bandied about rather too much, as in super group – and we all remember where that got Bruce, Moore and Baker – but this band is really something special. When Van Morrison (a man not known for his loquacity!) says this group is 'Great. They are on the money', you know you have to make time to stop and listen.
Formed last year, the band fronts up with four guitarists and keyboards – and you don't get many of line-ups like that for your money. Matt Taylor, Marcus Bonfanti, Mark Butcher. Jon Amor and Paddy Milner are all good friends and great singers and song-writers as well as being superb musicians. They also all happen to be dashing around working solo and with other bands as well. You know without asking, that the words ' mutual respect' are the crucial ingredient in this mix
I love the way they describe the genesis of the idea..”we thought we would all meet up, get drunk and have some fun” and then “we realised it worked, it was rather good”. This takes The Hat straight back to Laurel Canyon CA, when Dave Crosby would ring up Neil, Steven and Graham and they would all drop in, get drunk and have some fun.....and yes, that was pretty good too.
Appropriately, the first track on this mini EP, 'We Can Work Together' blasts straight in with five voices full on and you see immediately that they do indeed work together vocally, both as full harmony and the separate single gospel-like call refrains. It is a sign of their skill and maturity that, even though the talent is obvious, no-one gets to grandstand – and as Paddy says of his four guitarist friends 'they leave me space for my thing as well'. The great lyrics on the song are ambiguous enough to be both personal and deliver a wider hopeful call for resolution – 'you can change somehow'.
The second track 'Sweet Alberta' comes from another world. It has the same full voice harmonies and the same delicate guitar fills but you are taken off to the back porch where - with Paddy's keys beautifully and evocatively rattling and rolling along like some barrel house piano-man – the talk is of country friends, late hours, whisky and the heart within. A great atmospheric fondness pervades.
This a tremendous taster for things to come and the full Cd is scheduled for April 13th. It is smart, tight and a lot of fun. The enjoyment going on is palpable and it would be a hard heart who does not put this on their must-buy list for next month...
Oh, super! Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it is the beautifully formed and delightfully packaged promo Cd from The Boom Band landing at Hat Mansions. The word 'super' gets bandied about rather too much, as in super group – and we all remember where that got Bruce, Moore and Baker – but this band is really something special. When Van Morrison (a man not known for his loquacity!) says this group is 'Great. They are on the money', you know you have to make time to stop and listen.
Formed last year, the band fronts up with four guitarists and keyboards – and you don't get many of line-ups like that for your money. Matt Taylor, Marcus Bonfanti, Mark Butcher. Jon Amor and Paddy Milner are all good friends and great singers and song-writers as well as being superb musicians. They also all happen to be dashing around working solo and with other bands as well. You know without asking, that the words ' mutual respect' are the crucial ingredient in this mix
I love the way they describe the genesis of the idea..”we thought we would all meet up, get drunk and have some fun” and then “we realised it worked, it was rather good”. This takes The Hat straight back to Laurel Canyon CA, when Dave Crosby would ring up Neil, Steven and Graham and they would all drop in, get drunk and have some fun.....and yes, that was pretty good too.
Appropriately, the first track on this mini EP, 'We Can Work Together' blasts straight in with five voices full on and you see immediately that they do indeed work together vocally, both as full harmony and the separate single gospel-like call refrains. It is a sign of their skill and maturity that, even though the talent is obvious, no-one gets to grandstand – and as Paddy says of his four guitarist friends 'they leave me space for my thing as well'. The great lyrics on the song are ambiguous enough to be both personal and deliver a wider hopeful call for resolution – 'you can change somehow'.
The second track 'Sweet Alberta' comes from another world. It has the same full voice harmonies and the same delicate guitar fills but you are taken off to the back porch where - with Paddy's keys beautifully and evocatively rattling and rolling along like some barrel house piano-man – the talk is of country friends, late hours, whisky and the heart within. A great atmospheric fondness pervades.
This a tremendous taster for things to come and the full Cd is scheduled for April 13th. It is smart, tight and a lot of fun. The enjoyment going on is palpable and it would be a hard heart who does not put this on their must-buy list for next month...
Band of Friends - Too Much is Not Enough
Band of Friends - Too Much is Not Enough
It is an important pre-requisite of any reviewer who encounters the words 'hommage' or 'celebration of' or 'tribute to' in the description or pitch for a band or a musician, that they have to make an extra effort not to bring their inevitable presumptions and prejudices to the table. Thus armed (or disarmed?), The Hat approached the first EP/DVD package from the Band of Friends with an open ear and a determination not to be overwhelmed by the Rory Gallagher history and legend that comes with it. I am so glad I did.
Gerry McAvoy stood alongside Rory on bass for two decades and played on every studio album. Then he went on to play with Nine Below Zero and Champion Jack Dupree and in 2010 set up the Band of Friends along with drummer Ted McKenna (who has Alex Harvey and Ian Gillan on his CV), played with Rory for four years and is on three of his releases and Marcel Scherpenzeel, ex Wolfpin, a hugely talented guitarist steeped in Gallagher music and style. So we have three mega talents, all of whom have paid their substantial dues over many years, share a great love for Rory Gallagher and his music and have a common interest in delivering the finest blues rock.
The DVD is a well produced record of a 2013 live concert at Remchingen in Germany and within minutes you can see why they won the Best Live Band Award at the 2013 European Blues Awards. Their energy is astonishing. Eleven, mainly well-known Rory numbers are covered and the screen positively crackles with the electricity generated by this powerful trio. Whilst the playing and singing of Marcel is superb and central and the driving force from Ted wraps round everything, it is Gerry who dominates the stage, striding about and prowling around, bonding directly with the audience and almost controlling their excitement and passion. There are several points where this trio take the crowd from wild air punching and clapping to almost total silence in the space of one number. The Band is having fun and is totally in charge. Classics like 'A Million Miles Away' and 'Bought and Sold' could not have been delivered better.
Inevitably, the Rory loving audience are on their side from the first note and the call and response numbers have the band flying and the audience roaring - but what comes across from this DVD is that this is as far away from being a 'tribute' band as you can get. They play brilliantly, they play Rory brilliantly but in doing so they leave no one in any doubt that they are a superb band in their own right – who happen to love Rory Gallagher and his music. The DVD is terrific and you must see them live.
The EP is totally different. There are six self-penned numbers and a final famous Rory song “If I had a reason”. McAvoy has made it clear that although they are anxious to keep the Rory flame burning, there is more to them and the range of song-writing and musicianship shown here clearly demonstrates that. The lyrics are for the main part reflective and full of sometimes bitter memories of lost times and lost love, but occasionally, as in the track 'Leap of Faith' there is an optimistic look to a future promised land. The closing track, their version of 'If I had a reason' is delicate and beautiful balanced. Rory would have been proud.
For The Hat, this trio live know how to whip up the perfect storm. They are currently on a fairly lengthy tour taking them through Germany, France, the UK and Italy – ending up appropriately in Dublin and Belfast. Check their website and get to a gig.
It is an important pre-requisite of any reviewer who encounters the words 'hommage' or 'celebration of' or 'tribute to' in the description or pitch for a band or a musician, that they have to make an extra effort not to bring their inevitable presumptions and prejudices to the table. Thus armed (or disarmed?), The Hat approached the first EP/DVD package from the Band of Friends with an open ear and a determination not to be overwhelmed by the Rory Gallagher history and legend that comes with it. I am so glad I did.
Gerry McAvoy stood alongside Rory on bass for two decades and played on every studio album. Then he went on to play with Nine Below Zero and Champion Jack Dupree and in 2010 set up the Band of Friends along with drummer Ted McKenna (who has Alex Harvey and Ian Gillan on his CV), played with Rory for four years and is on three of his releases and Marcel Scherpenzeel, ex Wolfpin, a hugely talented guitarist steeped in Gallagher music and style. So we have three mega talents, all of whom have paid their substantial dues over many years, share a great love for Rory Gallagher and his music and have a common interest in delivering the finest blues rock.
The DVD is a well produced record of a 2013 live concert at Remchingen in Germany and within minutes you can see why they won the Best Live Band Award at the 2013 European Blues Awards. Their energy is astonishing. Eleven, mainly well-known Rory numbers are covered and the screen positively crackles with the electricity generated by this powerful trio. Whilst the playing and singing of Marcel is superb and central and the driving force from Ted wraps round everything, it is Gerry who dominates the stage, striding about and prowling around, bonding directly with the audience and almost controlling their excitement and passion. There are several points where this trio take the crowd from wild air punching and clapping to almost total silence in the space of one number. The Band is having fun and is totally in charge. Classics like 'A Million Miles Away' and 'Bought and Sold' could not have been delivered better.
Inevitably, the Rory loving audience are on their side from the first note and the call and response numbers have the band flying and the audience roaring - but what comes across from this DVD is that this is as far away from being a 'tribute' band as you can get. They play brilliantly, they play Rory brilliantly but in doing so they leave no one in any doubt that they are a superb band in their own right – who happen to love Rory Gallagher and his music. The DVD is terrific and you must see them live.
The EP is totally different. There are six self-penned numbers and a final famous Rory song “If I had a reason”. McAvoy has made it clear that although they are anxious to keep the Rory flame burning, there is more to them and the range of song-writing and musicianship shown here clearly demonstrates that. The lyrics are for the main part reflective and full of sometimes bitter memories of lost times and lost love, but occasionally, as in the track 'Leap of Faith' there is an optimistic look to a future promised land. The closing track, their version of 'If I had a reason' is delicate and beautiful balanced. Rory would have been proud.
For The Hat, this trio live know how to whip up the perfect storm. They are currently on a fairly lengthy tour taking them through Germany, France, the UK and Italy – ending up appropriately in Dublin and Belfast. Check their website and get to a gig.
Sean Taylor: The Only Good Addiction Is Love
This is one of the most beautiful, delicate and aesthetically interesting albums I have listened to for a long time. Sean Taylor, with 'The Only Good Addiction is Love' has produced a wonderful and carefully crafted commentary on the vicissitudes of love, full of subtle lyrics, literary and musical references and arrangements that combine to produce an extraordinarily atmospheric and romantic album. This is one that any lover, ex-lover, even would-be lover would want to have on their shelves.
Delightfully, he calls on 'poets and dreamers' to join him in his blues tinged reverie, variously calling up, amongst others, the spirits of Keruac, Lorca, Rothko, Klee and finally, the poet Yeats as he (taking you with him) tries to come to grips with his 'addiction'.You are taken from the title track, where we know we all stand up together and admit to our addiction, through the various nuances of love – red roses, fear, the stars, midnight kisses, the feel of flesh, the togetherness of mind - even pausing to add a beautiful sentimental spanish instrumental - to the final 'Rouges et Noir' where the tough truth of the extremes of love are laid bare – pain and passion, the Red and the Black. 'Flesh and Mind' will break your heart and its track neighbour 'We Can Burn' will have you straight back into the mists of previous love. There is not a weak track here. His voice and powerful lyricism remind you of that smart troubadour skill that the early John Martyn had of putting his finger on a nerve and not letting go or the anxious Jeff Buckley looking for answers.
Sean's guitar work is complimentary to everything, sometimes sparse, always skillful - and bringing into play to huge effect, some masterly support musicians, the album, even without the evocative word poetry, would be a terrific listen. However, the regular use of a wistful and weeping violin and some over-tracked electric and acoustic guitar, occasional keys, bass, drums and backing vocals meld together like a Lovers Banquet Of Sound. The arrangements with these high class musicians leave Sean's gentle romantic voice all the room he needs to whisper in our ear. Absolutely Magical.
If you ever hankered after writing a love poem and couldn't do it, don't worry, this will get a lot of air play...But...better still...go out and bulk-buy this superb album and then send a copy to everyone still in your heart and all those that you would like to remember you kindly. Tell them The Hat made you do it. Released this week.
Guy Tortora: Bluesman in a Boneyard
Guy Tortora is a wordsmith in the grand tradition of song-writers. Not only are his songs fluent and melodic but without fail, he always has something interesting to say. He has produced a steady flow of great albums over the years and the last two 'Living on Credit' and 'Prodigal Songs' both contain tracks that deserve to become classics - 'Cotton was King' and 'Willie Dixon'.With his masterly new album ' Bluesman in a Boneyard' he takes the process a step farther and has produced a collection of his best work yet. Listening to him being interviewed recently on the Blues and Soul Show, it is pretty clear he is in no hurry to be put in the blues box and refers to this album as being everything from folk, country, blues roots and spiritual as well as that current catch-all term 'americana'. As he says, the one thing it isn't, is blues-rock - so if you want over-long guitar solos, you will listen in vain. Indeed, one of the reasons I just Love Love Love this album is the way it embraces all of the above with authentic joy, wit and skill.
As if to make the point, the opening track 'The Damage Was Done' is a spirited piece of Dylanesque story-telling set against what can only be described as a piano blues-tango complete with evocative harp work...and to underline his huge range, it closes with the relish of some down home good time cajun zydeco in 'Les Bon Temps'. There are seven original pieces and two covers.
There is plenty of wit on display here too, both acid and ironic, notably the 'Ballad of The Boll Weevil' which tears into the vision of a 'human weevil' and the quite brilliant 'One Way Ticket' which takes sardonic rhyme to new heights (a Cadillac that just comes back!) as a lover struggles with the contradictions of promises made and broken in the same breath.
One of the delights of this album is the way Guy has managed to wrap up each piece in a distinctive musical arrangement. We are taken from some New Orleans barrel house, via 'Brownsville' - full of delicate pick and slide, through the bluesy and Hammond supported spiritual crossroads journey of 'Boneyard' to the final good time Tennessee dance number. The application of harp, piano, organ, guitars, trumpets and support brass is absolutely spot on with never a note wasted or overblown.
This is a hugely entertaining and polished album by an artist who knows exactly what he is about and who just gets better and better. The album is out this week - but it is about time we saw a lot more of him live on the British blues circuit.
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