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Opener 'Girl from Maryville' set the tone. A acoustic
guitar and harmonic shuffle that kicked in half way through with fellow
band members on bass and guitar/vocal providing a rock solid fioundation
for his voice. From tehre on in it just got better and better with
hints of his beloved Everly Brothers as guitarist Matt filled in the
Don to Thad's Phil. He even joked about having written somgs for The
Hg and the Bros before those particular songs. They should have taken
him up. He's working on a new CD and a split ballad/ frantic rock
n roller also revealed that he can rock it with the best and the set
closer with drums would have brought the house down as Thad cut a
couple of Carl Perkins type poses! Not much I can add apart from buy this man's cds. He's gonna last when a lot of the more spurious talents we're sold have propped up the second hand bins for a couple of decades. Foremost he writes a pretty dam fine song, secondly he can sing like an angel and thirdly...well thirdly ya don't need the first two don't come along that much these days! One of best gigs I've seen at Maze in a while and I've seen some good ones. Made the recent Laura Viers gig look like the hyped up shambles it was. This Cockrell sure can crow! The Sun label shone.... shaun belcher |
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http://www.thadcockrell.com/ | |
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I Guess It Doesn't Matter Anymore, better known as a Buddy Holly song is given a good folksy treatment and Rose is again on top form vocally. Pavement Princess is one of four tracks written or co-written by bass player Pierre Tubbs. This is a country song, sung accordingly. Rose co-wrote It's All Gone Wrong with Tubbs and the fractured vocal makes you believe that something had, in fact, gone wrong on the country-style song - nice backing vocals from Melissa Rose. There I Go Again is the third of Pierre Tubbs collaborations and Rose's easy vocal give a sense of warmth although the lost love lyric is not a warm subject. Rose always made sure that people knew that his version of Hey Joe was around before that of Jimi Hendrix and this version, with it's overall feeing giving a Massive Attack sound, is a powerful piece of music - totally different from the Hendrix version. The last Tubbs song (his, in total) is the twee Christmas offering Lady's Coming Home For Christmas - surely this he was singing this with his tongue firmly rooted in his cheek, enough said! The final two tracks are worth waiting for and it is no coincidence that Rose had a hand in their composition. The folk song Borocay (Yo Tango Amore Te) with its snappy, acoustic slide guitar is a gem and The Answer has a mesmeric rhythm to it along with its almost spiritual lyrics. The filling is very good but if you want the best of Tim Rose then go to the start and the finish. David Blue |
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http://www.timrose.net | |
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David Tonberg |
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www.emilydruce.co.uk | |
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The title track, and opener, is a gentle introduction to the world of Sid Selvidge. It's a world of Folk, Blues and classic Americana. Hobo Bill has the feeling of a children's song, much akin to Puff The Magic Dragon but he's back in adult land with the bluesy Mama You Don't Mean Me No Good, Long Tall Mama and Every Natural Thing. Although there's only one original song on the album the covers are pure Selvidge. His voice has a warble to it and is as sweet as syrup on the country style Do I Ever Cross Your Mind? and one of the highlights of the album, John Hiatt's, The River. Blues and country are mixed in together for Real Thing and we hear another level to Sid's voice, there's a bit of grit in here for this one. Folk blues for the excellent Swannanoa Tunnel will have the hairs on your neck standing to attention and the straightforward folk offering Long Black Veil is a lovely song. The album finishes with Pickin' Petals and Arkansas Girl. The former has one of my pet hates, yodelling, although I can forgive him because of what has gone before and the latter takes us out in the gentle manner that we began with. Both of these songs remind me, vocally, of Leon Redbone. Take a few listens of this album because Sid Selvidge will grow on you. David Blue |
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www.archer-records.com | |
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Dean can never be accused of, not going for it, whether in finding himself opening for the likes of The Mavericks, Fiddlers Bid, Kevin Montgomery, Emmylou Harris, Kieran Kane, Slaid Cleaves, Ron Sexsmith, Steve Earle, The Handsome Family, Jay Farrar, Suzy Bogguss, Little Feat and more recently wowing them at Celtic Connections opening for The Transatlantic Sessions ( I was there, the boy done good ). Or chasing his cause around the uphill struggle of pub club and hostelries of his native Scotland, even retiring to the hills to record around a peat fire and a minidisc and getting his fans to pay for the pressing. Very clever!! He's tried it all even now being given the opportunity not many get to do the big production piece, that is "My Town" his new one. i.e. silky smooth production, highly arranged, glossy textures, high level performance and presentation, in fairness suiting Deans sweet saccharine mid Atlantic vocal delivery down to the ground, kind of evoking, at a stretch the Nashville years of Roy Orbison. "My Town" was recorded over only two weeks, and that alone is another indication of the skill brought to this piece. This I am guessing is the album he always wanted to deliver, as he is also the producer. On these points alone an album like this from an emerging artist must be seen as a success story. The jury is out on whether Dean will become the star he and his loyal fans obviously would want him to become, and this album is as strong a piece of evidence that the prosecution could possible put forward, in good part give more credence through the advocacy of Glasgow's Vertical records and the weight that the Capercaillie dynasty can throw behind any rootsy release in Scotland. All that just might condemn him to the fate of the famous, at least at home. The Big O or the Big No, is the question? Ok what are the ingredients of a successful pitch at the wall of stardom, rule number one, get the best musicians you can, "My Town" enters well up the charts in that department, with particularly fine trumpet flurries from Colin Steele worthy of special note. The musicians playing on the album include Marianne Campbell (fiddle and strings), Kevin McGuire (double bass and nylon string guitar), Colin Steele (trumpet and flugelhorn), Karine Polwart (acoustic guitar and vocals, see On the Radar Flyin Shoes Review). then a famous friends or two would help. Al Perkins (lap steel), Will Kimbrough (dobro), fill that gap nicely, Then to be safe you better play something for everyone and keep it simple to read, ( unlike the cover which is impossible to read ) again OK in that department too, then spend some money on the artwork, below par in that respect as I indicate, choosing instead to go down market and grungy, strange choice in this case as that is the only grungy thing to do with this release.Of course even before you get a chance to make this sort of pitch you have to work and work and work, do every gig, climb every mountain and hopefully get a good label interested if you can make a few noticeable ascents, and stay in the public eye long enough to make that notoriety work. Dean's well up to that task and his hard work has landed one of the best Scottish roots music labels in Vertical, who also look after James Grant ( ex Love and Money teeny honey, now born again songster ). All the time you must maintain that media profile, get on the radio and TV if you can. No problem there particularly in Scotland, where Dean is Mr Entertainment.. The argument will be won or lost and the verdict returned as ever on the strength of the songs. So the big question is does Dean have the songs? He has the artist's pallet, though using more primarily colours than suits my personal taste, he has the patter, he has the vocal talent, but does he have the songs, A Dark Star or a Candy Coloured Clown ? "My Town" opener and title track and the one for the DJ's, Unfortunatly Iris Dement has applied for and all but achieved the patent on this type of song, with her Classic "Our Town" I'm stunned Dean makes his opening play against such strong competition, particularly when this too is a story of a home town suffering the ravages of time, nice enough for a Dean fan to know in his words that "This is my Town, the one that brings me down, take a look around, see the sights hear the sound, of my town" but no bitter sweet memoirs unfold just a pedestrian attempt at poetic awareness, no affectionate ramble through the life of a community, just his disaffected wanderings among his hopeful close friendships, not the best of starts. "Desert Song" careworn and archetypal, song of the hard road, where Owens should be most at home, given his recent history, "I'm a successful failure I've got the bullets but no gun", probably written before he got the budget for this opus from Donald and Karen ( Virtical have certainly supplied the firepower how true is the Dean Owen's aim?) I'll continue, Al Perkins (pedal steel) and Marianne Campbell (Fiddle) gives it a much needed lift from the mundane, and diverts the attention from what comes over as just a moan about his job, perhaps he should try welding then he might really find the blues and reach the soul of despair, it is a hard life in many ways on the road, but is never less than enjoyable, for all but the most faint of heart or disturbed, it can be portrayed without drawing that inevitable there, there, there condescending response, from those less fortunate to be able to pursue a dream, but clever word play and irony needs to be employed, Slaid Cleaves has made a career of it. I don't think Dean should even try. "Its Not Love" Its not a song either! its meant to be a heart on the sleeve muse about well faded love, but leaves me thinking why bring it up in the first place if it means so little to you now? "Northern Lights" All the songs are set up by a bit of Smash Hits style editorial, 'this is what I was thinking of when I wrote this song' type commentary, here he informs his readers that he was thinking about his mortality, the Northern Lights and the song was conceived in Shetland. Mortality and Shetland (Centre of the musical Universe, as far I am concerned ) So two sure fire tools for the budding artiste, mortality and a sense of place & purpose and he adds the Northern lights and all its cosmic colours to the pallet to paint the story with, I have high hopes now this will turn the corner for us I feel sure, go for it Deano!....... No he's still whinging about his luck, and how seemingly slow stardom is coming to change his lot..... Ho Hum!!. "Life and Beauty" Pedal steel intro, and Dean can sing there is no doubt about that and this is a happier "The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music" piece, but how many times do you need to hear "Life and Beauty Surrounds" repeated? to get the picture, YES Dean life and beauty surrounds I get the picture!!! next!!!! again simply read and obvious observation. "This Feeling" The time with the Mavericks wasn't wasted Tango/Latino rhythms and some aforementioned accordion and trumpet offer very interesting counterpoint and contrasting light and shade, bitter sweet agony and torment is the order of the day and Dean delivers well on this one, this is the best song by far, so far. " Blue December" Gypsy violin and lilting double bass again the set up is wonderful, that trumpet is spine jinglingly good but I really do wish he hadn't mentioned Nick Drake in the introduction, it encourages comparison and in respect of depth of field, imagery, passion and pathos there is no comparison to be made, again he's a canny chanter and the performance is Chis Isaak-esque and entertaining enough for all of that "The Other Side of Dawn" He writers
on the sleeve notes "Here I deal with the sliding door of
Life and Love, who knows what the tide will bring ? Kismet"
A love song and a heart felt thank you to the will of God. A good
woman and a good song, my Ann likes this one. And the ballad is
a musical form his voice excels in. No exploration going on just
a statement of fact I've given up looking for depth or answers
in these songs and I feel beter "Shakespeare Country" A story song and the story is, .....I don't believe it!..... he is back on a poets trail and the comparison this time is Shakespeare, I give up I've had it, that's the last straw, first Nick Drake and now Shakespeare, I'm blocking out the lyrics. I'm going back to listening to his versatile backing band and his gentle endearing vocal, and the reasonble well placed hook lines, that's what is honest, about this album. This member of the juries verdict is, "My
Town" works better as background and mood music, musical
wall paper, expertly hung and perfect for a life style ordered
habitat, more about style than life though it has to be said,
wait a minute on that assessment it could be a huge hit, what
am I thinking of? when did we last see a hit song that had content
over style? It all depends on the marketing at that point, and
Dean is perfectly placed in the frame for fame window of opportunity. rob ellen |
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http://www.boomerangboy.com | |
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Think Billy Bragg "Between the Wars" take away the Essex accent substitute an Edinburgh housing scheme attitude and accent, add a pinch of Van The Man, light the blue touch paper, stand back and that's what it's like at a Lee Patterson concert. Lamplighter, is his self release album available from his web site, and selling like hot cakes at his shows. Where I queued for this copy, after the recent Acoustic Mayhem show, (see Flyin Shoes David Blue review below) with Scott Mac Donald (see flyin Shoes interview) and Dave Arcari (see radiotones.com). The question usually is, was the £10 well spent and does it represent what we saw at the show? It opens with "Sometimes", a love song with a dexterous use of imagery in a Paul Brady kind of way and a 13 time "I Love You" proclamation of a chorus, (lucky for some, hopefully him, count them Lee, 13 times, you love sick fool!!! ) soul body and heart like his show; so far so good. "I Am A Man" is next, a passionate affirmation of time place and purpose in the face of the adversity of a relationship gone bad. Damn! a jump in the recording to get it started! and not a burned copy either! very strange!!. Truth is the recording is better than demo quality if the mastering isn't and is more that simply listenable for a low budget offering. Lee is a percussive, high volume and highly intense, veins in the neck sweat on the face, sort of performer, but he has deceptive sensitive sides too, which find their many sparkling reflection on Lamplighter. Particularly on the title track (inspired by a Robert Louis Stevenson poem) It is about encouragement, intimacy, touches and smoulders like the gas lighting evoked in the piece. Simply his voice and guitar at its John Martyn-ish warmest. "Once To Live" comes bucking back at you in his more accustomed confrontational style, shouting in a Proclaimer-ish way "That's The Way It Is You Got To Dance" and quickly adds the disclaimer for the disenfranchised "If You Can" incisive comment and observation is Lee Paterson's haul mark, here his eagle eye stares down on the chasm between the have's and the have nots. "When Love Falters" is a funk fusion dance piece, about that divorce and its aftermath. "Can you pay somebody to love your kid?" and "When The Love Falters The Money Helps" are a couple of lines, a frank and honest call and no answer song." I See You" returns to the plaintive back porch feel, and sings of love and its part of the whole person and how it feels without it, however brief the parting. Once smitten ever bitten, Lee's in love!!!. "Lowlands", is into Dick Gaughan country, an a cappella, low registered Scottish spiritual and deeply penetrating for its starkness. Jack and Jill returns to the love seeking format, and doesn't show the subtlety of some of the other offerings on this otherwise convincing album. Jack & Jill or just a fill? Every album has at least one.Hello though!!! here comes the 'piece de resistance'! and the best reason I will remember this artist, the gig and possible the album too, "Don't Ask Them Why" (that's the name of the song not my rhetorical question) accompanied only by his uncles grey hound.( Its true but don't ask "me" why, you'll have to go to his gig to hear that story !!) A chant/rank with his radical bodhran playing the only backing. A drum corp cacophony of sound beating the way for political freedom from 21st century conditioning. Don't Ask Them Why is as it is with all the best protest songs, a statement of frustration and an incitement to action. Well no frustration here as far as this album is concerned, It comfortably fulfills its post gig criteria, refreshing more than just the memory, and I hope this review will help entice and incite you to one of his gigs, but don't wait if you don't want to, visit www.leepatterson.co.uk and have a listen now, if you like the vibe I think you enjoy the whole album. rob ellen |
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http://www.leepatterson.co.uk | |
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james mcsweeney |
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http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/dantyler | |
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john davy |
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http://www.laughingoutlaw.com.au/ | |
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sdb |
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http://www.jimbryson.org | |
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peace, peace, peace,' Is it worth buying? Damn right it is but this is not
about easy listening this is about how you live your life....it goes
beyond the warm living rooms and the folk fans cd player and collection..it
goes beyond those comfortable barriers behind which we hide from the
cold winds of war...........it's about those trucks rumbling down
Hiway 9.........it is a record of our fears and our hopes and our
dreams.... hear that bugle calling.... sdb |
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http://www.elizagilkyson.com | |
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Slick photos, slick press, slick production...so what
he doing in Flyinshoes then? Well if you scrape back the Nashville
surface gloss there is some interesting music within just not much.
We talking more the Garth Brooks market than Lambchop anyway but hey
opener is a cover of a Steve Young song so let's give it a go. You may detect a wariness about this disc and mostly
its the perfect product nature of it. If a team of engineers built
a perfect contemporary artist for the country market they'd come up
with something like this. By the closing tracks...'Unknown Zone',
'If that wasn't love' and 'Only one way' the feeling of apathy was
washing me away and the bland song titles didn't help. Probably perfect
music for driving a truck down Hiway 9 but hell it does nothing for
me. I don't usually damn with faint praise but in this case I really
think it worth it. Good artist with bottom dollars rather than songwriting
leading the way...and that's not me. |
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http://www.randythompson.net | |
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james mcsweeney |
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http://dickieleeerwin.primusnetworks.com/ | |
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http://www.powderblue.nl/ | |
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http://www.slaid.com/ | |
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http://www.rdroth.com/ | |
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www.terribinion.com | |
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www.wrinkleneckmules.com | |
The show was started by Radiotones frontman Arcari who gave a typically manic performance which included songs from the bands last two albums as well as a couple of blues standards. He went through his repetoire like a whirlwind only stopping for breath long enough to joke with the crowd that he forgets that the songs have an ending if he's not got the band to remind him. Highlights from this archetypal showman were Bring My Baby Back, Walking Blues (during which he managed to slip in the line David Blue's Blues) and Goin' To See The King. All through the performance Dave joked that he had nowhere to hide without his band and Marshall stack but he need not have bothered as he looked as though he'd been doing it for years. Next up was Edinburgh's Lee Patterson who continued the mania. He provided an energetic performance from the first minute when he made a spectacular entry using just voice and tambourine, with the microphone stand substituting for a drum kit. He said he'd trashed one guitar in rehearsal and it didn't look too hot for the mike stand. Pattersons songs are full of social comment and he could quite easily be labelled as an angry young man but that is not totally the case. He has a sense of humour as shown when he explained the origins of his bodhran skin - even down to the picture of a dog drawn on it. If I mention Santa's Little Helper from The Simpsons then you might get the drift. Lyrically sound, he can turn words on themselves e.g. "Feel like I'm wasting time but time is wasting me". My favourite was the Springsteen-esque Working Man where his soulful voice came to the fore. Lee Patterson may be Scotland's answer to Billy Bragg. Last but not least was Glaswegian Scott MacDonald and his melodic style was very much a contrast to the two who had gone before him. His set of gentle songs very much reminded me of the style of Jim Almand who I had the pleasure of reviewing some time ago. I'm sure that there will be those that will compare Scott to John Denver and Neil Young in his country phase but what he does is he adds a certain Scottish-ness to the overall package. Songs such as The Caravan Song (written in a caravan on Loch Fyne - what else is there to do there?) and Flowers In The Garden are examples of his fine songwriting talent. The show finished with what was promised to be chaos (10 minutes rehearsal) but turned out to be slightly less than that. Lee took the vocals for a rocking version of I'm A Believer, Dave then took over for a Robert Johnson cover and Scott sang the final song that turned into a bit of a jam. These guys show the wealth of talent in Scotland that the Pop Idol generation are missing. Try to catch them before they finish their adventure.
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www.radiotones.com/buzz/acousticmayhem/ | |
For some reason this 1998 album appeared on my desk a few weeks ago. I don't know why but I'm glad that it did. Dylan enthusiasts will probably disagree with me but apart from the opening, self-penned Colours To The Mast this collection seems to be a selection of some well-known Dylan songs and some lesser known. The lesser-known songs may just, of course, be an indication of my poor education - I've never been a fan of Dylan himself but I do admire him as a songwriter where he is almost unsurpassed. As cover versions go this selection is very good. However, I don't know whether it is to be taken as just that or has Steve Gibbons turned into a Dylan tribute act. If it is the latter then he certainly has Dylan's vocal inflection off pat although the total sound (harmonica included) could be construed as too clinical and not as rough as the Dylan originals. The songs, such as the classic Highway 61 Revisited, It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry and I Want You are complemented by When The Ship Comes In and Down Along The Cove to provide an album of surprising quality. Gibbons is ably backed in this endeavour by British music luminaries Simon Nicol, PJ Wright and Dave Pegg with special mention to the rocking slide of Wright on the aforementioned Highway 61 Revisited. It may have taken some time to come to my attention
but this will be on my CD player more often than some others. |
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www.dylanproject.co.uk www.folkcorp.co.uk | |
If
Bob Dylan and Steve Earle had a child this is what he would sound
like. Kieran Ridge veers back and forth between one or the other with
Earle heard strongest. The band also favors that skiffly, loose feel
on the arrangements and instrumentation that Bob and Steve are keen
proponents of. That having been said, know that while these songs
pay homage, they very definitely stand on their own. Ridge and the
band sound equally comfortable on ballads as they do letting it out
and they've avoided the overproduction that plagues so many first
releases. More pith to the lyrics than you might expect as these are
mostly love songs. But love songs about love under duress with an
edgy sense of unease running through them like some dark vein. "Just
Like December" is a good example, walking the line between despair
and hope that's familiar to anyone who's ever struggled with love.
And on "Close Your Eyes", the CD's last cut, you feel both
the release and relief that falling into sleep brings but also the
vague sense of nameless dread that keeps you tossing and turning.
Overall a helluva debut of well crafted songs played by a band that
obviously paid attention in roots rock class. If you take your love
songs with a shot of bitters there ain't hardly nothing not to like
about this music. |
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http://www.kridge.com |