2015 - Page 12 of 19 - STAGING Maverick

FOLK – A film by Sara Terry

A film by Sara Terry Sara Terry, the producer/director of FOLK, is an award winning journalist-in print, public radio, and photojournalism. FOLK is her second documentary. The project web site describes FOLK as “a verite character study, part music documentary, part road trip movie-a multi-layered examination of three artists at dramatically different points in their lives, faced with the challenge of how to be heard in the 21st-century version of this distinctly American art form.” Is it distinctly American? FOLK opens and closes at the annual-late February-International Folk Alliance Conference in Memphis, Tennessee, albeit separated by 12 months. There we meet the central characters-Dallas based solo artist Dirk Hamilton, Austin’s Flying A’s-husband and wife duo, Hilary Claire and Stuart Adamson, and finally the trio of California based John Elliott, Texas immigrant Raina Rose and New York’s Anthony da Costa, supported by Californian Andrew Pressman (upright bass) -and witness them dealing with life over a period of twelve months. Seeking, at the outset, to define the 21st century musical contexts of FOLK, relative to the fame (and therefore financial) factor, James Lee Stanley offers “Nobody here thinks they’re going to become The Beatles. Everybody is here playing music because they love it to death, no matter what that costs.” Radio producer Jen Hitt highlights the genre’s tradition and roots “Folk music has always been a personal experience-meet your audience, remember your audience-there’s the basic economics of it, folk can’t exist without community. When you’re not targeting a mass audience, when you’re targeting people’s hearts and minds you need that community to support that endeavour.” Finally, music critic/author Dave Marsh employs a snapshot from the past and suggests a future possibility. “Charles Seeger, Pete’s dad, used to say that you measured a country by the number of people who made music in that culture. We need to get back to a culture where people make music for joy not for money.” Indiana born and raised in Northern California, currently aged 63, Hamilton’s back story runs to first making music professionally aged 15. Signed to majors ABC and Elektra/Asylum during the mid/late 1970’s, thrown off a Warren Zevon tour-NOT his fault-Elektra dropped him. He stopped making music for a time. There are shades of Detroit’s Rodriguez in Dirk’s early 1990’s discovery that he was a rock star in Italy. For two decades his income has mainly come from touring there. In FOLK…Dirk collides, head on, with unfamiliar “networking” avenues at IFA, and recalls frequenting The Roxy in the 1970’s-a rock club. Failing to prepare a picture postcard listing his private IFA showcases he groans “I grew up with managers and I think I got spoiled.” Out in California, Dirk performs Thug Of Love in McCabe’s Guitar Shop, a long established Santa Monica folk club and wanders the beach area where he once lived. Former Rolling Stone reviewer Steve Pond describes Dirk as “Cranky and weird. He never made any bones of the fact that he hated the music business.” A friend from 30 years ago, Patti Hartman, finds him and begins directing his career. There’s archive film of Dirk and his electric band, circa 1979. Dirk takes his kids for pizza, teenage guitarist Chavis and young Phoebe. “I have real relationships with them. I miss no opportunity to tell them I love them.” In NYC for a gig, Dirk witnesses a protest march by young people. “This is like the 1960’s, I never thought I’d see it again.” Dirk is seen performing in Italy. At the close he reflects “I’m always growing as an artist. I love what I do. It’s hard for money.” A year on in Memphis, postcard in hand, he reflects “I love everybody, I’ve learned.” Both previously married, Hilary and Stuart Adamson first appearance is at a private IFA showcase. Hilary met Stuart at a Kerrville Folk Festival song circle circa 2005. She attended Kerrville Song School to learn to play guitar. They began working together. “He needed a harmony chick on his second album.” Stuart “We came together when we really needed each other.” At the legendary Ardent Studio, with producer John Jennings (Mary Chapin Carpenter), Hilary records a vocal. Jennings calls her “A force of nature” and adds “In a fair world, half the songs on this record would be big hits.” In a tearful scene Hilary confides “This whole music thing saved my life,” is seen co-helming an IFA house concert seminar, and teaching an Austin school choir. Stuart reflects “I was teaching full-time. I’ve been substituting some. Trying to keep my head above water then life happened.” On local tv station K-EYE they’re seen performing. Driving home, they dream of performing on Austin City Limits, Letterman, Saturday Night Live and the Grammy Awards. There’s a segment from the Flying A’s debut on Kerrville’s main-stage. Unlike Hamilton, we don’t see Stuart’s kids. Financial pressures eventually dictate Stuart returns to teaching, while Hilary tours supported by Austin musician Danny Britt. Stuart “I don’t want it to end.” They go for marriage counselling. Hilary “There were times when I thought I was going crazy. He had a really tough year.” As for their music “It’s not about the dollars at all. This is my life and I love it. It’s such a gift to have a husband and a partner in life and in music that feels the same way.” While Elliott, Rose and da Costa are seen criss-cross the country “on tour,’ the focus principally falls on Austin based Raina and boyfriend Andrew. At an IFA showcase the trio are seen performing Elliott’s Love Found Lost and Rose’s Let Me Down Easy. Raina “I love playing with other people, I love harmonies. That’s the one thing I miss about being solo, there’s nobody to sing with.” On life as a performing musician, “The major labels are dinosaurs. The independents are wonderful, but there’s too many of them. The internet created a middle class of musicians, but also created a lot of white she noise. Any way

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River Seven of Canada On The River Ouse in England

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Maverick finds out more about Michael Bongertman from River Seven Michael Bongertman is the lead singer and guitarist of the Canadian three-piece rock band River Seven, who released their exciting self-titled debut album in February 2012. With Michael in the band are bass guitarist Peter Anzelmo and drummer Tony Carpino. The band manage to mix the styles and sounds of John Mayer and Maroon 5 with those of Jamiroquai and Simply Red. Their music transcends genres, blurring the lines separating rock, pop, country and neo soul, proving that genres are just there for guidance and direction. My opinion has always been that the music anyone listens to should be put into just two folders-like or dislike. In other words try doing what I do, listen to everything and then make up your own mind what you enjoy. When I met up with Michael, he actually agreed with me on this. “It is the only way to really be a music lover. I find it strange when I meet musicians that only go in one direction and if you don’t love this kind of music then you are no good…kind of weird. I don’t get that? Music is music, does not matter how old or how new, or where it came from, if you like it you like it!” Michael was staying in London for a few days during a warm and sunny period in the middle of March and travelled up to Cambridgeshire to have a chat with me, we met at a little pub called the Lazy Otter on the outskirts of Ely and sat in the beer garden overlooking the River Ouse. Not knowing too much of Michael’s musical background, I asked him to give me a brief rundown of where it all started, up to the present time with River Seven. I asked if his musical aspirations begin at an early age? “Very young actually. I remember my father was a musician or is a musician, he did it professionally in his youth. So ever since I can remember there has been instruments in the house; drums, guitars. So I would sort of mess around with them, you know they were always there. I think my first guitar that my parents ever bought me was probably when I was around ten years old, up to then I would have been playing my dad’s instruments. I was really excited when he got me my own guitar and from there it just took off, I just learnt by ear and then eventually I was put into private lessons, but still learning by ear. At a very early age I was pretty good at actually picking up or lifting songs just from the radio or records and just by hearing them, without even knowing what the chords were called, you know I had a pretty good ear for that. Shortly after that, when I got a little older, I began playing in some bands around Toronto, Canada.” He continued: “I grew up just outside of Toronto in a city called Mississauga, but being so close I would travel in and out of Toronto quite a bit. Then I eventually went to college and I took a music programme for a couple of years, but I never finished because I started touring after my second year, I started touring quite a bit all over the US and Canada with various bands. So I never went back to finish my degree, it just got too busy and I preferred being on the road, I played with many bands and that was sort of how I met the guys in River Seven, as I had played in different bands with them.” When you listen to the debut CD by River Seven you can hear the tightness of their sound, as if they had been together for years (in fact they only formed in 2010); “I have actually known the bass player, Peter Anzelmo since we were teenagers. The drummer, Tony Carpino I met in another group that we were playing in when I was in my mid to late 20s.” So starting River Seven was like a natural progression? “A few years after that I moved to California to live, I was living there for a little while when I got a call from Tony with the opportunity to form this band and to work with this great producer that we have, his name is Terry Brown. He has produced a number of hit bands such as Rush and the Cutting Crew [also Blue Rodeo], the list goes on and on actually. Tony said there is money behind it and that he is a great producer, would you like to come back up to Colorado and do this project, so that is how it kind of got started. So I thought “yes it sounds great.’ I wasn’t really there very long-maybe almost a year and I thought that it sounded too good to turn down, I would have to go back and do it. So that is what I did and we kind of got together very quickly. I had played with them in different bands but not quite like this, this was a new thing.” Once the group was formed it was then down to the nitty-gritty of writing songs for an album. “We all put a lot of ideas on the table and started writing, then we just went from there, from pre-production, studio and kind of grew with that. We are still evolving, the core thing is having played together in different bands, the live part is awesome because it doesn’t really take a lot of rehearsal for us.” As they are friends and therefore very comfortable with each other they find that timing, solos etc come freely on stage, meaning that one of them can change something in a song and the other two will just slip in with the change with no noticeable difference. “We are so

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Maverick interviews Chris Jagger

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Following Chris’ latest sell-out performance at the Crooked Billet, he agreed to be interviewed for Maverick Chris Jagger, younger brother of Rolling Stones’ frontman Sir Mick, has pursued his own musical career for many years. His strong performances of original American country-influenced, Cajun and blues-tinged material have earned accolades from professional critics, fellow musicians, discerning fans and music business cognoscenti. But Chris lives a relatively quiet and conventional country life at his Somerset farmhouse home. Now 65, Chris has trained as an actor, been involved in stage management, fashion design, journalism, radio and film, as well as also having driven taxis, though it is music that has been a constant theme throughout his life. Chris has recorded a series of albums featuring his own songs and has toured extensively in the UK, Europe, Australia, Canada and the USA. His favourite venue is Oxfordshire’s celebrated Crooked Billet pub in the village of Stoke Row where he appears regularly with an acoustic trio. Chris is one of the most popular acts to perform there, which is quite an achievement given the famous names the Crooked Billet attracts. George Harrison, Joe Brown, Chas Hodges, Jon Lord, Hazel O’Connor, Gary Booker, Sam Brown and many internationally famous names from jazz, folk, country and rock, as well as from film, theatre and TV, have been regulars in this tiny gem of a venue, run by master-chef and former rock musician, Paul Clerehugh. Following Chris’ latest sell-out performance at the Crooked Billet, he agreed to be interviewed for Maverick. Not long after the Rolling Stones’ triumphant 50th anniversary concert at London’s O2 Arena, I travelled into deepest rural Somerset to meet Chris who had been tending the small flock of sheep he and his wife Kari-Ann own. “We really relish our lifestyle down here,” Chris tells me. “We have been in Somerset for more than a decade now-we lived in Glastonbury before and it is just so much better than living in Muswell Hill, North London as we used to. There is a real sense of involvement with the local farming community here. In remote rural areas like this there is a mutual dependency as well as an acceptance of everyone, regardless of who they are. And a lot of bartering goes on which I enjoy; exchanging a few dozen eggs for some locally made cider, borrowing a cockerel or a ram. It is still a traditional way of life which I’ve come to truly appreciate. Some of the highlights of the last few years have been performing at annual gigs for local people in the cider barn just yards from here. A few of my recent songs reflect my Somerset life-a track on my THE RIDGE album is called The Farmer.” This bucolic existence is a contrast from Chris’ late teenage years at the heart of “swinging’ London in the sixties. After a childhood in Dartford, Kent where he enjoyed singing in the junior school choir, Chris attended Eltham College in South East London. His father, a former history and PE teacher who worked for the Central Council for Physical Recreation and wrote books on sport, was not wealthy. So sending Chris to this prestigious private school meant a considerable financial sacrifice. Chris then won a place to study drama at Manchester University, but he opted not to go, preferring instead to spend time in London where elder brother Mick was enjoying his first years of fame as a Rolling Stone. “Our parents had always tried their best for us and I am sure they were disappointed I didn’t go off to university,” Chris reflects. “There had been very little music or acting at Eltham College. Despite that, I had thought I would like to do drama. But when I went to Manchester for the interview it just seemed so drab and stuck in the past. London was such a happening place. The thought of leaving all that action to go back to college to read Shakespeare up in Manchester was very unappealing. So I didn’t do it. There are times I’ve wondered what I missed but on balance, I’ve few regrets.” “Instead I took a year off and hung out in London with some of the people Mick knew. I was mixing with them all-the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, all kinds of people. It was very exciting! I was involved with fashion design-our jackets were worn by Mick and by Keith Richards. Jimi Hendrix wears one on the cover of his ELECTRIC LADYLAND album! That jacket is now on show at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York-a piece of sixties psychedelic fashion. It was designed for us by Julia, an Irish girl we met who used to paint ties in Indian ink. We asked her to use the same technique on a jacket. Jimi wore a lot of our stuff and we became good friends. I even went out and toured in Sweden with him. I saw him play three gigs in one day there-only Jimi could have the stamina to do that!” “I also worked at Hampstead Theatre as an assistant stage manager which I enjoyed. Though it was a little disillusioning,” Chris recalls. “Meeting older actors who were broken down characters with alcohol problems and earning a pittance despite having real ability-I started to wonder whether I could hack that as a career, longer-term. But I enjoyed some of the new, more avant-garde plays. Many years later I was in repertory at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow. I was in one play with Pierce Brosnan and also worked with Ciaran Hinds. I did The Threepenny Opera and had to sing some Brecht songs, which I loved. There was no amplification and a full house in a big Victorian theatre, so it was challenging and I learned so much from it. I also trained in Los Angeles with Stella Adler, a very famous coach. And I was cast in the Kenneth Anger film Lucifer Rising but I was fired when I queried

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American Idol Gone Country

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Taylor Hicks takes the Nashville road to new album If the music industry is a game of chess, then Taylor Hicks is the black knight, carving an indirect path across the board. Equally as likely to move forward as back, he is more than likely to give his hips a good shake as he goes. He was born to the blues, raised on soul and schooled in the dimly lit bars and clubs of the South. He has since danced on Broadway, sung the blues in Chicago and headlined in Las Vegas. Now Taylor Hicks is writing a country record. He has never fitted the mould. The American Idol winner stood out from the beginning. More salt than pepper in his hair, Taylor’s appearance belied the 28 years stamped on his driver’s license, prompting officials to check and recheck his credentials. In the audition room he surprised with a compelling version of Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come”-hands clasped behind his back and torso swayed by the emotion of the verse. The power and tone of his voice impressed and the enthusiastic approval of two judges was enough to send Taylor to the Hollywood round. Head judge, Simon Cowell cast the lone dissenting vote, convinced of the singer’s limited commercial potential. As the season progressed, Taylor captivated a growing television audience with songs and performances that set him above pop music standards and apart from his less experienced competition. There was soul in his voice as he sang “Takin’ It To The Streets” by Michael McDonald and “Trouble” by Ray LaMontagne. He evoked memories of Otis Redding and Joe Cocker with renditions of “Try A Little Tenderness” and “You Are So Beautiful”, respectively. While others performed behind the microphone, Taylor used the entire stage and audience to his advantage, dancing in the aisles with an endearing clumsiness. He was delightfully and decidedly different. Denied the use of an instrument onstage, Taylor circumvented the rules by blowing blues harmonica offstage, yet in full view of the television crews. He sang and danced with an air of funkiness. If the camera moved left, he moved right. He refused to dye his grey hair or change his quirky performance style. He attempted (although failed) to organise the American Idol finalists as a bargaining unit. He declined his American Idol coronation song and was given another. Taylor Hicks brought millions to their living rooms, glued to the television every Tuesday and Wednesday evening for months. He brought passion to his performances and smiles to the faces of the “Soul Patrol’-the fans who offered their fervent support throughout the competition. He sang with heart, laughed with abandon and charmed a willing audience. On finale night he sang “Do I Make You Proud”, and the answer from viewers was a resounding yes. On one of the decade’s highest rated television shows, and following a nationwide poll that tallied more than 63 million votes, Taylor Hicks was named the fifth season winner of American Idol. Move the chess piece two triumphant squares forward, one cautious square to the side. The newly crowned Idol created ripples within days of his coronation. In a May 2006 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Taylor described his talent show tenure as: “…dancing with the devil…’ referring to the commercialism of the Idol business machine. Controversial at the time, his remark reflected the mindset of a veteran musician, one who had spent more than ten years on the road knocking on doors, singing for pennies and looking for the break that would lead to a record contract. As Taylor told a scowling Simon Cowell: “I want my voice heard,’ the talent show competition was simply the means to an end. Victory in hand, Taylor planned to use his newfound fame to showcase his original roots music and talent. There was no expectation of, nor the desire for the glamour of pop music stardom. As a child, Taylor realised very early that music was his calling. He studied the great soul musicians, Otis Redding, Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye, amongst others. He listened to Hank Williams, George Jones, and Johnny Cash-the heart of country-and to Ray Charles who brought modern soul to country music. He sang for family and friends, and at the age of 15 made a casual purchase at the local flea market. An old harmonica proved the catalyst for an intense focus on music performance. Whilst still a teenager, Taylor was already singing the blues and playing the harp in smoke filled bars; his youth disguised by the occasional grey hair. By the age of 18 he had picked up a guitar and penned his first song. “In Your Time” would later become the title track for the young musician’s first album, pressed and self-released at the age of 21. That album-as well as Taylor’s subsequent independent recordings-offers original music that easily crosses genres. While there are songs clearly written with a blues or rock intention, others are easier to brand as roots or country music. One of the strongest songs from the first release, “The Fall” laments the end of a relationship. Written for simple acoustic guitar and given a subtle emotional delivery, the break-up song borrows deeply from traditional country music for both subject and style. From 2005’s UNDER THE RADAR, “The Deal” and “Hell Of A Day” confirm a consistent country soul influence on Taylor’s original songwriting. Taylor has described his music as a fusion of styles-country, rock, blues, soul and Cajun spices all tossed into a cooking pot, stirred, and served with a generous side of harmonica. He credits the diverse musical flavours of his southern home base for guiding his writing and performance styles, but might also cite the influence of mentor Keb’ Mo’. Like his student, the legendary blues musician defies categorization. When asked, Keb’ explains that his music is not strictly blues, but the sum total of all his musical experience: “I’m a product of the kind of music I listened to,

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Line-up announced for 2016 CMA Songwriters series at London

THE PHOENIX SUITE

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Having left prog rock band Mostly Autumn in January 2010 after thirteen great years, Heather Findlay decided it was time to go solo. With a promised debut album that is expected to be full of great songs, powerful lyrics and soaring vocals, this EP goes a long way to say that all those boxes will definitely be ticked when it is released. All five songs here are written by Heather and owe a lot to the sound she honed with Mostly Autumn, although she has expanded this sound to stamp her own mark on it. With definite influences of Fleetwood Mac mixed with a now prog rock meets psychedelic folk sound, there is also a nod toward rock and metal on the excellent “Cellophane” which had me thinking Foo Fighters on the heavy rock parts of the song. “Red Dust” is powerhouse prog rock with crashing drums from Alex Cromarty giving the strong launch pad for Heather’s soaring voice to take off. “Phoenix” is wonderfully haunting in a mildly psychedelic kind of way, with Heather hitting even greater heights with her pure, crystalline voice. With a great band behind her Heather carries on the tremendous quality with the super “Seven” that cajoles then argues its point with a sharpness of a blade. She then grabs your heart in an almost vice-like grip on the formidably domineering and potently robust “Mona Lisa” that brings this super EP to a resounding conclusion. If the full debut album (when completed) is as good as this, then Heather will have released a masterpiece that matches her tremendous artwork on this CD cover.

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THE SPADE

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I am so the wrong person to be reviewing THE SPADE by Butch Walker and the Black Widows by a good 35 years or more. I found myself shouting: ‘What the hell??????’ at the CD player after track 3 and then I read the band’s bio; but I should have realised something was going to be wrong much earlier, because the band’s name sounds like something straight out of a kids TV programme. Now before we go any further this is a ‘good’ album and the actual target consumer will probably love it; but readers of Maverick … Hell no! Apparently Mr Walker is a producer of some repute and his bio name drops Katy Perry, Weezer and Avril Lavigne as having worked with him and their fan base will lap this up like extra sugary strawberry milkshake with sprinkles on the top; but ‘mature’ music fans like you and I will rip your ears off by track four. THE SPADE’s production is sharper than a tack and the playing is straight out of the Rock Star manual and the actual songs are all snarling pop rock but aimed at teenagers with stick on tattoos and Top Shop Rolling Stones t-shirts; not discerning music fans brought up on Cash, the Beatles and/or the Clash. It’s pointless listing to the songs because they all sound the same and the radio stations you listen to won’t go near this with a barge poll.

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Kristy Gallacher – SPINNING PLATES

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Singer-songwriter Kristy Gallacher’s second album falls very much into the burgeoning new folk style with mainly acoustic accompaniment utilised to enhance her well-crafted bittersweet songs of relationship issues. Though still in her early 20s, Kristy has been controlling her own music career for several years by running her own record label and self-producing and releasing her recordings. Too many female singer-songwriters sit there strumming a guitar and baring their soul with vacuous lyrics. Not this young lady! She’s a skilled guitarist and her lyrics are well-thought out, cleverly constructed, sometimes with a tinge of humour, other times with a touch of pathos and even heartbreaking fragility. She clothes them in memorable melodies and then brings together a bunch of great musicians to create inventive musical arrangements. I particularly like the use of Lisa Nowak’s fiddle to highlight the sad, story of “Beautiful Bouquet.” The title song has an insistent funky arrangement bubbling away beneath Kristy’s clearly-defined vocals. Though there’s a feel of hopelessness to “Bad Luck,” it’s tempered a little by an optimistic air. These are songs of maturity and intelligence from a young lady with much older shoulders to handle everything that life has to throw at her.

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THE LANTERN HAS FALLEN

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THE LANTERN HAS FALLEN is the inspiring 8-track follow-up release from Falkirk (Scotland) born singer-songwriter, banjoist and guitarist, Jill Hepburn. Being the youngest of five children and growing up in a household filled with music from both ends of the spectrum, including pop, punk, 1960s folk and traditional tunes, her latest collection of songs does more than just hint at this musically diverse upbringing, but rather seemingly pays homage to it. Like her first two recordings-GROOVY ENOUGH FOR TWO (EP: 2005) and SNOWFLAKE (2010) have both received respectable acclaim-this organic, old-timey and effective third effort promises to follow in the same folky, appreciative footsteps as its impressionable formers. The album has a deep and personal edge-something which Jill’s music is fast becoming known for-and it’s easy to see where her self-admittance of a slightly darker tone on this release came from, with menacing numbers such as the banjo carried “Footsteps”-which opens the album beautifully-and the folk-entwined “Farewell My Friend” both sounding as though they tell very moody tales. Make no mistake however; there are one or two infectious toe-tappers on this new release also to lift one’s spirits, such as the instrumentally-composed “The Ragged Garland”-which seems to have a raw Sarah Jarosz feel about it-and the upbeat “I’m Going Away For A While”-both not only adding a diverse dimension to the album, but also demonstrating to her listeners just what a talented musician she is. Vocally, Jill seems stronger than ever; the storytelling edge and the ability to pull readers into her folktale-ish world epitomises her voice, particularly on songs such as “Fire And Flame” and “Listen To The Air,” which does so much to breathe life into the album, music and intimate stories told. Recorded in Tolbooth, Stirling, with the likes of Kenny Brady on fiddle, mandolin and harmonies and Martin Stephenson on guitar, this remarkable little album cries out for mass listenership, and certainly for those who have the ear for sensitive folk, then this one comes with a high recommendation from me; my only disappointment being the want of more tracks on the album and perhaps a duet or two thrown in the mix.

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MARVIN, WELCH & FARRAR/SECOND OPINION

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How do you carry the burden of being so well established because of another vehicle (in this case, The Shadows) that anything else you try pales into insignificance, at least in the eyes of a majority of the general public? Such was the case of Marvin, Welch & Farrar. Well, part of it may have had to do with the fact that they turned from electric gods into acoustic weaklings but, for me at least that’s where a lot of their charm lay. Okay, so the comparisons to Crosby, Stills & Nash are inevitable (M,W&F even said so themselves) and to some lesser extent, the band, America but if you give it a chance, particularly in 2012 where acoustic music is being heralded as the second coming, there may hopefully be re-awakened interest. This pair of albums reissued on CD for the first time, date from 1970-71. Now, far be it for me to be critical, but I’m not sure about the opening track “You’re Burning Bridges,” which apparently was met with approval from more knowledgeable scribes than me, but the intonation on the nylon strung guitar is what might politely be described as being a bit dodgy. The second track, “A Thousand Conversations,” however is a different kettle of fish, with its gently picked 12-string introduction and seductive string arrangement, which wouldn’t sound out of place on a BBC Radio 2 show. Collectively, Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch and John Farrar could rock it out when they needed to, as can be witnessed on “Throw Down A Line” and surely a contender alongside the likes of the Goo-Goo Dolls for a Hollywood soundtrack. I just knew when I got this album I was going to be in for a treat, little realising just how much of a treat it really turned out to be-a bit like getting the purple wrapped chocolate in a box of Quality Street. If you’re into a slice of country-rock or just into great harmonies and guitar performances, then may I humbly suggest you start here?

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