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  Avenue A / Thirty Tigers **** The return of a legend What would you think if someone suggested you make an album despite it being 39 years since you last made one? You’d probably think they were having a laugh or being exceptionally kind to a man feeling under the weather. I’ve no idea if either scenario is true but here is Kinky Friedman’s first album for 39 years. There is not enough space to précis the great man’s career, but he is held in very high regard by the great and the good, as evidenced by the appearance of Willie Nelson on a very spare version of his own Bloody Mary Morning. That is the opening track and very much sets the tone as liveliness doesn’t even put in a brief appearance. For those not born at the time of the last album trying to describe the voice of this legend will be much like trying to knit fog. There is absolutely no reason to like it but like Cohen, Kristofferson and Waits it is an instrument of strange compulsion, and all is almost spoken rather than sung – which gives a pathos and unnecessary depth to quite a few of the offerings, notably the closing Wand’rin Star and A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square – but wonderful nonetheless. I’ve only time to barely scratch the surface of this mighty disc but special mention must go to the harmonica maestro Mickey Raphael who imbues the whole thing with the necessary air of wistful beauty. But I do have to end with a warning that bad language is contained within, so parents be aware that you may have to ask the kids what on earth it all means. Ian Ambrose www.kinkyfriedman.com

Palmer T. Lee was 19-years-old when he inherited two old banjos and he has gone on to build them into his life and career. Teaming up with Kendl Winter they have developed a sound based on the duel picking of those two instruments that, when joined by soft, folk harmonies, is an intriguing package. THE SACRED HEART SESSIONS is the follow-up album to 36c, which they toured for a year playing in clubs, hotels, house shows, back yards and street corners. The unique voice of Kendl has a fragility that’s met with Palmer’s folk sound to create an old-time sound that is utterly unique. And, of course, the banjos are always brought along as the stars of the show. At times it seems the instruments are working alongside each other and, then at others, they are almost raging into competition to create a fast, rolling sound. Fourth Time’s A Charm sounds like it comes directly off the front porch of a Midwestern homestead, with Palmer working the lead, and Kendl joining him on one of the most unusual choruses that has to be heard to be understood, as their voices replicate the sounds of their quick banjos. The instrument has certainly found a home here where it can be showcased to its full potential and will delight fans of old-style country and bluegrass. The songs do tend to sound a bit similar by the time you near the middle of the album, but it’s clear they’ve never once strayed from their clear vision, which shows its authenticity and humble origins. It’s a very bare bones and traditional sound of days gone by, and with a nod to the old banjo-playing traditions of Americana. That’s something to be admired and fostered, and these two are working hard to do just that.

Despite threats to finally put the music business behind him, Watermelon Slim (aka Bill Homans) is not only back, but fully recharged in the happy company of his Workers. And if you missed him over the past few years, Slim packs a little bit of everything he’s known for into this glorious return to form: hard-rocking roadhouse blues, country, gospel and folk with the odd torch song and sensitive ballad thrown in for good measure. From the opening Tomorrow Night with its all-cylinders-firing, full band sound, Slim upgrades the Junior Wells original with his own brand of piercing harp, a driving rhythm section and scorching guitar. Yet it’s the tongue-in-cheek of the title track that reveals Watermelon ‘Rooster’ Slim for the rich character he brings to everything he does. Slim has always assaulted his blues from a learned perspective and, armed with his razor sharp electric or acoustic Dobro slide guitar, his accomplished harp style and his impassioned, Okie-dipped vocals, there’s nothing he can’t convince you of. His blue-collar upbringing melds with his complete absorption of blues tradition and, with the assistance of his equally-feral Workers, Slim transplants the past into the future, convincingly so. He may hold a Masters degree and a membership in MENSA, but this truck-driving hard case has lived the life and paid sufficient dues to sing about the blues with clear authenticity. Hear it in the intensity of his voice as he belts it out, the only other rooster in the yard. A somewhat odd combination as Slim duets with Trampled Under Foot’s Danielle Schnebelen, accompanied only by Dennis Borycki’s piano as the extreme contrast in the texture of their voices almost pulls this gentle crooner off. Dare to recognise Woody Guthrie in Slim’s hard-rocking Vigilante Man all snarling guitar and aggressive attitude. His own A Wrench In The Machine is in keeping with his penchant for protest while the age-old menace of getting stung is alive and well as he tackles Slim Harpo’s I’m A King Bee with a wall harp and ever-threatening guitars. Where Slim’s guitar stops and Ronnie ‘Mack’ McMullen’s takes over is unclear”yet Workers Michael Newberry (drums), Cliff Belcher (bass) and McMullen fit Slim’s musical style to an enthusiastic. The pinnacle track on this stellar release is the haunting Prison Walls, with its dark misery, swirling slide and Slim’s commanding vocal performance. A slide-lover’s smorgasbord, Blue Freightliner serves up simple blues, criss-crossed with biting guitars over an upbeat boogie. Likewise, the album’s sole instrumental” The Wobble a lethal boogie laden with thick harp coverage, wide-bodied guitar snarl and the highest recorded note in harp history. More humour and vengeful trucker payback comes with the country-fried Trucking Class while tackling Stan Rogers’ Northwest Passage one of two a capella covers reveals much about Slim, his taste levels, his huge heart and an overall confidence in his abilities. Following the blistering attack of The Foreign Policy Blues with the sensitive, acoustic treatment of Words Are Coming To An End (accompanied by Gary Nicholson on acoustic guitar) acknowledges Slim’s ability to bring things down to an intimate whisper illuminating an entirely different side of this barnyard rooster as it underlines why he remains such an off-the-cuff treasure.

This may be slightly unfair but everything feels a bit borrowed on this album. The concept and image-borrowed a bit from Bellowhead; the name-borrowed from the Counting Crows and the title, well just obvious. It’s very hard to put my finger on why but there’s something inauthentic about the Roving Crows. With Bellowhead, you get the feeling that they’re really enjoying the music. With the Roving Crows however, you get the feeling they’re playing the music that will get them the most attention rather than the music they’re happiest playing. However, backtrack-that’s not to say it’s unpleasant to listen to. BACCHANALIA is a mainly upbeat album full of slick instrumentals and well-delivered vocals. “Woman After My Own Heart” is a cute and charming sleazebag anthem and “Love Is The Finest Thing” is a jaunty, brassy and catchy number. “Brother” showcases Caitlin Barrett’s likeable voice, and “Dirty Habits” is a toe-tapping party tune. The musicianship on this disc is good; the harmonies and the songs, well-written. In fact there’s not really much to criticise, except the slightly tinny production. I want to love this, not just like it, but it’s been done before and done much better.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?