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PLAYING OUT LOUD! Gig Reviews (top) Blues On The Farm, Appledram, Nr
Chichester - 24/6/06. Our loss, as the standard of this year’s acts was obviously higher than ever. Not only that, but organiser Julian Moores had altered the layout a bit, making a kind of crafts and clothes village just within the main gates, leaving the bar and food stalls within the main field. A very successful manoeuvre which added to the pleasures of the festival.
The Danni Leigh Band were next up, fronted by the highly
attractive Danni. So we had to dash off and missed Sam Kelly’s Station House,
Connie Lush, and Sherman Robertson, but we had seen them all before, and I am
sure the rest of the weekend was top quality. Somehow Julian always seems to
arrange good CD Reviews (top) The Divine Comedy. Victory For The Comic Muse. The ninth album featuring Neil Hannon, still under the name of Divine Comedy despite the fact that the band no longer exists! Neil’s voice is as good as ever, and this is a fine collection of songs well up to his usual standard. The standout for me is “A Lady Of A Certain Age,” a poignant tale of an ageing jet-setter looking back on her life, which is reminiscent in feel to the old Peter Sarstedt hit “Where Do You Go To My Lovely?” The current single “Diva Lady” is here too, a sub-standard Hannon track - wonder why they didn’t choose “Lady Of A Certain Age,” which is far superior. Anway, the remaining tracks make up for this lapse, with some nice
arrangements and good old-fashioned songwriting which despite the lightness of
touch,
contain some witty and sometimes caustic lyrics. Other standouts include “To Die Joe Wilkes. Spotlight. An impressive debut album recorded in acoustic style with some impressive fretwork and some beautifully written string parts. Folky and bluesy in parts and sung in a highly committed manner, the album is full of melodic and memorable songs. Other reviewers have drawn comparisons with Bert Jansch in terms of Joe’s impressive guitar work, and artists like Gram Parsons, Chris Hillman, John Martyn and Nick Drake in terms of influences, but Joe is very much an original. Possessing a throaty, emotive voice, it’s obvious that Joe has worked hard on his perceptive lyrics. For a debut album, it’s going to be difficult to follow up. There isn’t a dud track on the album, which gets off to a fine start with the title track “Spotlight,” and continues through nine more songs full of intricate guitar work and haunting melodies. It would be pointless to single out songs, as they are all as good as each other - “The Castle,” “Ships,” “The Rains,” et al are all highly engrossing in their own way. Joe has produced a work of great maturity and is surely going to become a household name. I don’t know where Joe recruited his musicians from, but Mara Miribung on cello, Ellie Loaring on viola and violin and John O’ Neill on clarinet, flute and saxophones, all sound like classically trained musicians. If you have any problems finding the album in stores, have a look at www.joewilkes.co.uk - where you can hear some samples, after which you will definitely want to buy it! SINGLES REVIEWS BY MARTIN SIRL We welcome you to submit your own cd, gig or venue reviews here at POL. Simply click on the link below and type away! Please include relevant details such as your name, date of gig etc. Click here to send in your own review Looking for a different Reviews? Click here for our archive |
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We
only had time to sample the Saturday afternoon events of this year’s festival.
But
back to the music and Saturday’s opening act, The Guy Tortora Band. 
The
Gutter Brothers were another band familiar by name, but up to now, unseen by me.
They were a revelation and had obviously brought a big section of the afternoon
crowd with them. Apparently they have been around for 20 years or so and have
had numerous changes in personnel over the years. But founder Tony Green on lead
vocals is still with them, and he was the focus of their act with his strong
physical presence and Tom Jones-like vocals which shone in an unusual set of
songs. From Countryish material like “Runaway Train” to heavy rock, skiffle, and
all stations in between, The Gutter Brothers were a blast. And the highlight
came when Tony’s young daughter (Ruby?) came up on stage, first to join the band
on violin, then to sing a song herself (Me, Myself & I?). A stylish confident
performance which the crowd responded to vigorously. Again, an excellent set.
Parlophone.
Running time: 44:36
VMCD006.
Running time: 38:50
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