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Guy Clark
reed organ and harmonium recall some old anthems in Eden (Shirley & Dolly Collins are credited as a song source in the CD booklet, alongside a bibliography including works by Hilaire Belloc and Bob Copper,) the keyboards and programming locate this music very much in the here and now.
Cracknell says: “There’s been a real revival of interest lately in old roads and green lanes, in literature, art and film. This has run parallel to so much of the renewed interest in folklore and folk music.” On The Chalk should stimulate further interest in, and exploration of, all those things and more. It evokes a poetic sense of the places on the journey, and musically articulates emotional responses to them. It’s Cracknell’s most adventurous artistic statement yet, and one that few (if any) other Britfolk musicians could attempt to emulate. I’ll confess to an initial sense of slight disappointment on first hearing Oh My Days (the previous Memory Band release) with its pulsating acoustic gui- tars but Jess Roberts’ powerhouse vocals, grabbed me straight away. On The Chalk isn’t about that kind of pop immediacy, but offers abundant rewards for any listener willing to pay it the attention it deserves. It could also, quite conceivably, get airplay on BBC Radio 2, 3, 4 and 6, and sound both unusual yet per- fectly at home on all of them. Get your kicks on the old straight track.
http://thememoryband.com/ Steve Hunt FAWZY AL-AIEDY
Radio Bagdad Institute du Monde Arabe 321.094
Folk-rock from Syria, with Arabic tradi- tional and Western classical knobs on. Fawzy Al-Aiedy is a
bit of a musical institution, a prolific Bagh- dad-born 60-something singer who settled in Paris in the early ‘70s (and has been resi- dent in Strasbourg for the last few years). As well as singing in a voice that mixes the light and the guttural, he plays oud, oboe and cor anglais (yep, cor anglais) and is here accom- panied by a mix of Arabic and Western musi- cians (playing guitars, bass, drums, flute, percussion, bagpipes, accordeon and violin) on a set of mostly original songs dedicated to the youth of the Arab Spring. This is melt- ing-pot music of the most considered and attractive kind. Moving from swinging French-flavoured pieces such as Leyla (with
David Venitucci’s accordeon to the fore), through the low slung lope of Ya Habibi to a distinctive take on Nassam Alayna Al Hawa, the exile’s lament made famous by the leg- endary Fairuz. And then suddenly there’ll be a touch of oboe or a swooping oriental vio- lin line and some Middle Eastern call-and- response vocals. The Institute du Monde Arabe label is usually a mark of quality and here Al-Aiedy and co-producer/engineer Serge Glanzberg have done a fine job in cor- ralling all of these disparate influences into a highly satisfying whole.
www.fawzy-music.com/ Jamie Renton GUY CLARK
My Favourite Picture Of You Dualtone DUA1636
What can I say about a new Guy Clark recording? Right from the first note of Cornmeal Waltz it
oozes class. Class in production, class in musi- cianship, class in singing and above all, class in songwriting. Right from his debut, the wonderful Old Number One in 1975, Clark has been at the top of his profession, and is a writer who just never repeats himself with a seemingly endless supply of tunes and songs. He is also one who has been careful not to record unless he has enough good songs to make it worthwhile. This time he has another almost epic collection on offer. The title track immediately hits the top ten Guy Clark songs, taking its inspiration and idea from his late wife, Susanna, no mean writer herself. El Coy- ote is unusual for Guy as it is a song based on fact, a tragic tale of illegal immigrants from Mexico left to die by the side of the road, and moves him firmly into Woody Guthrie territo- ry. Followed by Heroes, another memorable Clark narrative, maybe moving from Guthrie to Hank Williams as Luke The Drifter. Sis Draper, who first appeared a few years ago to the tune of the Arkansas Traveller is killed off here to the melody of Shady Grove. Per- haps the most typical example of Clark’s art is Good Advice with words and tune so cleverly crafted. However, the tracks I have not sin- gled out are just as good and if Clark’s voice may be demonstrating slight sounds of age his talent certainly is not.
UK distribution by Proper Music.
www.propermusic.com
John Atkins
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