65 f


much bigger project than a fiddle album, and a mighty piece of work.


The first track, Suistamo, uses a tradition- al tune; all the others are his own composi- tions, sometimes showing Kaustinen roots but reflecting and playing with other European traditions, styles and ages of music. Working with engineer Seppo Santala he’s produced sounds, with massive dynamic changes from tiny to enormous, from a mass of acoustic instruments including strings, frets, reeds, hurdy-gurdy, brass, piano, glockenspiel, voic- es and percussion, in a set of melodies rich with melody, excitement, exuberance, subtle- ty and constantly changing texture.


I see images, a mental film show, and for


me that’s what transforms instrumental music from laudably skilful to a complete, fully engaging journey.


www.villojanen.com Andrew Cronshaw


THIMIOS ATZAKAS Udopia Carpe Diem 2016


Udopia by the Greek oud-player and compos- er Thimios Atzakas starts off nicely with an interesting and agreeable first piece, Nada. It includes some unusual singing by Avgerini Gatsi (similarly on the last piece Tertsina, another microtonal song) which reminds me of Amelia Cuni singing John Cage’s Microton- al Ragas. Here the interweaving of folk, mod- ern classical and jazz (the right kind of, if I may say so) elements works to make the piece richly complex. But after that, the album drifts (mostly) instrumentally in a way which doesn’t seem to repay repeated listening. The seven other pieces seem to be a succession of mean- dering introductions which don’t resolve into clear compositions (excepting the overfamiliar Satie tune Gnossienne 1 which sounds better in the taksim which introduces it). Meander- ing can be a lovely way to make music but here – though the music is pleasant – mostly, I don’t think it works.


www.carpediem-records.de/en/ Nick Hobbs


ARNIE NAIMAN My Lucky Stars Merriweather M01AN


A collection of mostly original instrumental music composed on the five-string banjo over the last ten years by a Canadian old-time banjo maestro. Some tracks – like the gor- geous two-finger style title track and Rollick- ing Edward (named for Naiman’s grandson) are performed entirely solo, while others are performed in duo with guitarist Chris Coole, or in ensemble with Coole, fiddlers John Showman and Hannah Shira Naiman, and Max Heineman on bass.


The second tune in the Slipping And Slid-


ing set is traditional (sourced from North Car- olina fiddler Marcis Martin) and Square Peg is by fiddler Jim Childress, but otherwise it’s all Naiman’s own work.


He is, indisputably, a masterful banjo


player, but equally importantly he’s a very fine tunesmith too. Playin’ Jane is the most joyous of earworms, while tunes like Snowy Morning/The Old New Year are sure to enter the session repertoire of five-string slingers everywhere.


The CD sleevenotes are brief but include information about the tunings and which of Naiman’s various instruments (Vega tuba- phone, Romero, Rickard spunover) he’s play- ing on each track.


Produced with funding support from the Ontario Arts Council


arnienaiman.com Steve Hunt Allan Taylor


ROBB JOHNSON My Best Regards Irregular IRR100


Robb’s latest collection is a ‘big issue’ in many ways. First, it marks a landmark big-round- figure release for the Irregular label (who’d have thought it?). Secondly, having cleared the decks only a few months ago with an epic five-CD career-to-date box-set, My Best Regards functions as both a consolidation of Robb’s status as a key songwriter for our age and a progressive development in the actual presentation of his songs.


The thirteen new offerings here cover the spectrum of Robb’s writing from the per- sonal to the political and all the various shared experiences that form points in between: rock’n’roll culture as both a back- drop and a life metaphor (Suzie’s Party, Bet- ter Than TV); the drawing of parallels between history and where we are now (September 1939); the spirit of place (Dear Franz, Sidmouth Promenade, and the almost Betjeman-esque vignette Babbacombe At The Closing Of The Day); the swaggering twang of That Mystery Beat and the simple pleasures of A Whole Lot Less; and of course the obligatory RJ attack on political chicanery (The Future Starts Here). Three of the songs appear in two differently-scored versions – the standout being When The Tide Comes In, whose sparse alternate version features a passionate vocal contribution from Palestini- an singer Reem Kalani in stark contrast to the fulsome string arrangement bestowed on Robb’s own rendition.


Which leads me to the songs’ presenta- tion: the observation and the outrage are now clothed in more consciously arranged musical settings that rather cleverly play with our expectations while nevertheless not fail- ing to deliver on the songs’ messages. Some- times the arrangements hark back to accessi- ble, almost mellow stylings from rock and post-punk, yet the sharp (though unassum- ingly tasteful) musicianship of Robb and his trusty, tight three-piece band (keyboardist Jenny Carr, bassist John Forrester and son Arv at the drumkit) in no way shortchanges us on essential thrust. There’s also guest sax and clarinet (Linz Maesterosa), violin (Saskia Tomkins), cello (Jim Cannell), and even some cooing female backing vocals (Kirsty Martin).


On My Best Regards, Robb’s songwriting proves as literate as ever, but the mellower moments keep the justified anger in check


and balance, while there’s a new dimension of considered cool savviness to the musical arrangements. As Robb himself has cautiously posited, this new offering may well have turned out to be particularly good.


www.robbjohnson.co.uk David Kidman ALLAN TAYLOR


There Was A Time Stockfisch SFR 357.9015.2


This album has its origins in a concert given in July 2013 where, at the instigation of Andrea del Favero, director of the Folkest Festival in Friuli, northern Italy, Allan performed, with the backing of a full symphony orchestra in arrangements by composer/arranger/conduc- tor Valter Sivilotti, a selection of his own songs and two by Italian songwriters which he had translated. Playing the guitar and singing with the orchestra proved more diffi- cult than it might sound in pure conceptual terms, but on this subsequent CD recording of the songs using comparable instrumental forces (in this case the Göttinger Symphonie Orchester), Allan and the Stockfisch crew rise effortlessly above these challenges, produc- ing a sumptuous yet admirably detailed sound that’s ideally balanced.


The songs span the past three decades, and have been chosen very carefully since not every song lends itself to orchestration. Allan’s singing seems to take on an extra dimension of expressiveness here too, assur- ing the status of the songs as true modern- day chansons. The sonic splendour of the orchestral tapestry, typical of the classic- romantic period, is perceptively and sensitive- ly managed in these arrangements, realising the potential of timbres to convey a mood in counterpoint to the sung lyrics (even on the more overtly dramatic touches such as the Janáˇcek-Sinfonietta-style timpani figures and trumpet flourishes on The Beggar).


The more animated passages in songs


such as Win Or Lose are creatively steered, avoiding the all-too-easy option of bombast by the natural momentum in the phrasing. The calm of reflection produces its own drama too, yet the generally pensive air engenders a certain consistency of mood which is always at the service of the song rather than calling attention to itself for its own sake.


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