Withered Hand - You're Not Alone

(Morning Star, June 28, 2009)

EP review

In a prime taster of the forthcoming full-length album, Edinburgh troubadour Dan Willson makes a gentle pitch for Scottish artist of 2009.

The CD was recorded with two of Scotland's best-regarded indie labels, with Willson also making the genius decision of involving Kenny Anderson - bard of Fife's East Neuk and one of Fence Record's brightest lights, as King Creosote and producer extraordinaire.

The high point here is Big Ten Four (Paul's Song), but all four tracks have a folky insouciance which the Fence guys and their collaborators seem to do so well.

Mundy - Strawberry Blood

(Morning Star, June 21, 2009)

Album review

"Big in his native Ireland" is not the most heartening way to describe an artist, but singer-songwriter Mundy seems to have made a splash in his home country and not so much as a ripple in Britain.
His fourth record Strawberry Blood follows up 2004 release Raining Down Arrows, a record which has proven platinum at home, so it's understandable that Strawberry Blood sees Mundy pursuing the same old line of gentle radio-friendly pop falling somewhere between The Thrills and Ronan Keating.
Nice if you like that sort of thing, which Britain apparently doesn't.

Eugene McGuinness - Wendy Wonders

(Muso's Guide, June 18, 2009)

Single review

Leytonstone’s chief troubadour is back with more wryly observed pith and middle England melancholia than you can shake a stick at.

‘Wendy Wonders’ is the epitome of Eugene McGuinness‘ split musical personality - one the one hand, an injection of punk with a side of snarling teen attitood, but on the other, a class which evades musical stars operating outwith the 1950s.

Vocally, Eugene’s echo-laden thrum owes more than a little to the mellow style of Matt Munro, the laconic beat drifting through like an early evening cabaret.

Opening on a spinning disco ball, the dreary club playing host to Eugene McGuinness and the Lizards in the ‘Wendy Wonders’ video really gives the Phoenix Club a run for its tired, tacky money.

Against a backing of tinsel and disco lights, a grey-t-shirted McGuinness mugs and giggles, all the while singing a maudlin ode to suburban sadness. Parading in the skinniest of jeans, there seems to be a definite risk of permanent physical damage among the onstage players.

Perfectly pitched to soundtrack a Smiths reunion night, there’s plenty of character in McGuinness’ never disappointing voice, and a myriad of funny lyrics make it clear that the apparent simplicity of ‘Wendy Wonders’ is a myth, and that there’s actually plenty going on here.

The lustful heartache of the lyric is a testament to young McGuinness’ sorcery, with lines like, “I’m a hollow man with twelve tin cans of woe” and “Wendy wonders why I’m still so cold/Proceeds to throw my stuff out the window”.

Emotional and intelligent, McGuinness has once again emitted a release which makes nothing of his tender years. Exquisite.

Sister Fa - Sarabah - Tales From The Flipside Of Paradise

(For The Record, June 9, 2009)

Album review

A truly committed campaigner, Sister Fa aka Fatou Mandiang Diatta has something of an axe to grind.

As Senegal's lauded 'Queen of Hip Hop', she is at the forefront of a serious campaign against FGM, or female genetic mutilation. Her interest in social themes and issues doesn't stop there - Sister Fa has something to say too on arranged marriage, AIDS, the plight of Senegalese soldiers... the list goes on.

But while this may sound a little worthy, please try and put it out of your head and just listen to this, her second solo record.

Opener 'Sister Fa La' is just the sort of cool self-referential record that kills on the rap and hip hop scene, underpinned by a crisp beat which smacks of modernity and the global influence of black music.

Throughout 'Sarabah – Tales From The Flipside Of Paradise', from the multilingual vocals - in Wolof, Manding, Jola and French - to the unique rhythmic make-up of the songs - mixing tribal beats with modern hip hop sounds - Sister Fa truly sounds like nothing else.

The record's high point, title track 'Sarabah' makes a virtue of the multi-lingual vocal and yet manages for all the world to groove like english language hip hop.

From the standpoint of social awareness, Sister Fa easily surpasses many posturing stars, but more than that - her incredible talent shines unwaveringly through her cool music and personal lyrics.

For hailing from the flipside of paradise, Sister Fa never fails to make a virtue of all of her gifts - making for one hell of an affecting record.

Crosby, Stills and Nash - Demos

(Muso's Guide, June 5, 2009)

Reviews album

“Influential”, “legendary”, “era-defining” - music journalists are all too eager to bandy about phrases of ageless, timeless wonder in reviews without having any actual certainty of how many have been influenced by the act under scrutiny.

So, accept with a pinch of salt but a sizeable degree of certainty that Crosby, Stills and Nash are the real deal.

Those of you who know them (and their sometime band colleague who features here, Neil Young) will be exploding with indignation (”Of course they’re legendary!”) but if you haven’t a baldy who they are, here’re some Cliff’s Notes.

California native David Crosby came from The Byrds, Brit Graham Nash from The Hollies and Stephen Stills from Buffalo Springfield, along with Neil Young a little later.

All accomplished musicians with a nice line in folky, soulful, melodic pop, and all came together at one magical time when the stars aligned and everything seemed right. Otherwise known as 1968. The members were all equally committed to political rabble rousing, and their central conceit is “love thy neighbour”, which might be a bit hippy-dippy Woodstock for some, but which resonates for others even now.

Demos kicks off handsomely, opening with the Nash-composed ‘Marrakesh Express’. Crosby, Stills and Nash are at home in the rich harmonies of this track. The acoustic guitar-led demo is less psychedelic than the eventual single, but this version takes the tuneful essence of the simple song and makes it rich with sweetness and swagger in equal measure.

Because of the individual successes of the band members before the foundation of Crosby, Stills & Nash, many of the demos on display here are solo works which would go on to become solo hits after the release of a couple of CSN records.

Highlight of the record is definitely David Crosby’s anthemic anti-war ‘Almost Cut My Hair’ - more than five minutes of the most soulful, husky-voiced folk that anyone could imagine. The resonance of Crosby’s voice, and the depth of feeling in the counter-culture lyrics like, “I feel like letting my freak flag fly”.

Also worth noting is the Real Radio favourite, 1970’s ‘Love The One You’re With’. Stephen Stills’ complex guitar arrangements shine in this demo version more than the more-recognised studio recording, and its straightforward soulfulness mocks the myriad inferior cover versions which have surfaced since. The song ended up on Stills’ solo debut album and remains his biggest hit.

Neil Young’s trademark falsetto tenor is apparent on ‘Music Is Love’, a three-way collaboration between himself, Crosby and Nash which packs more of a soulful punch than the studio version on Crosby’s 1971 debut solo record.

Collections of demos, rarities and B-sides are usually only for the fans. After all, who but the die-hards can tell the difference in the chord progression of a 1969 hit, or pick out the harmonies which didn’t make the cut.

Crosby, Stills and Nash’s Demos, is, if anything, an introduction to songs written by musical masters. In their purest form, the songs on show here are imaginative, breathtaking and splendid. They speak of a different time, but their ethos was the same then as now, and the whole record ends up leaving just a hint of sadness for this lost time and these lost talents.

Real life: "Our hearing dog works so hard for us"

(Somerfield magazine, June 2009)