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Renee Austin - Sweet Talk
Blind Pig BPCD5087 Reviewed by AH
When Blind Pig sign an artist they very rarely pick a dud and Renee Austin, a five octave singer from Austin, Texas, is no exception. Austin is an artist capable of covering so many musical bases and she does it with a purr, a growl, a sexy moan and a throaty roar that constantly delights the listener. She's also a damn fine songwriter, penning seven of Sweet Talk's 11 tracks. However, no matter how good a singer/songwriter you are, you need a band to hang it all together; no problem here, the musicians she has at her disposal bring each and every song to life with dynamic and exhilarating playing. On opener 'Not Alone' she puts that five octave range to good use, ripping the song up and coming on all Tina turner (before Tina sold out to the charts). She duets with Delbert McLinton on the punchy mid-paced rocker 'Pretend we never met', throws in shades of Peggy lee on jazz number' Fool Moon', whips up a funky storm on the throbbing 'Pour The Sugar slowly' and even manages a pulsating romp through Gospel with 'Bottom of a Heart'. If you add in some dirty slide driven blues ('Bitter Water') and a little Stax style soul ('Unravelling'), what you end up with is one of this year's finest albums.

Jim Condie - Distant Cousins
Redberet Records BERCD01 Reviewed by AH
Jim Condie has had an interesting career putting it mildly. Picking up the guitar at 14, he didn't really see his first break until the age of 30 when he got a job backing Lena Zavaroni and Hercules the Bear (we all have to start somewhere). The next few years were spent in various bands and as a sideman to people like Van Morrison and Ali Farke Toure. He also had a spell as a promoter before taking the solo route and Distant Cousins is his first release. The album is acoustic based, rootsy folk / blues / country in the vein of early Ry Cooder and features some absolutely stunning picking from Condie on guitar. He handles most of the vocals and gets terrific backing from his band, especially Dice Jameson on dobro and Jane Discome on mandolin. (Her playing on 'Make Me a Pallet on the Floor' is as good as any Nashville musician could offer). There are 2 beautifully picked instrumentals, along with an authentic trawl through Woody Guthrie's 'Vigilante Man', where Condie treats us to his considerable talents on acoustic slide. If those classic early Cooder albums like Into the Purple Valley and Chicken Skin Music are on your record racks, I strongly suggest you check out Distant Cousins. It might be Scottish made but it has an All-American feel.

The Raveonettes - Chain Gang Of Love
Columbia 512378 2 Reviewed by MC
A few months after their debut mini album The Raveonettes release this, their first full length album. The Raveonettes are a girl/boy two-piece who combine buzz-saw guitars and double vocals to produce a strikingly original sound. There's a lot more to the Raveonettes than that though. Recorded entirely in Bb major and given a healthy dose of reverb the album sounds hugely retro, something they play on with their artwork and styling. But in truth it's not just superficial, their songs borrow heavily from the black and spiritual music tradition of America, and are then skillfully arranged and produced to get just the right effect. I can't even begin to list their influences, not least because they predate my birth by several decades, but suffice to say: this is a band that record in black and white. It's perhaps true that with Chain Gang.., the style is more important that the content, but that is not to say the content is lacking. This is a set of good solid tunes, with more variety than their previous recordings, all more than adequate. But it's the atmosphere that the album creates that marks this record out. There's no escaping it, this disc just sounds great.

Squeezebox - Drowning in Shallow Water
FF Vinyl ffvin024 Reviewed by RP
Comparisons to the monolithic anthem-like sound of an early U2 in tracks like 'Glasshouse', 'Bullitt Holes' or 'False Alarm' are not idly made, nor is it unreasonable to talk of Squeezebox and fellow valley boys the Stereophonics in the same breath. Both bands are capable of invoking a densely textured and coarse-grained conversational style of guitar-based rock music, while for 'Maim's Caravan' and 'Toadstool Carousel' this four-piece outfit recreates a true sense of that abrasive live gig intensity which has established their underground credentials and cult status throughout the Principality. Drowning in Shallow Water is one of those strong debut albums that will not astound you with the number of blinding intellectual insights or even the quality of its lyrical persuasiveness but it does possess an unguarded enthusiasm and musicality which demands serious reflection. Topical, touchingly mundane, knowing and wryly observed songs such as 'She Clipped My Wings' leave a lasting impression. The sad rider to all of this was the death at home of drummer Lee Pennington. His rhythmic presence will be missed and undoubtedly it is the kind of inescapable tragedy that could temper or influence the band's future output.
Supplier: www.ffvinyl.com

The Cooper Temple Clause - Kick up the fire, and let the flames break loose
Morning Records MORNING36 Reviewed by MC
Their debut album was always slightly disappointing. Having promised great things, with incendiary singles and self-confident statements, See This Through and Leave failed to deliver. It was always slightly pedestrian. With Kick up the fire... they have certainly avoided making the same mistake. This is the Cooper Temple Clause 'doing a Radiohead'. There may be singles here, but now the album is filled mainly with musical experimentation and electronic burbling. But the Coopers were always destined for this kind of thing. With a greater variation of pace and dynamic the album creates a much fuller picture, dripping with dark paranoia. When it does kick out, it does it in an uncontrolled riot of noise driven by sub-bass and samples. Whilst Radiohead have become wilfully obscure, The Cooper Temple Clause have become creatively progressive. If Kick up the fire... misses the mark then it is only because it set itself such a high target. That it succeeds at all is highly commendable. Maybe this album won't set the world alight, but it represents a band that are growing and developing, rather than spiralling pointlessly inward.

Eddi Reader - Sings The Songs Of Robert Burns
Rough Trade Records RTRADECDO97 Reviewed by RP
Placing the songs of that immortal Scot, Robert Burns within a modern folk setting and underpinning them with evocative arrangements for the Royal Scottish National Orchestra string players is a daring and unexpected enterprise. A fascinating one, however, which views those gorgeously poetic Eighteenth Century pastoral images of the Ayrshire countryside through a prism created from out of Eddi Reader's own gritty urban experiences during a troubled upbringing in the tenements of Glasgow. It is a revealing cultural counterpoint to a beautifully researched (and annotated) album of eleven songs including the traditional 'Winter It Is Past' and 'Ae Fond Kiss', an affectionate tale of fidelity in 'John Anderson My Jo' and the earthy romance of 'Brose And Butter'. I think the subversive edge is carefully developed. You can hear it through the discordant guitar scoring on tracks like 'Charlie Is My Darling', or in the way 'Ye Jacobites' is for much of its duration pared back to nothing more than Colin Reid's guitar and Reader's exquisite voice. The quiet, almost unnoticed yet delicate introduction of the strings here adds a bittersweet quality to its melancholia. Overall, this is a beguiling, elegantly crafted and intelligent musical homage that deserves every success on both sides of the border.

Holly Lerski - Life is Beautiful
Sanctuary Records : SANCD153 Reviewed by AH
After recording two albums with her band Angelou, (garnering great reviews, a cult following and an unwanted 'Folk Band' tag along the way) Holly Lerski decided to record the next album under her own name. With her new band in tow, Holly set off to record at a classic analogue studio in Denmark where she had every intention of completing the album. Unfortunately the budget ran out after a week and with only a handful of songs completed things looked ominously bleak until drummer Cath Evans contacted a friend in Manchester who loaned the band his flat to finish the album off. That friend was Martin Rebelski of The Doves and the band put his flat to good use, recording guitars in the bathroom, double bass in the kitchen and vocals in the hall! The end product is Life is Beautiful - what you might call a soundtrack for the summer. It has a lovely breezy feel to it with lots of jangly acoustic and electric guitars, Dusty Springfield-ish vocals and some beautiful songs, notably the dreamy ballad 'Firefly' and the deeply sensuous 'Tiger Falls'. Wogan has been playing the album a lot on his Radio 2 show - let's hope he can do for Holly what he did for Eva Cassidy.

Sleeper - The it Girl
Indolent Records SLEEPCDO12 (1996) Reviewed by MC
Why would I review Sleeper? Long thought of as Britpop also-rans and the very source of the term "Sleeper-bloke" they seem the essence of mediocrity. That is, of course, precisely why you should re-evaluate their finest record. Their debut album Smart was rightly described as derivative, and their final album Pleased to meet you was the vain effort of Louise Wener to salvage a dying band. But in-between, The it Girl was a small nugget overlooked in a crowded musical scene. The it Girl is an album that keeps finding its way onto my hi-fi. It catches the band at a crucial point: their technical skill had grown to compensate for any lack of passion, just before all emotion was finally stripped out by changes in their line up. Wener's soft, husky voice charges the songs with sexual suggestion, and the strength of those songs reflected the bands growing individual identity. And so they created a record I just keep coming back to. Perhaps you never bought it at the time, or perhaps you forgot you owned it. Either way, it's well worth dusting off.

Kings Of Leon - Youth and Young Manhood
Handmedown Records HMD 27 Reviewed by RP
The Kings of Leon: Caleb, Jared and Nathan Followill and their cousin Matthew are Tennessee natives whose brand of rocking rootsy alternative blues has at times that raucous and raw punk-like freshness about it. In 'Joe's Head' and 'Spiral Staircase', where Caleb's lazy, rasping, messy, screeching yet expressive vocals pierce your consciousness with the corrosive intensity of acid, it is exciting edge-of-your-seat counter-culture genius. Elsewhere in 'Trani' they show in this unlikely homage to a transvestite just how subversive these lads who grew up on the road with an evangelist father can be. Other gems include 'California Waiting', a breathlessly tender song and the rollicking anthem, 'Holy Roller Novocaine'. There is also a hidden eleventh track, 'Talahina Sky', which kicks in some minutes after the 'Novocaine' with a surprising and tenderly observed tone that suggests there's an even greater level of unpretentious diversity to come from these guys in the future. Ethan John's production that sharpens the delivery of vocals, bass, drums and guitar provides an essential part in driving a healthy wedge into our modern blues preconceptions. Essential listening material.

Rosanne Cash - Rules of Travel
Capitol Records 7243 8 37757 2 9 Reviewed by RP
Along with Emmylou, Linda and Nanci, Rosanne Cash (the daughter of the late great Johnny Cash and his first wife Vivian Liberto) was in the vanguard of a late 1980s 'new country' revival. They have broadened this genre's appeal, freeing it from the predictable sterility of "Hicksville" by straddling the boundaries between folk, pop and country music. Rosanne's songs have always placed a great deal of emphasis on the personal and to that end earlier albums like Interiors and The Wheel are noted for their reflections upon the breakdown of her marriage and its ensuing emotional fall out. Rules of Travel, the honest and pensive appraisal of the choices and directions that can be followed in life, opens a window to an equally enthralling view. Harmonising with Sheryl Crow for an opening 'Beautiful Pain' she muses over the exquisite combination of hurt and pleasure which being a martyr in love can bring. While the title-track advice on second chances suggests how to re-ignite the feelings of love when a heart has previously been bent and broken. Touchingly, Johnny joins Rosanne on 'September When It Comes', in this classic use of seasonal images and lengthening shadows to give consideration of a life. All eleven stunningly arranged and recorded songs offer profound emotional insights such as these.

Bert Jansch - Toy Balloon
Cooking Vinyl Cook CD 138 Reviewed by RP

Bert Jansch - Edge of a Dream
Sanctuary Records SANCD 136 Reviewed by RP
Since his eponymous debut LP in 1965 for the Transatlantic record label the Glasgow-born ex-Pentangle stalwart Bert Jansch has been a pillar of the British folk music community. Influential with a capital "I" would be an understatement. The brilliantly innovative acoustic guitar playing gained him a fearsome reputation amongst his peers, while the hauntingly evocative song writing and a distinctive, unexpectedly versatile but dependably strong voice have earned him the appreciation and loyalty of many fans even through those years blighted by alcoholism. His international standing was more recently renewed in the mid-1990s with a release that took many by surprise: When The Circus Comes To Town is an atmospheric album whose ardour, vision and soul have rightly seen it compared to those pivotal recordings made three decades earlier. These are qualities that easily permeate their way through both Toy Balloon (1998) and last year's Edge of Dreams. On both albums, I was quite simply knocked over by the quality of guitar playing which can in the space of a few chords sing with joy or weep in deepest sorrow. This applies equally to the music clothing those Jansch originals; his choice of covers and any of those beautifully arranged traditional songs. The slightest shift of emphasis, in weight or tone, so delicately worked out for Jackson C. Frank's 'Carnival' and also heard in the scoring of 'She Moved Through the Fair' or even on his own 'Paper Houses' and 'Betts Dance' (which are all to be found on Toy Balloon) leaves you gasping at their incandescent charm. His fingers feather the guitar strings and there's an easy fluidity to the fretwork which simply beguiles the listener with its tonal modulations, inflexions and lavish timbres. These tease out each and every emotional undercurrent from the lyrics of love, loss or betrayal. The intuitively perfect sense of timing, and this goes for his playing of straight-laced folk tunes, as well as a bluesy 'Waitin' and Wonderin' and the funky 'How It All Came Down', is masterful. Meanwhile, Pee Wee Ellis's saxophone, the pedal steel of BJ. Cole and harmonica and steel guitars of Johnny Hodge infuse and embolden these tracks with differing colours. Another stellar line up for Edge of a Dream has Bernard Butler's punchy electric guitar trading spots with a precocious Adam Jansch (bass guitar) and of course the incomparable Bert Jansch acoustic breaks. Makoto Sakamoto (Butler's wicked stick man) provides the rhythmic centre on four tracks including a tingling arrangement of 'I Cannot Keep From Crying' and on the ' more typical folk blues 'material like 'Walking This Road' where Jansch muses over that lonely and well-trodden path that lies ahead of these Journeymen. Haunting Hope Sandoval vocals on 'All This Remains' and a rock ballad style in the title track continues to apply a modern popular feel to this music. One that still manages to comfortably fit in alongside those wonderful Dave Swarbrick (violin) and Ralph McTell (harmonica) interludes. Swarbrick weaves his magic in a pithy 'Sweet Death' and for the jam session with Jansch on 'Gypsy Dave'. McTell's lips mourn for the dead on a carefully etched song about the events at the World Trade Centre 'Bright Sunny Morning' which tempers the horror, outrage and grief with slight ironic touches and a quietly questioning tone that will unsettle some through its honesty. The recording throughout has clarity, dynamics and a fully developed sound that recreates those surreal images of the blue sky, flames and waves of dust rolling over the Manhattan skyline with piercing intensity. Instrumental and vocal threads have their distinctive personality traits brought to the fore and this helps to convey a sense of the tactile and naturally flowing musical accent that complements the lyrical grip Jansch has on these proceedings.

Toy Balloon

Edge of a Dream

The Jimmy Guiffre 3 - The Easy Way
Verve / Speakers Corner MG VS-6095 Reviewed by DD
Guiffre created what he liked to call 'Folk-Jazz' and whilst this is not a simple concept to pin down the easy, rolling feel of this album goes some way to explaining what he meant. Joined by Jim Hall (guitar) and Ray Brown (bass), Guiffre's sax leads the way through this unchallenging album. Unerringly easy on the ear, with musicians of this calibre it's fortunately never 'easy listening'. The quality of musicianship keeps things well on the right side of somnambulant. The self-penned title track features some exquisite playing from Guiffre. The whole set is taken at a gentle pace, lots of walkin' bass from Brown, and muted chords from Hall as in their version of 'Come Rain or Come Shine' to take but one example. The pace picks up a little with 'Ray's Time' which as the title suggests gives Brown the chance to spread his wings, which he does with his customary ease, incenting Guiffre to a little more passion. The result is the standout track of this short set. Whilst not up their with Guiffre's very best, for me that'd be The Jimmy Guiffre 3 or maybe Western Suite, this is a very enjoyable and well recorded set. An exemplary Speakers Corner pressing too.
Supplier: Vivante - www.vivante.co.uk (44)(0)1293-822186

Lars Erstrand Trio and Quartet with Guests - The "Complete" Songs
Opus 3 CD 22014 Reviewed by SG
Vibraphone player Lars Erstrand, like a number of jazzmen, maintain that a song is not really complete without the verse that leads up to the main tune, even when performing instrumentals of them. This album includes eleven such "complete" songs, mainly from "The Great Swing Era", including such classics as 'S Wonderful, a wonderfully swinging Tea For Two and On The Sunny Side Of The Street, and honours such greats as Benny Goodman and George Shearing. While the whole group can really swing, it is the young pianist Jan Lundgren who seems the mainstay of the ensemble, exhibiting enthusiasm throughout. Along with Erstrand, who is always at his talented best, superb bass player Hans Beckenroth makes up the central trio. Drummer Leif "Gus" Dahlberg plays with great sensitivity, making up the quartet. There are also excellent contributions from guests, guitarist Bertil Fernqvist, Lars Tornqvist on cornet, and saxophonist Antii Sarpila, from Finland, who performs with great style on three tracks. With each player caught with a superb natural presence whether listening in stereo or to the four-channel recording, revealing wonderful details in the music, this Opus 3 SACD should not be missed.
Supplier: Vivante - www.vivante.co.uk (44)(0)1293-822186

Antonio Forcione - Touch Wood
Naim naimcd 069 Reviewed by DD
The album sleeve contains this quote from Forcione: "This album reflects some of the many influences I have absorbed over the years. Recording it, with my friends and fellow musicians, was a great experience, all the chemistry was there... buon ascolto!". That Forcione and all the musicians involved have had a great time is evident, and in doing so they have helped him deliver his best album to date. From the lightning paced solo 'Touchwood' that opens the album, through 'Tarantella' where superb, gutsy cello from Jenny Adejayan helps drive this number relentlessly ahead, to gentle heart-tugging vocals like Sabina Sciubba's duet in 'Mirror Mirror', this is a truly outstanding set. 'Alhambra' is so drenched in Spanish feel that it's almost a surprise to view an English winter through the living room windows as the number finishes. All but two of the 12 numbers are Forcione compositions, Piazzolla's 'Tango Suite / Libertango' and Giorgio Serci's 'Watercolour' round out the set. Such is the strength of musicianship here that it's impossible for me to single out a favourite track. Every one is superbly played and is steeped in atmosphere and in the obvious enjoyment of the musicians. The recording is amongst naim's very best, which is high praise indeed. As an added bonus you get a CDROM of 'Alhambra'. Highly recommended. What are you waiting for?!
Supplier: Naim - www.naim-audio.com

Gilad Atzmon and The Orient House Ensemble
Tip Toe TIP-888 844 2 Reviewed by DD
I was recently invited to a concert by Atzmon at the Watermill. Expecting an evening of atonal jazz I was a little trepidatious, but what the hell - a nice venue, a few drinks, a summers evening in the company of good friends - it couldn't be all bad. I was right about all the side issues but horribly wrong about the music. What a great band this is. It was one of the most enjoyable gigs I've ever attended, with a combination of extraordinary passion and great musicianship lifting the whole experience several levels above my expectations. This album whilst it can never capture the full power of the live experience does get pretty close. Mixing Arab and Israeli tunes there's a deeply felt political thread throughout the album dedicated as a prayer for the world to acknowledge the Palestinians right to return to their homeland. Just listen to the hearfelt vocals from Reem Kelani on the opening 'Dal'ouna On The Return' or to the tight and punchy playing of the band in 'Ouz'. This is an outstanding set by a very fine band who really have something to say. If you have the chance to catch them live grab it, whether you do or not this is a very fine and strongly recommended set.

Dan Hicks and The Hot Licks - Featuring An All Star Cast Of Friends
Surfdog Records 44018-2 Reviewed by DD
I've been a committed Hicks fan from his very first recordings back in the early seventies and my life would be empty indeed without my treasured copies of Striking It Rich and Last Train to Hicksville. Never having had the chance to see Hicks since his prime it was with a little trepidation that I made my way to the Borderline recently. I needn't have worried - Hicks is older, bigger but otherwise unchanged. Accompanied by a fine band he delivered a roof raising set that had every drop of his old sparkle and caustic wit. This live set features a huge cast of Hicks friends and alumni including the original Hot Licks. It suffers a little in the opening numbers from the size of the crowd onstage, but soon settles down to a more select band and really starts jumping when he's joined by the members of the original band with Page's violin to the fore. If you haven't heard him before he's not easy to describe: an acoustic, jazzy cabaret with a large twist of wry humour and a great deal of fine songwriting. This set, especially since it includes a DVD of the complete concert with two extra numbers over the CD, serves as a perfect introduction to one of the great under sung musical heroes.

Bob Barnard and The Swedish Jazz Kings featuring Roy Williams - A Tribute To Young Louis
Opus 3 CD 22013 Reviewed by SG
While Opus 3 have been re-issuing multi-channel SACDs, derived from their simply recorded original analogue tapes, Jan-Eric Persson has now embarked on releasing new four-channel SACDs recorded with an added "surround" microphone. Neither the centre or sub-woofer channels are utilised, but this does not seem to matter when the engineering is done properly, although when played only in stereo it lacks some of the wondrous three-dimensional effect that this label is so famous for. Having said that, this disc is nowhere near sounding flat and will still put most recordings to shame in this department. While the recording and label are purely Swedish, musically it is rather international, representing the early career of the great Louis Armstrong. Performed by Australian cornet player supreme, Bob Barnard, he's backed by the Swedish Jazz Kings, an excellent group of the most amazing traditional jazz interpreters who can always be counted on to make things swing. One of Britain's top trombonists, Roy Williams is featured, on seven of the twelve tracks. Most of the music comes from the 1924 to 1929 period, when Armstrong had his Hot Five and Hot Seven bands, and with such great tunes, performed with such style, how could this release not succeed?
Supplier: Vivante - www.vivante.co.uk (44)(0)1293-822186

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