MAGAZINEDIRTY LINEN
This is probably as close to a Jacqui McShee solo album as one is going
to get. MeShee's wondrous voice has only previously appeared on Pentangle
albums or as a guest on solo albums by the group's two original
guitarists, John Renbourn and Bert Jansch, so it is a bit of a revelation
to hear her sing in a different context.
McShee, together with John
Martyn band keyboardist Spencer Cozens and legendary drummer Gerry Conway,
form the nucleus of this new band. who bring in fresh arrangements to
familiar material, plus an exciting selection of new songs.
The album opens with Middle Eastern-flavored jazz of "Jabalpur". "Lovely Joan," an old Pentangle favorite, is given an almost Oriental feel with one-time Pentangle fiddler Mike Piggot adding some of his most exquisite playing since the Open the Door album. Other traditionals are revamped. such as "Thyme," which features African kora and percussion. and "The Wife of Ushers Well" handled as a slinky blues number. Ralph McTell performcd lovely duet with McShee on "Factory Girl." assisted by Tony Roberts' ghostly Northumbriarn pipes. There are several fine originals. like "Would You?" with guitarist Albert Lee and "Don't Turn on Your Light." featuring the double-headed axe attack of both Lee and John Martyn.
Though McShce doesn't stray too far from the Pentangle camp with the musicians she chose to work with. it is tremendously refreshing to hear her in a context so musically dissimilar to her famous band. Indeed. when the last incarnation of Pentangle tried such non-traditional arrangements they often sounded strained. while McShee's new group pulls it off with grace and style.
- Lahri Bond (Hadley MA)
FOLK ROOTS
This is going to be one of those "I never cared for Pentangle all
that much but..." reviews. And for anybody of a similar frame of
mind, then let me offer instant reassurance that this bears no resemblance
to Pentangle whatsoever.
Like every other band who ever picked up an
instrument in the '6Os and '70s, Pentangle may have re-emerged of late,
but this is an engrossing tangent that Ms McShee and Mr Conway
might-profitably have entertained much earlier in the game. Dramatic,
challenging traditional songs like Factory Girl. Lovely Joan and The Wife
Of Usher's Well; inventive, rhythmic arrangements with engaging,
thoughtful undercurrents of jazz and blues; well-chosen guest artists like
Ralph McTell and Albert Lee; and a magnificently creative dip into Asian
sounds with the mesmerising Jabalpur.
Here, for once, is a real
clash of cultures that doesn't jar or reek of self-consciousness. With
Jerry Underwood supplying some blinding soprano sax runs, the tracks
meanders convincingly from its ethereal, spiritual beginnings into a
compellingly infectious crush of sound topped by Mike Piggott's violin
runs and a chorus of surprising poppiness.
The effectively
ghostly arrangement applied to Lovely Joan features bubbling keyboard
effects and another subtle build-up of sound. There's nothing fey or
unbearably genteel about the way these traditional numbers are tackled -
the full drama and intensity is intelligently squeezed from each song
through unpredictale soundscapes and inspired production. Thyme, something
of a hoary old chestnut in this neck of the woods, is invested with a
jaunty. almost Latin percussive backdrop and some dazzling modern jazz
keyboard work from Spencer Cozens, who comes into his own on the track.
Cozens'
incessantly original keyboard work is at the heart of all the album's best
moments and perhaps provides the inspiration to bring out the best in his
coconspirators too. Jacqui McShee - who used to sound so fragile you
feared she'd break - now has an earthiness in her voice that gives her
performance much more passion. It's not exactly a Marianne Faithfull
transformation job, but the odd gnarled waver is highly alluring.
She
now displays much greater versatility than in the past, moving easily from
the outstanding duet on Factory Girl with Ralph McTell to the role of a
passable torch singer on Sammy Cahn's Indiscretion, a jazz arrangement
lifted by Tony Roberts' expressive tenor sax.
There are moments
when it becomes a little too new-agey for comfort, and the general
late-night dreaminess tends to be overbearing towards the end, but it
straddles many styles without tumbling on its face. And that is a rare
achievement.
Colin Irwin
MAGAZINE
There's much folk-related history here, given the principles'
intermittent involvement with Pentangle, Jethro Tull, Cat Stevens and John
Martyn, but with few exceptions, the materlal sounds recently visited,
thanks in the main to the crisp modernity of Cozens's keyboard anangements
and the judidous ethnic twists provided by the inclusion of kora, tablas
and berimbau. The contemponry compositions (induding the enterprising
title track and Sandwood) may be a little overly musical for some, but the
traditional songs like Lovely Joan and Wife of Ushers Well are dusted down
with skill and sensitivity.
Interestingly. despite the mighty presence
of John Martyn and Albert Lee, it's teft to Ralph McTell to steal the
points with Factory Girl - a performance that infuses a slight song with
gravity and genuine tenderness.* * *
Rob Beattie