Reviews
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| FOLKING.COM The first track on the album is "The Watchmaker," beginning with Chris Sherburn's pulsating Anglo concertina, before the sound is filled out by Scott's wailing uilleann pipes and Bartley's rhythmic guitar. When the pace really gets going, the three instruments are woven intricately, to produce a powerful and captivating ensemble. For me it is Denny Bartley's shimmering vocals that provide the ultimate draw to this recording. On the traditional song, "Next Market Day," Bartley's weathered tones make him sound as if he's living the lyrics, not just singing them. There's no show about Bartley's singing, it's just beautifully plaintive and shot through with earnest sentiment. The arrangements applied to the songs are innovative, and take the songs to a completely different place than their more familiar arrangements. Ewan MacColl's "Moving On Song" is set over a frenzied melody, creating an appropriately Romany-esque sound. Conversely, "Whisky In The Jar" is slowed right down, beautifully capturing the story-telling aspect of the song, and making for an altogether compelling listen. In delicious contrast to the other sets of tunes, "Autumn Child" begins with an achingly serene air, courtesy of Nick Scott's uilleann pipes, revealing the true splendour of this magnificent instrument. Sherburn's spirited Anglo concertina punches its sound through, as the drone of the pipes fades away, to kick off another lively and rhythmic tune, with all three instruments reuniting to create the undeniably powerful sound that is Last Night's Fun at their sparkling best. My one criticism would be that, but for the last track, all the between-song banter has been excluded. And listening to the amusing banter that precedes this final track suggests that this is a great shame! However, this doesn't detract from the phenomenal music here, and one listen to this album is likely to have you racing to experience their live performance in the flesh! Written by: Mike Wilson www.folking.com/reviews/reviews/833.shtml FOLKINGABOUT.COM Mind you, it's hard to pick out highlights, this is a brilliant album, packed full of delights. Each of the players is a master of their instrument: Denny's guitar style is unlike anything else you will hear, his voice is as I recently described after seeing them in Lymm; 'when Denny opens his mouth it feels like a storm blowing in across the room, something else all together; it's a powerful force with a major emotional crack in it that is not at all sentimental, but sounds like its been hard won from a difficult seam.' Nick's pipe playing is exemplary - his control over his complex and cantankerous instrument is masterful, and Chris's concertina playing can range from barely audible drone-like backing to breath-taking runs and all stations in between - and the result is, for me, one of the most enthralling live performances currently to be had." John Sharp; read the full review at folkingabout.com NETRHYTHMS "...one of the noteworthy features of LNF's approach is the way they dovetail songs into tunes so very naturally, building up and on the atmosphere created while affording opportunity for typically stunning displays of showmanship. Their entirely natural individual and collective virtuosity is as astounding and powerful as ever, and always amounts to so much more than a mere vehicle for the session-style improvisation it superficially resembles and from years of experience in which activity it clearly draws its main inspiration. The songs on the set cannily mingle stuff they've been doing for donkey's years (no, not Sullivan's John! - I mean Roseville Fair...) with some newer additions to their repertoire (Next Market Day, Tom Joad), while the current showpiece for Nick is the stunning air Autumn Child by Brendan O'Regan. ...So there ye have it: fun not just from last night but for every
night - a permanent record of a seriously vibrant trio who are still
a real force to be reckoned with on the live circuit, an act that
I for one never tire of seeing ... LIVING TRADITION Live From The Mac was recorded straight from the mixing desk by Colin Boyd before being edited by Oliver Knight. Much of the chat has disappeared which is a plus point, as I find it spoils a live CD hearing the intros for the third time. However we still have a variety of Chris’s mid-track noises – something which had my dogs barking the first time I played Live Form The Mac!! The set is much as you would expect, a mixture of tried and tested tunes and songs, but the real surprise for me was the reworking of Whisky in the Jar, almost unrecognisable but nevertheless outstanding. But then so is this CD. I am sure it will be a success and, as they are hardworking, you should get plenty of chance to see them and buy it. Live From The Mac proves that Last Night’s Fun can also be fun today and tomorrow. Dave Beeby. Living Tradition, Issue 72. January 2007. SHREDS AND PATCHES Opening with the trad tune The Watchmaker, the boys then weave their way through tapestry of songs containing just the right degree of sex, violence and oppression to keep the most discerning of folkists happy, before finishing with Scotty’s showpiece tune, Autumn Child (penned by Brendan O’Regan), which leaves the listener shouting for an encore, but with the only option to hit the repeat button on the CD player! Highlights along the way include Ewan McColl’s Moving On Song, Woody Guthrie’s Tom Joad (both given LNF's distinctive seal), Roseville Fair, Sherburn’s self-penned tune Doxford Hall and Bartley’s melancholic and moving interpretation of the traditional Whisky in the Jar. What you get with this album is exactly what it says on the packet – "recorded straight from the mixing desk on 3rd February 2006" at the Birmingham Arts Centre mac (what other genre would dare to be so brazenly bold!). This offering really does do a good job of capturing the atmosphere of a LNF gig. If I do have one little niggle, it’s that the twixt-track banter that is so much an integral part of the LNF experience is somewhat lost in the background and, I feel, would have benefited from a wee lift. That aside, if you can’t appreciate this album, you can’t appreciate folk music. I can’t stop playing it and the "encore" button is frequently bought into action! Alan Heath Shreds and Patches. Issue 39. Spring 2007 TYKES NEWS This is without doubt a lovely live recording with a great mix of traditional and more contemporary numbers: Denny, Chris and Nick's playing moves from powerful to atmospherically haunting as they go through the full range of the set. It's hard to select stand out tracks and confirmed fans and newcomers to the bands and their style have much to enjoy and savour but for me the haunting beauty of "Whisky in the Jar", the wistfulnesss of the Uilleann Pipes on "Autumn Child" and the drive and power of the playing on "The Watchmaker" showcase the diversity and craft of the playing perfectly. Overall musically a super live album, the beauty of the songs and
tunes without the full essence of the full live performance; there's
still a full performance out there, buy the album but more important
catch them live. DIRTY LINEN– The Magazine of Folk and World Music.
USA. Last Night's Fun is one of those groups that doesn't so much play Irish music as attack it, which isn't a bad thing when you have the sort of visceral energy that these guys put into their work. In this concert set, the trio of raw-voiced singer and guitarist Denny Bartley, concertina player Chris Sherburn and uilleann piper Nick Scott plays with ferocity and fervour on tracks like Ewan McColl's 'Moving on Song' on which Sherburn's concertina lines cut through the melody like a cold wind. The traditional 'Next Market Day' appears in a tense arrangement that gives a sinister edge to the song's story of seduction, while the trio's gently roughened version of Bill Staines's familiar 'Roseville Fair' takes a delightful side trip into a bright concertina jig. This is the muscular opposite of the synth-drenched mush that sometimes
passes for Celtic music these days.
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Live from the mac LNF Records LNFR
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