Reviews
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| MOJO **** (four stars) THE OBSERVER LIVING TRADITION The problem he has (apart from certain band members coming from the top echelons of scallywagdom) is that LNF’s live performance present their music so perfectly that to present it in any other form will always fall short. So having settled that it’s not as good as live, let me rush on to say this is a very fine CD indeed, combining elements of great strength and durability with complex and intricate beauty, producing a result that is – it must be said – tempered. Very close to the 45 minutes that classic albums are supposed to last, Tempered features a very satisfactory alternation of four tune sets with four songs. The songs are Tawney’s Sammy’s Bar, McColl’s Thirty Foot Trailer, Guthrie’s Tom Joad and a wonderful reworking of the traditional Whiskey In The Jar, all sung by Denny Bartley in that way he has of making things sound so very old, and yet so very new at the same time. Tunes include The Humours of Ballyloughlin, The Watchmaker and Doxford Hall, the latter being made up by Chris Sherburn while the others were doing more normal things like eating, sleeping and so on. We are extremely fortunate that these three found one another (I
like to think that Chris and Denny joined Nick Scott rather than vice
versa) in order to make such great, great music and brighten our lives.
Tempered is another exciting chapter in the fascinating story that
is Last Night’s Fun. SHREDS AND PATCHES Then there’s the production which, as with their previous CD “Dubh”, is absolutely faultless. I like my folk music with a bit of rough edge to it. This is normally achieved at the expense of recording quality. The regular LNF production team of McNally and Knight have cracked that one, delivering the rough and smooth with their usual skill and dexterity. The tunes are mostly of the Irish persuasion, played on uilleann pipes, anglo concertina and guitar. This combination, in these hands, creates a sound that I have not heard anywhere else in the world, especially Ireland! Look at this list of songs: Sammy’s Bar – Thirty Foot Trailer – Tom Joad – Whiskey in the Jar. Hoary old chestnuts or what? Not a bit of it. New life and relevance abound, due in the main to Denny Bartley’s committed delivery. Whiskey in the Jar is a particularly sad lament which bears little or no relation to that rowdy, bar thumping anthem so popular in Irish theme pubs. Great cover and sleeve notes, so that’s Five Gold Stars yet
again for Last Night’s Fun. You may have been lucky enough to
catch them at Whitchurch or Hope in the last month or two. If not,
Sherburn, Bartley and Scott’s Last Night’s Fun will be
appearing at both Warwick and Bridgnorth Festivals, later this year. FOLKING.COM Capturing just the right moment in a performance can be just plain awkward at times for many engineers and you have to aware of each nuance the band conveys or you are in serious danger of missing ‘the right moment’ altogether. None of this is lost on Adrian McNally the lads' engineer and producer who has an empathy with what each musician brings to the overall sound and draws on that to raise and lower the temperature. In order to find what was (I would imagine) the best environment in which to nurture this more or less ‘live’ quality our intrepid trio headed for Doxford Hall in Northumberland and judging by the pictures in the accompanying booklet you can just see them snugly sitting round an open fireplace with beaming smiles as they launch into another set of reels. As you’re listening to the recording you can just feel the
tension created by the inter-active use of Uilleann pipes and Chris’s
anglo concertina utilising the harnessed beauty of unison lead lines
or the occasional harmony for good measure. The crowning glory on
an album littered with technical merit has to be Denny’s vocals
on an uncommonly slow version of the old chestnut ‘Whiskey In
Jar’ where his emotive rendering makes the original melody seem
superfluous. All in all a resounding thumbs up! NETRHYTHMS.CO.UK The contrast with the trio's previous recording Dubh is especially telling, since Dubh was a near-ideal re-creation of their stupendous live music-making, whereas Tempered is very evidently a production (albeit a transparently mature one) on an altogether more intimate canvas. The title is perfectly chosen too, in that the isolated studio ambience (of Doxford Hall, Northumberland, where the album was recorded in the depths of winter, snow-bound and with no external distractions!) has, er, tempered any potential excesses and ramblings to produce an admirably focused set that emphasises just how much these three superb musicians are genuinely at one with each other in terms of temperament (I use the word deliberately!) and spontaneity of inspiration. Many's the time over the years that I've praised each musician's individual prowess and unstinting absolute commitment to the music, and I've no need to repeat those givens here, but there are moments on Tempered where I'm convinced they've never performed better. The album's eight tracks are divided absolutely equally between instrumental sets and songs; the former brings us more of those typically canny juxtapositions from LNF's seemingly inexhaustible store of traditional Irish tunes, together with an example of Chris's penchant for "making up" tunes for any occasion! The opening cut (close on six minutes of The Humours Of Ballyloughlin), is an exception in that it's more of an extemporisation (by Nick) on that celebrated pipe-jig, which developed from a warm-up for the studio session proper ("we just let Scotty loose on it"!). This track is, however, a persuasive demonstration of LNF's "want to marry a small dose of pre-determined arrangement with plenty of non-determined musical exploration". Another highlight is the eight-minute penultimate track, Autumn Child, which marries Brendan O'Regan's "swine to follow" tune with a brace of fantastic slides. Of the four songs, two (Ewan MacColl's Thirty Foot Trailer and Woody Guthrie's Tom Joad) share a common theme (the plight of the travelling man), while the album closer's a mesmeric Whiskey In The Jar, a truly timeless and uniquely styled reading of that old chestnut as you're ever likely to hear, and pretty much unrivalled in my book. I must admit that I didn't find Denny's rendition of Sammy's Bar quite as convincing, its comparatively driven pace and unorthodox accenting seeming a tad at odds with the tragic melancholy of Cyril Tawney's tale; but it's still more refreshing in its own strange way than many of the dirge-like renditions I've heard over the years. All in all though, Tempered is a real jewel, and a further milestone
in the continuing development of Sherburn, Bartley and Scott, musicians
in the premier league whose force of brilliance and personality rightly
ensures that folks will readily, and repeatedly, travel many miles
to catch them in performance. SUNDAY HERALD On the instrumental side, away from the frenzy of the live arena,
there’s a winning emphasis on letting the tunes relax and breathe,
with the beautifully measured opening pipe jig, The Humours Of Ballyloughlin,
setting the tone. For this listener, though, Bartley’s singing
came across as a distinctly unmelodious instrument, his ornamentation
mannered and strained. This could be partly a matter of material,
however, for the exception is a tersely eloquent version of Woody
Guthrie’s Tom Joad, where straitened, old-time vocal fits snugly
with the character of the song. FOLKWORLD.DE This is the third album of the trio, after "Dubh" and "Live at the Wharf". "Tempered" has a very relaxed feeling, and provides plenty of musical space for all three musicians. Compared to their last album "Dubh", which featured rather dark and serious music, this one has a much more positive atmosphere. The material is very well chosen - the instrumental sets take full advantage of the three instruments, featuring some haunting solo piping or concertina playing as well as energetic joint playing of pipes, concertina and guitar. "The Watchmaker" set is a classic example of the trio's talent - starting off with a beautiful gentle tune "The Cliffs of Moher", with first solo concertina, leading into a beautiful slow ensemble playing, followed by two more powerful traditional tunes. The four songs are enjoyable as well - I like in particular "Sammy's Bar" and "Thirty Foot Trailer", which seem to be well suited to Denny's singing style. The other two songs are Woody Guthrie's "Tom Load" and an unusual lament version of "Whisky in the Jar". Even though I have to say that I still miss the bodhrán playing
of Jane Sherburn, who performed on Denny and Chris' earlier albums,
"Tempered" is a treat. Last Night's Fun's definite best
album so far. IRISH MUSIC MAGAZINE A tricky, slightly off-kilter intro has the lads off into a fine Humours of Ballyloughlin, seamlessly followed by Sammy’s Bar, one of four songs which Bartley sings on the disc. His voice is resonant if not rich, but clearly he’s an experienced singer with a quavering, soulful style that suits his selections well. Thirty Foot Trailer gets a heartfelt treatment, Whiskey In The Jar is done more reflective than rousing, and Woody Guthrie’s song Tom Joad is suitably stout and stirring. Of greater attraction are the four instrumentals, which work out lovely and powerful. One very good set begins with Cliffs of Moher, Sherburn’s concertina bringing you straight hearthside, and he and Nick Scott fairly spring across the flagstones on The Watchmaker, and stride confidently through Famous Ballymote. Another standout is the set that begins with Autumn Child, a delicious number from Nick Scott, his pipes potent on the tender caress of the embracing melody. It’s married to the Unknown Slide with a nice bit of concertina, capped by O’Keefe’s Slide, making this perhaps the most exciting track on the disc. There’s a strong pulse from this trio, the tunes are stronger
than the songs, with both concertina and pipes grabbing attention
and Bartley’s guitar accompaniment chiming with sympathy and
support. All told this is a good listen from a motivated trio. |
Tempered Rabble Rouser RR003 [