REVIEWS
Fatea Magazine Too Much Water
Free to download in these pestilent times, or at least until he can begin gigging
again, Harry Skinner's second solo album is a graceful amalgam of the last Idon't-know-how-many years slinging a guitar for the benefit of his and other people's songs. His name may be familiar to blues watchers from his three decades (and counting) with far-feted New Wave of British Blues outfit 'The Producers' and the acclaimed duo he gigs with that band's bassist Dave
Saunders. More recently his guitar has brought depth and breadth to the AngloAmericana beat group tangles of south coast combo 'Dumb Poets'.
It's a rich history and it all plays into these solo meanderings, from the folk-country banjo skips and restrained slide guitar that drive Rich Man Poor Man Beggar Man Thief to the crafted picking and chord changes that speak of jazz as much as proggy-folk on Summer's Gone. The playing is matched perfectly by a time-soaked vocal performance that more than makes up for its untrained rasps with bags of feel tempered and finessed on a thousand nights on a thousand stages.
The enchanting Follow the Dog gamely mines the blues root still further although it's A Meditation on Blind Willie Johnson that really takes the biscuit. The clue's in the title of course, but it's the treatise of a devotee and more than enough to urge further exploration if you've not yet had the pleasure. And perhaps that's the greatest surprise of this charming record - with its expressive hints of Tom Waits, Dylan, maybe even Levon Helm, Skinner's voice is warm, rich, captivating and open to the song as much as the lyric. Dearest Friend could be the lament of the year for a lost connection; while the opening Bamako is a folkie campfire anthem for the summer we might yet be robbed of; and the instrumental Firefly alters perception with some spectacularly tricky guitar.
The album closes with the reflective, heartfelt title track that delivers a strong hook and robust chorus in spite of its apparently fragile guitar-only setting; and The Sunday Drive, a wind-in-the-hair instrumental demonstration of the fine art of knowing exactly when enough is enough.
Too Much Water is ample reward for taking a detour from your planned path online in these lockdown months.
Recommended.
Nick Churchill
www.nickchurchill.org.uk
THE SINNER’S LIST
Well known as half of the acoustic duo Harry & Dave and frontman of The Producers Harry has now released his first solo album of mainly original material plus a few choice covers. Opening track is the beautiful slide guitar instrumental Arizona which always stuns audiences. Next up is Hope’s The Road featuring lovely rolling guitar and an uplifting message. Some of these songs will be familiar but these are new recordings and Losing Our Way is a new song with Harry telling a heartfelt tale of a troubled relationship. Next up is a fierce cover of Blind Willie Johnson’s slide guitar classic Nobody’s Fault But Mine which is delivered with real passion. A new piece Not That Time Again is a lovely finger-picked instrumental which is followed by the jaunty earworm that is Optimism Blues. Jesse Fuller’s wonderful song San Francisco Bay Blues gets a good seeing to complete with some great scat singing. My favourite here is another new song and harrowing title track The Sinner’s List. This one finds Harry pouring his heart out and unburdening himself of some of his shortcomings and then declaring “I know that in my heart I’m good”. WOW! There are a couple more instrumentals with the jazzy St. Louis Blues and Scott Joplin’s pretty, finger-picked, rolling Weeping Willow Rag. The Moneylender is a fiery slide guitar tour de force as Harry tells of his money troubles in anguished tones. Harry has now started doing a few solo gigs and if you’re lucky enough to catch one this album would be the perfect memento of a great night.
DAVE DRURY
