Winter Sessions
December 13th at The Green Man
review by Kris Spencer
Born this day: Carlos Montoya (flamenco guitarist), Christopher Plummer (actor), Dick Van Dyke, Henry IV and Prince Karim Aga Khan IV.
Well, I’ve written and sent all the cards that need to travel any distance, parcels are all sent too. Lots of goodies hidden away from my marauding hoards, and I actually, for the most part, know what I’m going to buy as presents for the tribe! Working part-time has enormous benefits……..
Neil started us off by welcoming the waifs and strays who consider the RMC their Thursday evening spent in the potting shed – particularly as it is warmer. He finally joined us after a detour to the Rising Sun which was, strangely enough, empty, and played No Longer Lovers, Not Quite Friends. Daddy Is The Best Of Men started the second half. Our host hopes to retire on the royalties of this Xmas song. See you next week then Neil?
Ken entertained us with Bottle of Wine and this week he got it near perfect – well done and thanks Ken. There’s no ‘that’ll do’ with this guy, his face belies his feelings! Ken recommended poligrip to help to secure the plectrum…… and then went on to play Streets of London in the second half .
Drew slowed the pace with his relaxed guitar pick and gentle vocal to Train to Birmingham After the break he gave us another relaxed performance of Hold on to Me Baby
Kris followed suit and played a lazy Running on Faith and finished off the evening with more than a little help from Neil and Dez as they wandered through the rooms of the Hotel California.
Graham continued the laid back theme, reminding us of summer evenings on the coast with The Tide’s Not Turning Anymore. His plectrum unfortunately became a piece of flotsam and disappeared, never to be seen again on the Wilton carpet!!!!! On harmonica, Graham led a hurried carol concert in the second half, because he had run out of plectrums!
Dez played a number that swung ever so slightly quicker than what preceded it, called Russian Roulette and thus maintained the building of the late night jazz club mood. However, his plectrum avoided being bashed around the head by hiding, forcing our plectrum basher to beg, steal or borrow someone else’s. After the break he gave us an insight into his hidden id, and gave us You and Me.
Harry performed a song written by his dad - in his own soulful style of course – called Hear My Song. His dad was real chuffed, until he realised that his son had only played this song because he had lost his dad’s plectrum somewhere on the Wilton carpet. In the second half he gave us a version of One inspired by Johnny Cash.
Chris thought he might send the Dolphins to find the missing plectrums, but he couldn’t find them unfortunately – the dolphins that is. He gave us Until It’s Time For You To Go in the second half.
John played Messing About On The River on harmonica, and he invited us all to join in, but sadly we didn’t all have the appropriate hat to carry it off!! Still he didn’t loose his plectrum and we did use the hat for the whip-round. In The Bleak Mid-Winter and God Rest You Merry Gentlemen were the delights given to us in the second half.
Andy completely debunked the myths of youth and appearance of Pretty Boy Floyd . Very sensibly he picked his way through the song on his guitar, hence he didn’t add to the increasing number of disappearing plectrums. In the second half he slipped effortlessly into a melody called Here in Spoon River. Lovely bass runs.
Terry told us a small, happy joke, then did what he does best and sang, Bell, Book and Candle. In the second half he had to tell us another joke. Wish he hadn’t. Then he sang Silver Bells, a Christmas thing, which was actually really nice. But then, who really wants to be………..nice……….?
Keyna then sang Barb’ra Allen. There was no way that she could lose a plectrum because with a voice like hers, there’s no need for an accompaniment. Sublime. Another emotional song, 17 ,sung with much pathos followed in the second half.
Hugh, also without accompaniment, gave us a melodious tune in Gaelic called Soraidh Dh’d Mhuille (Farewell to Mull). I’ll Take You Home Again Kathleen was his choice for the second half.
Corinna found one of the missing plectrums and quickly put it to use as she sang Bicycle, Tricycle. A whimsical, musical (Neil’s words), quiet, gentle performance, returning us to the relaxed atmosphere of the night. After the break she gave us October.
Stuart reluctantly took to the front, drew his hand across his nose and then proceded to advertise Gorilla Snot, which apparently helps you to hold on to your plectrum. Only for the constitutionally bold amongst us I think!! I wonder how you harvest the stuff?? He gave us a polished performance of Burn Me Alive.
Peter, playing recorder, gave us two tunes both called Bonaparte’s Retreat, each having different provenances. He rose into the upper register very sweetly and bent the middle register notes expertly. Just as a matter of interest, did the huitara players (a fore-runner of the guitar) in Napoleon’s day use a plectrum – will we dig some up as archaeological evidence one day?
Eric gently picked his way through a traditional Irish melody called Sally Gardens. I was humming this melody all the way home – haunting.
Raine brought her mandolin and played us an Irish medley, which was quite at home on this instrument, to bring a close to the first part of the evening.
December 6th at The Rising Sun
By Kris Spencer
Born this Day: Ira Gershwin, Dave Brubeck, Charles Hall (chemist: discovered method to extract aluminium), Akira Miyazawa (Japanese tenor saxophonist)
This week, I'm going to publish a photo-diary of our session by way of an
experiment.
Neil Dalton sang Girl and the very amusing self-penned number, Benidorm. I apologise for our MC looking like he is listing to port and it is down to my own technical inadequacies, not his consumption of alcohol on the night!
Here we have John Orchard playing harmonica. He gave us The Ash Grove and Edelweiss tonight.
Dave Matthews gave us Breathe On and Brother George
Harry Parker sang his own song, Wonder Where You've Been and Don't Look Back In Anger.
Chris Payne gave us A Winter's Day and No Regrets.
Graham sang Ticket to Ride and Will You Still Love Me.
Andy Parker gave us The Last Thing On My MInd and Good King Wenceslas.
Ken Eyre and Julian Clarke teamed up to give us the Sloop John B and later in the evening Ken sang Bottle of Wine and Julian sang Stealin.
Gosher sang Annabelle and Night Train.
Mick Moore sang From Clare To Here and Hurricane.
Other contributions, not photographed:
Dez Preston and Kris Spencer gave us their interpretation of Runaway with Kris taking the vocal lead and rhythm guitar, and Dez providing stunning guitar work and harmonies.
Dez gave us the self-penned, Real Music after the break and Kris played the intricate Tears in Heaven just to prove that, in her own way, she too can play the guitar!
Chris and Dave teamed up to give us The Drinking Song which was easily identified with by the well lubricated audience.
Raine gave us a poem and the self-penned Summer's Come.
Autumn Sessions
November 29th at the Green Man
Review by Kris Spencer
Born this Day: Louisa May Alcott, C.S. Lewis, Berry Gordy (Tamla Motown founder), and John Mayall.
The night was cold – the room was HOT. Heating must have been on all day – and the windows were welded closed. Lovely!! By 8o’clock we had our usual seven or eight souls ready and waiting to play.
Our host tonight was the enigmatic Chris Payne (he with the basso profundo voice). He started us off with I’m a Believer and it was like he’d been an MC all his life. Neil may have lost his job. To begin the second session Chris told us a joke and quickly returned to his real forte and played There But For Fortune and re-tuned for No Regrets
Drew took to the front next and with a soft picking style and quiet voice gave us Can’t Remember If We Said Goodbye. After the break he gave us Confederate Man and then with Graham on harmonica we enjoyed Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain
Gosher and John, guitar and harmonica, played Hey Joe. John was a little nervous at first, perhaps because Gosher really hammered his guitar to this number, but together they sounded really good. In the second half he gave us Knocking On Heaven’s Door and a mean blues number No Woman Blues
Dez gave us one of his own songs, the sorrowful Crying Cos We’re Not in Love. Lovely, modulated melody accompanied by masterful guitar playing and a soulful voice. Obviously heartfelt at one time in his life. Musicality reigned in the second half in the personification of our resident master musician – Stairway to Heaven – one man, one guitar, one voice, absolute silence and true respect.
Graham, in his practised, relaxed style gave us Just Tell Her Jim Said Hello. After the break he gave us Love Hurts and Wait Until Spring, a song he penned himself
John gave us Sloop John B and since he was playing the harmonica, we all had to provide the words!! I don’t know, the things we do for the sake of real music. Dez and John teamed up after the break to give us The Leaving of Liverpool and then Graham replaced Dez and they gave us Danny Boy
Gene gave us an accomplished version of Down Where The Drunkards Roll – certainly better than the original. In the second half, Show Me and Half In Love were the melodies we enjoyed.
Mick has broken his rose coloured spectacles!! Life will never be the same again – at least for Mick….He gave us a Dylan song, My Back Pages. If I Were A Carpenter and Kathy’s Song were the numbers played after the break
Peter, with flute, gave us three short traditional tunes, SallyGardens, The Road to Dundee and Jolly BeggarMan. Barbara Allen and Polly were the tunes for the second half.
Hugh brought along his violin and played Afton Water and Hills of Lorn. He gave us two more wonderful tunes in the second half.
Kris sang a Billy Joel song, Always a Woman, altering the words to make it right for a female singer.The second half brought us a soulful version of Vincent - The audience were rapt once again by Kris’ performance, followed by a sing along The Island of Dreams to send us all home happy
Raine played mandolin for us tonight and gave us her piece of music Daylight. After the break, and before she went catch the bus she sang Gonna Plant a Meadow.
November 22nd at The Rising Sun
Review by Kris Spencer
Born on this day:Charles de Gaul, Billie Jean King, Boris Becker, Terry Gilliam, Benjamin Britten and Robert Vaughn.
All set for another lovely night. I’ll only be staying for the first half tonight so the second half songs will be covered BRIEFLY by Dez. You’ll see what I mean soon enough. Now I usually arrive a little after seven to set things up (non-electrical things that is) in the room, and this evening Bill was stood at the top of the darkened stairwell waiting for someone to unlock the door – fair scared me to death he did!!! Neil very kindly videoed some of the evenings musical offerings and has put them up on Youtube?, just type in Real Music Club and you should get there.
Neil started the night with Nobody Loves Me Now, a gospel blues type number written during a particularly bad spell of paranoia by our MC. He really suffers for his art poor chap (mind you, so does his audience!) Love you really Neil. XX. He started the second half with Rikki You Look So Handsome
Then the chap who likes to stand in the dark, Bill, took his place under the bright stage lights (a single 40 watt wall spotlight?) and on his piano he played a unique version of Louis-Louis. After the break, Bill gave us a keyboard solo.
hris Payne gave us his interpretation of the Robbie Williams number Angels and demonstrated that his musical tastes transcend not only the generations but also the genres (along with guitar, these three things are the musicians understanding of 3G – not these multitasking telephones). In the second half he played a Van Morrison number, Warm Love.
Dez and Kris teamed up tonight and after much faffing around by Dez, eventually gave us San FranciscoBay Blues. 'They're getting better,' someone half whispered.
Dave - uncharacteristically nervous - gave us Mr Businessman. A complex piece of music which he carried off with style and apparent ease. He had the audience giggling to Picnic Tea after the break
Drew, on guitar blue, talked us through an Emmy-Lou – sorry, got carried away there. The piece drew gave us was called Jerusalem Tomorrow and he did it justice – well done. In the second half he played a Lindisfarne song.
Then Graham gave us Fool On The Hill and, knowing that he lives on a flat road, we wondered who he was referring to until we remembered just whose house had such a steep drive we have to go into first gear to get up it (we love you really !) After the break he gave us Your Song
Gosher, our left handed guitarist played his own song Going Home. A lovely mix of minimal voice and maximum blues guitar.
Dez then livened up the evening, as is his wont, by performing his own song Gotta Get The Job Done Properly
Ken gave us a lovely version of Billy Connelly’s version of DIVORCE and had us all laughing our socks off. What a star! He gave us Love Is All Around after the break.
John played autoharp and harmonica together to give us Grandfather’s Clock, but there was some twerp in the audience who wanted vocals too – John went this funny shade of purple trying to please this purist, and had to be resuscitated! He gave us our first carol in the second half, Hark The Herald Angels
Keyna captured the hearts of the audience with Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? and spent the rest of the night fending off offers!! She sang Send In The Clowns after the break
Harry took to the stage next and gave us a gravelly voiced version of Wonderwall and followed this after the break with Goodbye My Lover
Andy did a wickedly relaxed performance of Diddy Wa Diddy. You can always rely on Andy to bring some great songs along with him. In the second half he gave us a superb Anarchy (Dez’s comment – actually his only printable comment)
Terry came all the way from Spondon to play Cousin Jack for us, but the words eluded him in the first half, so we ended up with Dublin Blues. Never ever say that we amateur musicians are not able to ad-lib! He did play Cousin Jack after the break.
Peter brought along his recorder tonight to play Come By The Hills and Eamon Chnoic (?). Always something different here at the RMC.
Bob told us the story behind the song he would sing. Fascinating tale – almost as long as it took to sing Average Guy, a lovely song from a guy who is far from average. He played Live Life and Love For Today after the break.
Kris got up to play a song she had borrowed from Graham, Speak Softly Love, and I made a mess of the outro!!
Raine completed the first half by playing a piece of music she has written herself and calls Fantasy Score on the keyboard.
November 15th at the Green Man
Review by Kris Spencer
What is it about November that reminds us about what has been? It really is an unremarkable month, neither close enough to Xmas to generate any enthusiasm nor far enough along in the year to feel like the new ne is close. Good job that so many interesting people were born in this month: today alone we have William Herschel, Irwin Rommel, Petula Clark and Mantovani!!
Neil sat patiently waiting for us to notice he was ready to start, but it wasn’t until some kind soul turned off the lights that we noticed he was there. He sang The Simple Life – very country yet exactly what we all needed to banish the chill from outside. After the break he gave us Red Haired Girl.
John has had a lovely couple of days of pleasing himself (please don’t think about it) since his wife is on baby sitting duties in Brum. On harmonica and autoharp he played Mull of Kintyre. This guy is determined to bring the essence of church to our sessions but when you are as good as John, we really don’t mind. With the same combination he performed Day Dream Believer after the break
Keyna decided she was going to give us a really miserable dirge, namely, My Youngest Son Came Home Today. Although the subject matter was as promised, the delivery was outstanding. Bookings for wakes being taken now. After the break she gave us an emotional Until It’s Time For You To Go.
Drew took to the front using a borrowed guitar and gave us Why Must I be a Teenager in Love? Lovely guitar rhythm, never missing a beat through-out even when the audience choir pulled a three part harmony. In the second half he gave us Ferry ‘Cross The Mersey
Graham, sporting a fetching red pullover, played his own song, The Tide’s Not Turning Anymore, in his inimitably relaxed manner – well suited to his Val Doonican appearance. My Love by Mc Cartney was our treat after the break.
Andy and Harry played that classic Beatles song, Girl, two guitars, two part vocals and much empathy. The audience joined in. After the break, Harry dispensed with his parental guidance and gave us Times are Changing and by way of reciprocation, Andy ditched his parental responsibilities and gave us Shake That Thing
Peter braved the audience tonight, bringing a touch of class along with his flute. He gave us two melodies, The Quiet Joys of Brotherhood and Carrick Fergus. We are so fortunate to have such a breadth of talent coming along on Thursday evenings. With recorder in hand Peter gave us a lament and Cuckoo’s Nest after the break.
After one of his memorable jokes, Terry’s busy fingers accompanied his vocals as he gave us Blue Wind or Poor Man’s Dream. After the break he gave us Gloria.
In Harmony, or two of them tonight anyway (Catherine and Rachel) sang in two part harmony a song called The Emigrant’s Daughter. With fiddle accompaniment we had a vocal/instrumental version of Johnny Boy
Mick, having being troubled by that Saga company again, bestowed upon us an upbeat guitar rhythm accompanying his song, Lover, Come Back to Me After the break, with rose coloured spectacles he gave us a Tolkien poem set to Mick’s music. Eclectic mix of diverse styles!
Hugh, on piano accordion, gave us three gigs two of which were Hot Punch and Drops of Brandy. My goodness didn’t his fingers fly!! After the break he gave us a medley of Ashgrove, Come oer the stream Charlie, Planxty Irwin. A seamless performance.
Captain Julian was such a good sport as he had the micky taken out of him outrageously by his ‘friends’ as he tuned his guitar before he gave us If It Makes You Happy. He can and will wait to get his revenge – very patient is Julian. After the break he gave us The Wizard
Stuart and Corinna played Frowns for us. They debuted this song a couple of weeks ago and I remarked on the music then. This week I had a chance to listen to the words and they are equally as well crafted as the music. After the break they gave us Fragments . Only one word Magnificent.
Raine told a poem called One, two, chee, chee, chee! Since she had a bus to catch, Raine took second slot in the second half and gave us Saturday Street – song that she has never sung in public before.
Kris carried on her mood from last week, and performed The Theme From Love Story, and once again the audience was rapt. Fantastic voice, and great performance.
November 8th at The Rising Sun
Review by Kris Spencer
Thursday night again and we are all set up for another good night of music and/or entertainment. As I watch the room being readied by the ever-present Dez, I can’t help but reflect on some of the wonderful Thursday evenings that we have enjoyed over the last few months. At the very beginning of the evening there is a sense of anticipation as the various rag taggle artistes walk up the stairs with their assorted musical instruments, take off their coats, remove their chosen musical weapon from its case and then depart for the bar!!
New faces again this week, welcomed return of old familiar faces and the hard-core Willington folkies.
Neil brought order to the pre-start chaos and started us off with a traditional tune, Black Water Side. He started the second half with his poem called The Champ Of The Midlands, which told the tale of bare knuckle fighting.
Dez played a stonking laid back version of I Found Love with an excellent lead guitar break at the mid point. His husky voice, due to a long-running cold, was well suited to the song. After the break he invited us all to jam along to Status Quo’s Break the Rules – so with keyboard, violin, harmonica and massed guitars we smashed the peace and quiet of the night.
Dave penned a song Little Miss Sunshine, in tribute to a lady of the night he was besotted with in the early years of this young man’s life when reason and caution just didn’t live in the same dictionary.
Tony has almost finished the song he gave us tonight called The Healer – all he says he needs now is another three or four band members. With Tony’s stage presence and slide guitar playing, I think the song was complete as it stood. His piece after the break was another self-penned number The Weekend.
Drew, on stage for the first time after sussing us out for several weeks as a member of the audience, gave us a Buddy Holly song accompanied by guitar which went down very well with us all. Now we know what he can do, he won’t be able to hide in the corner anymore!
Chris played a song that I personally think is the best suited for his wonderfully sonorous vocal talent, Suspicious Minds. After the break he gave us Who Am I? a self-reflective, thought provoking song.
Scott, not just off the wall but round the corner and off next door’s wall according to Neil (he should know cos he met him on that same wall!!), played a self-penned piece called Warm and Milky Sunset.
A group of ladies (Dawn, Rachel, Cath, Catherine, Liz and Jan) calling themselves In Harmony gave us Lady Waly Waly on piano, violin and six part vocals. In the second half, they gave us The Leaving of Liverpool.
An autoharp had been standing idle in John’s house for years and after blowing off the dust, actually and metaphorically, he decided to bring it along tonight. Thus, with harmonica accompaniment, he played In The Bleak Mid Winter, reminding us all that the weather outside has turned distinctly chilly!! It begs the question – what other treasures has John got lying around his place?
Keyna gave us a classy acappella version of The Wind That Shakes the Barley. A soulful lament carried off with tremendous style by our resident nightingale.
Bob, new to the club, playing guitar and harmonica, sang his own song Wasted Years. A wry comment on today’s separation culture. In the second half, in an easy style he gave us So Glad You’re Here.
Graham on harmonica accompanied by Dave on keyboard gave us a lazy By The Time I Get To Phoenix. All scalar runs and so dolce. Graham returned, with guitar, as a solo artist in the second half and played Close To You
Ken gave us an instrumental rendition of Danny Boy, accompanied by John on harmonica and the audience on vocals. Ken has the lovely ability to get us all joining in with him.
Mick gave us North and South of the River. There is a certain flair to the music of this young (ish) man that is best described by his given club name Moody Mick. To finish the night he played us out with Blowing in the Wind
Kris, a bad case of laryngitis ensuring a blessed silence, played L’Amour Est Bleu on classical guitar.
Hugh, our Gaelic expert, sang Cailinn Mo Runsa, which translates as The Maid I Adore
Matt gave us a driving guitar rhythm accompanying the vocals to his self-penned song, Sunshine and Rain ending on a dischord that really suited the words of the song!
Gemma played a recently written song called On The Run. Her sweet voice carried on the night air and hit the high notes with a well controlled vibrato
Raine, on keyboard this week, played us to the break with a number that she had written herself.
Julian and Ken joined forces after the break to give us The Sloop John B. Mixed harmonies were provided by a well lubricated audience. The look on Ken’s face and his parting comment ‘ee I really enjoyed that!’ was one of those golden moments and a salient reminder of one of the reasons that we all come along to the folk club.
Ben and Scott on guitar, ukulele, suspicious accents and sardonic delivery took to the stage after the break to give us Rear View Mirror – a possible alternative folk song if the outcome of WWII had been different. These two herrs are so off the wall they’re carpet!!
Stuart wasn’t even phased when he was faced with following Ben and Scott, he merely assumed his usual cheerful songs would stand the test – which of course, when he plays H, is absolutely true.
Despite Neil destroying the microphone stand again this week, we enjoyed yet another fantastic night of entertainment and went home knowing WE WOULD BE BACK.
November 1st at The Green Man
Review by Kris Spencer
White rabbit day for the penultimate time this year - hasn’t the year whizzed past alarmingly quickly?
Graham took on the role of MC this week and do you know what? For our ‘Mr Smooth’, he was remarkably swift at moving the acts through. He started us with his own song, Where are you going to?
- as if he didn’t know since he was meant to be our leader tonight!! And Graham was so eager to get started after the break that he only wanted us to have 5 minutes supping time!! Sacriligious!!!! When we eventually allowed him to start the second half he gave us It’s All In The Mind. Two very deep songs under the circumstances!
Judy used the full range of her keyboard and gave us The Lover’s Waltz. She pulled it off with grace and elegance, keeping the strict waltz time through-out. Later she gave us two folk songs, The 8th of January and The Tennessee Blues.
Neil had a song he had co-written played on Canadian radio by Stan Carew, so he played a lazy slide style guitar and gave us An Undefended Border written by the above DJ, who appeared at the Kiln last month. What a small world we live in eh?? After the break he played a song commemorating, appropriately enough, given the proximity of Remembrance Day, the first world war, No Man’s Land
Chris Payne played John Denver’s Goodbye Again. This song really suited Chris’s unusual voice which seemed to bring out the pathos of the words. Positively 4th Street by Dylan was the song he played after the break.
Dez sang a lovely, mellow self-penned number Cried Inside. Dez is in the process of adapting some of his melodies for one guitar and one voice - this is one of these. A lovely adaptation, a great delivery. Later this talented singer songwriter tuned his B string properly (!) and played another of his melodies, an angry statement called Little World and as is his bent, this second piece dragged us out of our reverie and reminded us that music has the insidious ability to colour our moods and thoughts.
Doug, on the Northumbrian pipes played a Scottish melody called A Fond Kiss followed by Suo-gan (a lullaby). After the break, on concertina, Doug gave us two English melodies, Mad Moll of the Cheshire Hunt and The Shepherd’s Hornpipe
John brought along his harmonica and played A Kind of Hush and where they could, members of the audience joined in – could have done with putting John on after we’d had more time to sink a few more pints, then we’d have done him justice. Great song John. Graham and Neil joined John to give us Wooden Heart after the break.
Kris sang Learning The Blues: How can you play classically, a classic blues song, as though we were in one of those old smoky jazz bars (remember?). Well Kris can – what a performance; you could hear a pin drop through this one. In the second half she gave us I’ll Have To Say I Love You In A Song; wonderfully emotive for all of us romantics – oh what could have been!!!
Ken took to the front in his characteristically unassuming manner and played his newly learned song, Bottle of Wine. We all joined in the chorus.
Scott nicked a bass line from his (ex) mate Ben and built his own song around it and called it Initiate The Star. Ben seemed remarkably un-moved by this plagiarism. Scott has the ability to bring many different styles to his audiences and this laid back, word-driven song contrasted with last week’s performance. They made up their differences during the break because together, Scott and Ben gave us A Level, a song that had its birth amidst many cans of beer and illegal access to a tape recorder!!! A great set of lyrics.
Kenya, returning from her global expeditions sang the short, but incredibly sweet, Skip Rope Song. We have missed that superb voice these last few weeks.
Mick was in mourning this week because he got rung up by Saga, offering him a cheap car insurance deal for the more mature driver so he sang Look for Wood. Nothing wrong with a good, mature vintage Mick warming and satisfying. It’s these Beaujolais bottles that aren’t worth the effort – all pop and fizz with no flavour!! Hallelujah was his parting comment for the second half.
James played us a medieval melody Bonny Black Hare, a cleverly worded, double-entendre song, typical of the era. This guy can certainly play the guitar to great effect supporting his vocals wonderfully.
Corinna and Stuart have got together this week to co-write a song, Frowns. Either one by themselves are absolutely brilliant, but together these two push the art of music and lyric writing into another dimension altogether.
Stuart played Bitter Angry in a diabolical tuning after the break, demonstrating his ability to echo the vocals in his delicate finger work.
Corinna finished the night for us with Where Angels Feed, and a better way to finish the night does not exist. Sweet voice, excellent phrasing and quiet arpeggio guitar work. Exquisite!!
Hugh had only just stepped into the room when he was prevailed upon to sing us a song. He didn’t disappoint, giving us a Gaelic song, Mairi Mhimm Meall h’u Llean which translates to Mary With Bewitching Eyes. In the second half he sang I Will Take You Home Kathleen. Can’t beat the old classics!!
Raine brought along her mandolin this week and entertained us just before the break with a medley comprising Rolling in the Rye Grass, Green Fields and The Cameronian.
October 25th at the Rising Sun
Review by Kris Spencer
People are starting to turn up in coats, so I guess it must be getting cold. Certainly the mornings recently have been either frosty or misty, and the days, although bright and clear, are decidedly chilly in the shade.
As always, time caught up on us all too quickly, and whilst I try to get everyone on at least twice, we are getting so many quality entertainers I have had to make a small policy decision to put people on in the order in which they arrive. That is the fairest way that I can think of to allow all you talented people a decent slot in the running order. So, the earlier you arrive, the more you will get to do (in theory).
Neil doing the MC honours, welcomed us to the RMC, and started us off tonight with a traditional - sounding, recently written song called In Your Arms Asleep, and his carefully executed finger picking relaxed us into the evening. After the break, he sang his own song, The Unknown Soldier, inspired by a visit to Iona.
Dave tickled the ivories as only he can, and adding to the gentle feel of the evening, gave us Searching For Love, yet another number written by this talented artist. After the break, Dave played Cousin Jane which has been described by some as a Gothic melody. Dave says he can’t wait to use that description to impress someone one day!
Graham relaxed us further with his easy guitar style and one of his own songs, It’s All InThe Mind. In the second half Graham gave us That classic fifties song, Misty in his inimitably laid-back semi-swing style. Another one for us all to join in with.
Dez didn’t try to jolt us out of our comfort zone this week. He gave us a very mellow I Will Wait Forever. Husky voice over rolling arpeggios. Spoke too soon ‘cos after the break he did his best to disturb the piece with a driving Del Amitrie piece. Whatever happened to husky?
Kris bravely followed Dez with Diamonds and Rust – A Joan Baez song. I really love this piece of music which holds many good memories for me. After the break, David Gates’ Diary, with its intricate finger work was aired by way of a contrast to Dez’s driving plectrum work.
Scott then got up, complained of a smooth little finger, cautioned us about the possibility that this might make him slip over a few notes, and sang a song he wrote called Sister Lucy – without a slip! Scott is another guitarist that certainly fills his melodies with much intricate guitar work. After the break, Scott managed to fit in so many words to the Spanish-sounding guitar accompaniment of a melody called Cats on Crack
Chris Payne told us a fine joke and, thankfully, immediately returned to his true forte and sang a Tim Buckley song, Once I Was, accompanied by Neil on harmonica.
John played a ‘guess this tune’ medley-type spot and I didn’t have time to type all the names, but there were 7 or 8 tunes in all. There was at least one member of the audience who got all the right answers (get a life) and one got 9 out of 6!!! After the break he played The Carnival Is Over.
Mick raised the bar, and with a rhythmic guitar accompaniment, he gave us a haunting version of North and South of the River. To finish the evening Mick played Johnny Has Gone For a Soldier.
Matt gave us a self-penned number called A Guy That Fights Back. A driving rhythm and interestingly placed modulations between the major and minor were the characteristics of this piece.
Gemma, accompanying herself on the guitar, played her newly written (Tues) song called Baby Billy. Great vocals and interesting theme.
Stuart and Corinna played a lovely duet of Stuart’s song Fragments. Two guitars and two voices perfectly matched. They claimed that they had been playing together for four hours…. but I don’t believe them…… it was far too good for only four hours…… and they didn’t look at all tired!!!!!
Gosher took to the stage and gave us a lovely version of Cocaine Blues. Immaculately controlled guitar work and inspirationally phrased lyrics are the trade mark of this talented guy. In the second half he strummed The Tears in Your Eyes very stylishly.
Raine played the keyboard tonight, she plays so many instruments you never know what she’ll play next, and her song was entitled Elements
Gene took us up to the break with Local Girls, again written by the artist. This guy can really sing! The gentle picking style he chose set this song off to perfection. In the second half he treated us to Hush-a-Byes.
Lucy sang us her recently-penned song, so recent in fact that it is yet to be named. What a song it was, lyrically mature and musically accomplished. Add to this Lucy’s unique voice and ever increasing confidence on the guitar and we were very lucky to be here tonight.
I asked Julian if he would play a song that we could all join in with because he does this so well, and like a true gentleman, he gave us Maggie May.
Ben told us he didn’t really play the guitar, yet plucked (actually, strummed)up the courage, and borrowing Scott’s guitar, he sang a self-penned melody that is untitled.
October 18th at The Green Man
Review by Kris Spencer
Tonight sees a welcome return to our mate Andy Parker after a long absence. It also seems to that we are going to be entertained by several impromptu collaborations of artistes tonight. What a treat!!!
Neil, John and Kris collaborated on a very ad hoc basis (ie- unrehearsed) to give us Peaceful Easy Feeling by The Eagles
Ron (from Grantham) and Terry (more impressively, all the way from Oz) gave us a melody from an innocent era, Teenager In Love. In the second half they played Paul Anka’s Diana. What a pity they live so far away. Safe journeys home lads and our door is always open to such talent.
Terry then went on to give us Cat’s in the Cradle. Love Potion No 9 was the brilliant follow on after the break.
Grahamdid his Girl from Ipanema/Daydreamer/Mellow yellow/Will You Still Love Me/Nowhere Man/World Without Love medley for us. Seamless perfection! And he knows we only do one each in the first half!! Graham took his usual sedentary stance after the break to give us a self-penned gentle number, Wait Until Spring.
Dez gave us Can’t Believe I Trusted You- a bluesy melody and a wonderfully syncopated delivery. The Ballad of Goodman John, the lyrics of which were written by his daughter Sam, followed later in the night. Excellent and intricate finger work!!
Gosher (he told me he was called Anthony last week!) played a driving blues song called Cocaine Blues with some really super chord variations. After the break he gave us an accomplished and sensitive performance of More Than I Can Tell
John brought his piano accordion tonight and played The Old Rugged Cross – he made us sing all the verses. (Isn’t it peculiar that we all remember the first few lines of a song,but after that……). What Dez wanted to know was,what key was it in…and Graham kindly volunteered his capo. Give Me Oil In My Lamp after the break maintained the gospel theme John brought with him this evening.
Ken nervously gave us The Marvellous Toy. We have missed Ken these last few weeks! His guitar work and delivery improve week-on-week. He had us all singing Sloop John B after the break
Andy took to the front like he’d never been away and praised the surgeons who had done some work on him and gave us Setting the Woods on Fire- an interesting choice of song there Andy?? After doing a fair impression of Thomas the Tank Engine (puff-puff) during the break he gave us Whisky in the Jar.
Neil was then put upon to give us a solo number, and he didn’t disappoint us when he gave us The Blues Rule the Game. Neil started the second half with his own song, No Man’s Land
Chris Payne meandered through The Green Fields of France and lulled them into peacefulness with his wonderful voice. I’m a Believer was his follow up after the break
Terry W, our substitute MC at the Kiln, sang a self-penned number, De Ja Vue, using his trade mark driving guitar rhythm. He sang my own personal favourite from his own opus, In the Under Tow in the second half.
Hugh, gave us an explanation of the song he would sing to us in his native tongue, Gaelic, and then sang Achdarach Ardin in his haunting manner. D’on Cuthag was the next cultural offering from Hugh. It is so good to have such variation at a folk club.
Stuart gave a self assured performance of Paragon, a song that we at the RMC appreciate for its melodic complexity and off-beat string tuning. Burn Me Alive had us all listening intently in the second half.
Corinna sang her own song, Arbour Low,playing the guitar so delicately and singing oh so tenderly. Neil accompanied from the wings and added to the beauty of the song.Will You Come to the Highlands With Me? was the final song of the evening, delivered with style by Corinna.
Raine recited and sang I Need a Life which was the promised second part of the poem/song she had performed two weeks ago. After the break, she unzipped her mandolin and played Full Moon.
Kris finished off the first half with Now And Forever giving her usual unequalled classical guitar led performance leaving us all dreaming of…well, you know!
Tony was caught off-balance, but his performance of Danny Boy was both moving and heart-stopping.
October 11th at the Rising Sun
Review by Kris Spencer
The season of mellow mists and fruitfulness. I love the autumn time – it’s the time of year you begin to sit in front of the fire and retire all warm and fluffy from the world.
BUT…..NEVER ON A THURSDAY!!! I know where you live…….
Neil, fresh from his star turn in Leicester on Saturday, started the night with gastroenter-feedback! (ta Dez). Dez dictated that we all do one song to begin with, which makes typing this up ever-so much easier. Doing a cover of the Eagles’ Peaceful Easy Feeling, Neil couldn’t go wrong as far as I was concerned, he was great. After liquid refreshments he started us off with Girl.
Dez, relinquishing the PA controls gave us the driving rhythm, anger and brilliant vocals of Little World – his most recently composed song. Later he gave us another of his own songs, Your Smiling Face
Dave (Music-man) Matthews graced the stage at our little venue in his usual understated style and this week played the Theme from Hill Street Blues. In the second half he gave us Mr Universe and brought the house down. Dave finished the night for us with Let The Sun Go Down
Kris played I Won’t Last a Day Without You and after the break, Without You
On harmonica, giving it a real haunting flavour by adding a well controlled vibrato, Graham gave us What a Wonderful World. He had us all singing along to You’ll Never Walk Alone in the second half
Anthony, a left handed guitarist of merit gave us a bluesy mix of chord and picking, executing Sweet Home Chicago with apparent ease, with Neil on harmonica. After the break, he played Rain with the ubiquitous Neil..etc. Come back soon Anthony.
Chris Payne then took to the stage to give us another Eagles number, Lyin’ Eyes and that voice just caressed this popular melody. Galaxy milk chocolate at 37 degrees!! (one for the ladies). In the second half he gave us an Eric Bogle song, The Leaving of Nancy.
Julian was the only one who could follow Chris, and he didn’t disappoint as he gave us U2’s I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For. Later he gave us If It Makes You Happy
Terry gave us a new, gentler version of a song he wrote many moons ago entitled Back to Those Days. Then, after the break, he played a Jackson Brown song, Lives in the Balance.
Stuart was persuaded to play A Perfect Fool for us. He seems to be reluctant to get up there these days, yet he never disappoints. Later he gave us a number with some weird Stuart-esque tuning called, Fragments.
Corrina then, selecting her guitar from the expensive array on stage, shyly played for us her own beautifully phrased, thought-provoking song, When Dreams Are Lost. Later she gave us Taken. How can someone so young be so lyrically acute?
Raine, on mandolin, played a self-penned number called Good Things To Think and took us on a tour of her view of the world.
Liz, a new face to the club, did justice to The Rose of Alan Dale, which she bravely sang acapella. It is so much harder to stand and sing than it is to hide behind a guitar or keyboard. In the second half, she played the saxophone, accompanied on the squeeze box by John, a couple of reels which were not named.
Tony sang acapella with his usual showman flair, and after the break he gave us The Rose.
Mick, donning his stylish shades on the top of his head (!), sang Learn The Sea. Anyone who knows and has heard Mick will be aware that he has a certain je ne sais quoi when he sings and plays his guitar – always gentle, always hypnotic, always unique. In the second half we were treated to Motherland
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Another self-penned number, It Could Be You was sung/spoken after the breakSpring Sessions 2008Spring Sessions 2008
Autumn Sessions 2007
October 4th at The Green Man
Review by Kris Spencer
It’s dark outside and it’s only 7.30, so I guess it must be officially Autumn. What ever happened to the ‘summer that never was’?
Neil was listening to Bob Harris on the way here (why?) on the wireless(?) and started us off with a country-style song Since You’ve Gone It’s Easy to be True; laid back vocals and easy finger picking followed by The Blues Come for Free and his lazy style had worked it’s magic. Starting the second half with Girl, Neil skilfully called us all to order and set the bench mark for us to aspire to.
Graham H reluctantly put down his half to sing a self penned song About You, bringing his laid back to the stage and then on harmonica played a medley which included the theme from Eastenders, the Largo from the Suite, theme from Match of the Day, theme from Last of the Summer Wine. And he thought he left us guessing….In the second half he sang another one of his reflective songs, The Tide’s Not Turning Anymore.
In the first half, Maz sweetly sang a lovely version of Robbie Burns Ye Banks and Braes which drifted on the rising air currents, following that with The Song of Love after the break.
Dez Preston livened us all up with a driving rhythm accompanying the latest addition to his expanding opus, Little World, followed by some intricate finger work to outline a haunting melody, When You Need Someone. (once he remembered his own words!) What would we do without his creativity and energy? Equally at home doing excellent covers, Dez gave us Crazy in the second half.
John played Home on the Range, claiming it to be a country song and thus appropriate for the night’s entertainment, followed by Are You Lonesome Tonight? and a religious one, Everything is Beautiful, all three seamlessly merging together – or so it seemed (seamed!!). After the break we all joined in with Cockles and Mussels.
Chris Payne played a traditional folk song called The Foggy Dew followed by Once I Was. His rich, deep voice really does bring out the subtleties in his chosen songs. Lovely. He didn’t disappoint with his second half performance of Like a Rolling Stone either.
Keyna gave us the Blantyre Explosion, followed by In the Hills of Shailloe in her enchanting con sotto voce style.
Doug, on the gently whispering Northumberland pipes (in comparison with the highland type), played a melancholy Hector the Hero followed by a more up-beat Kind Robin. After the break he gave us a traditional concertina song. A joy to have him at our club.
There’s very few who can do Lost Without Your Love, a David Gates song justice, but Kris Spencer is one who certainly can and she followed that up with Diamond Day, sung for the first time, but with her usual feel nonetheless.
Caston took to the front to give us Bedlam Boys by Steel Eye Span and we all thoroughly enjoyed his performance – none more so than Caston himself who was in his element! His second song was written by himself and was all about life, being called Loser. Something Caston certainly is not!!
Julian and Nathan gave us Mr Tambourine Man with John and Neil on harmonicas and the audience as backing vocalists. Nathan shyly returned to his seat and Julian went on to give us If it Makes You Happy. After the break the whole room accompanied Julian and Satisfaction on what ever they could find. A real family affair – thanks Julian.
Raine sang us to the interval with a two part melody, The Product/I Need a Life which was written as a reflection on life – with one or two actions and asides thrown in for good measure! Priceless…..
Corrina sang for us in the second half, giving us a characteristically gentle delivery and delicate melody, self-penned, Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream.
Tony also sang for us after the break, and did justice to the John Denver song Perhaps Love. Tony has been popping into the club for ages now and it is only recently that he has revealed his hidden talent – a strong voice and a real showman-style delivery. Fantastic!
Stuart did a cover!!!!! Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here. What a revelation – we need to hear more of this side of our Stuart. To finish off the evening Stuart returned to his own song, Forgotten, ensuring that none of us would or could forget the enjoyment we all derive from the RMC.
Finally, can I thank Dez for taking the notes in my absence in the second half. See you all at The Rising Sun next week.
Autumn Sessions 2007
13th September at the Green Man
Review by Kris Spencer
Tonight was considerably quieter than of late and the weather is definitely turning to Autumn, but that won’t stop us enjoying ourselves here at the Real Music Club! Neil even arranged a prize for the champagne moment of the evening this week; the prize being a bottle of some little know beer. Hotly competed for through-out the evening (!) There was also a little banter about the type of merchandise available in little machines in the gent’s loo prompting the realization on the part of Gemma, Maz and I (being the only females in the room) that we ladies were being short-changed on that front!
Neil Dalton welcomed us all – such as we were – and launched into his own blue-grass composition of There’s a Star in the Heaven. This man has a vast opus of music lurking in the background to which he can turn his voice and guitar at a moments notice, and if the truth be told, every one of them is a gem – particularly lyrically. Are we lucky to have him at the club!? I think – yes. The second half was started by Neil who resembled the Cheshire Cat because Jack had agreed to accompany him on the slide guitar – and so they gave us Goodbye by Steve Earl. Will he recover by next week???
Gemma Henderson followed with a lovely version of And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda in her soft, dolce voice. She had the audience listening attentively through-out. Gemma and Matt teamed up in the second half to give us Listen to Who You Are, a song based on the wisdom of the words of Gemma’s gran, Ellery Plays Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays (where does he get the titles from? Has he ever had to type them?) and their Dixie Chicks classic, I’m Not Ready To Be Nice.
John Orchard had us playing a game of Name That Tune as he gave us Yellow Bird and Frankie and Johnny on the harmonica from a book that must have actually been around in the sixties! Good Game, good game…….John had us singing along in the second half as he gave us Morning Has Broken and Molly Malone. We enjoyed us selves muchly. Ta John.
Dez Preston played his own song, Russian Roulette, in his own individual style and, I don’t know if he realised, BUT, he got all the words right! My, my, there’s a strange thing…. Dez, another guy with a bulging opus (behave!) sang two from his back catalogue Far Side of Love and I Will Sing For You Always. It’s always lovely to hear old friends again.
Maz gave us a piece of prose entitled Dawning, to which she had set a melody, and transported us to the start of a day, just as the sun was setting on the present one. Magical. She was persuaded to let us hear a piece of prose that had only recently been set to music which she called Gateway, and she was completely wrapped up in the emotion of the piece during her delivery.
Chris Payne lulled us into the newly born night with Who Am I?, sung with a warmth that only his voice can achieve and accompanied by a soft guitar rhythm. After the break, Chris sang Across the Universe and a song which I think is called When the Ship Comes In by Dylan. He certainly made me chuckle when he sang the line ‘passions of a heart so blind’ and peered blearily at his words!
Matt Henderson told us all about a new song he was composing in honour of the uninsured wombat who had shunted his car, costing him more than he cared to say. With the vitriol eased, he played a self-penned, clever number that made a virtuoso tour of the keys entitled On The Side of The Angels
Jack Hudson laconically took to the front and sang Guy Clarke’s L.A.Freeway in his trade mark lazy, gruff voice. After his duet with Neil, Jack played Lay It Down and Two Hours From Canada. Excellent stuff.
Stuart Davies, entirely unassuming in everything he does, then played his wonderful H, fingers gently caressing the strings of his guitar which I suspect was tuned to some obscure pattern only Stuart could contrive. We love him. Later he played A (Perfect) Fool (no, a song, not an adjectival phrase!) and the haunting Raven.
Gaz, a new face to the club, had popped in last week to suss us out and, as he promised, he returned, with guitar, to perform a self-penned number With You. The vocal glissando was brilliantly controlled and he just has got to come again.
Peter, certainly new to me at the club, played Back Water Blues by Bessie Smith, accompanying himself with a nifty blues guitar style. He certainly seemed to be enjoying himself and we hope he returns too. Peter closed the evening with Walk Too Many Mornings and Living On The River. Now he valiantly tried to get us to sing the chorus of the latter, but as a general rule, much after nine o’ clock most of us have to concentrate on sitting upright, let alone learning words to a chorus. We was a disappointment to him methinks!!
Kris Spencer, uncharacteristically on metal strung guitar and brandishing a plectrum, finished off the first half with Gentle On My Mind. In the second half she sang Guitar Man and Will You Still Love Me? After which she needed surgery to remove the plectrum from a cramped hand. I’ll return to nylon strings forthwith!!
Julian Clarke thought he’d just come out for a quick listen to the quality music on offer at The Real Music Club. Ha! Who does he think he is? There we all are sweating and straining over getting our songs right and he expects to get it easy? Well, he had to think again. He played two lovely pieces for us in the end; Stealin’ and Satisfaction, as only Julian can.
Autumn Sessions 2007
6th September at The Rising Sun
Review by Kris Spencer
So hot, so sticky! And, although it wasn’t a requirement if you wanted to perform, clothes and shoes were being discarded willy nilly through-out the evening.Cool as ever, regardless of prevailing conditions,
Neil Dalton started the evening with his lovely song, Love Needs a Heart Like Mine and got us all in the mood. After the break he started us off with Ev’ry Step Of The Way.
Doug Flack was next up on a set of Northumberland pipes that were also suffering due to the sultry weather. Nonetheless, Doug valiantly gave battle, playing two traditional folk tunes Loch Rannoch and Waters of Kylesku, skilfully out-manoeuvring the protesting pipes and adding a melancholy note to the evening. Wonderful. In the second half he decided to play it safe and gave us Swindon and My Home on the melodionNow, as a result of the heat, copious amounts of liquid were being imbibed by audience and performers alike – consequently, trips to the house conveniences were frequent. The next performer,
Julian Clarke, bravely stepped into the breach in the absence of the guy who followed him. Let’s just say, a case of the conveniences being inconvenient and move swiftly on! Julian gave us his version of Norwegian Wood and saved the day. Your guitar playing improves week on week mate!
Scott Dyke was allowed only the slightest swallow of his drink before he gave us a self-penned number, Dust by name. It’s nice to have a fellow nylon string player amongst us. Scott went on to play another of his own numbers, Insignia, after the break.
Andy Parker excelled this week with some lovely, soft guitar work and another self-penned song which we eventually decided to call Purple Evening Sonata.
Keyna Lavin’s voice drifted through the last of the summer heat, adding greater depth and meaning with her thoughtful phrasing of the quality song Until It’s Time For You To Go. After the break we were given Stay Awake – Don’t Close Your Eyes, which, for those of you who know Keyna really well, is, quite frankly, a little like calling the pot black. Who is the one with her eyes closed most of the night???
Mick and Chris Moore played Time by Damien Rice and in my opinion, the soft, relaxed lead guitar and gentle rhythm guitar of these two talented individuals, produced a sound better than the original. After the break Chris played his own composition, I’ve Got My Friends, which was quite true since he arrived with dad and several new faces. Poor old Mick must have had the most expensive round in the house that night! That’s why I asked him to finish the night for us, and in true style he gave us his own song She’s The One
Judy Flack played a country music-style medley of Born to Lose and Two Eyes Crying in the Rain on the keyboard and despite claiming she was not at her best, I was transported back to Sunday afternoons as a child, listening to the gramophone because the television only had programmes from 5o’clock onwards.
Terry Wood then played The Day After Tomorrow with his characteristic driving guitar – and refrained from telling us one of his jokes. (or maybe it was just too hot!) In the second half he played The Dublin Blues
Harry Parker’s gravely voice did justice to James Blunt’s Beautiful and after the break he sang No Bravery. He just gets better and better.
Chris Sweetman then took us all to church and sang a song written around a conversation between Mary Magdalen, Jesus and Judas Iscariot which we decided to tentatively call Said Judas to Mary in the absence of a knowledge of the true title. An interesting, even thought provoking subject and a great performance by Chris.
Dez Preston and Chris Sweetman duetted in the second half. Not content with simple melodies and relaxed guitar work these two stormed the place with Don’t Fear The Reaper and Crazy Little Thing Called Love. Hotter than the evening itself!!
John Orchard went all technical on us as he played Messing About on the River, finishing it with a modulation in key for the last verse. We all sang along until that point!
Vikky Sztuka, new to the club, claimed she couldn’t play the guitar but when she sang her own song Summer Romance and played the guitar up at tenth fret, we thought she might have been telling ever so small porkies. But we don’t care because it was lovely!!
Dez Preston and Kris Spencer played Runaway with contrasting guitar styles and vocal harmonies. The big problem was that we couldn’t hear the nylon strung guitar clearly and I suspect we fluffed it!
Hugh plays all his music by ear, whether on the pipes or fiddle and tonight he gave us a lovely set comprising Danny Boy and Isle of Innisfree.
Nigel Beck must have been psychic because he sang a self-penned number called Shed Men, a topic under discussion before the night started and before he arrived. His stylish use of harmonics, ligados and shades of Spanish/Brazilian rhythms in an instrumental section demonstrated his obvious talent.
Part of Harbour Lights (Rob, Phil and Stewart), played an amazing song called River Gypsies and the Latino rhythms echoed those in the previous act. There was a very intriguing piece of percussion being used.
Then Jo Collier joined the group to give us If I Could Take Your Pain Away and took us sweetly to the break.
Stuart Davies was persuaded to play Natural Like Rain after the break and glad we were too. We never tire of listening to our sound man.
The Real-Music Club Summer Sessions
23rd August The Rising Sun
Review by Rob Henry
Another warm balmy summers evening. The moisture in the air clung uncomfortably to each and every one of the twenty-six who had foregone the holiday season for the dampness of a Thursday Night in Willington. Missing were several regulars who were still bungy jumping, pot-holing, singing in talent contests or just sunbathing topless on some foreign shore
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Dave Matthews Mr Songwriting Man - Lady Don't You Know - Uncle Henry's Magic Garden (all songs by Dave Matthews) Dave is a songwriter of rare talent having been recognised with an Ivor Novello award nomination and being adjudged to have 'made an outstanding contribution to British popular music' with his song "We're Going To Change The World" made famous by Matt Monro. Many other artistes such as the The Troggs, New Seekers, Alan Price, Freddie Starr have recorded and performed songs written by David. He has also composed a film theme and had his work used for TV and radio productions. We also know Dave as a musician and performer who frequently surfs the emotions and the three songs performed this week proves the point. So different in subject, composition and style yet all distinctly Dave Matthews and performed with style and a glint in the eye. But best of all we are proud to know Dave as a friend and a marvelous encourager of talent, gently nudging people to have a go themselves and appreciating their success at whatever level that may be. Thanks Dave. Dez Preston Travelling On (D Preston) - Gotta Get The Job Done (D Preston) - Things Behind The Sun (Nick Drake) Neil Dalton In another Lifetime - The Blues Come For Free (both songs by Neil Dalton) Graham Hodgkinson About You (G Hodgkinson) - The Long and Winding Road (The Beatles) - Wait Until Spring (G Hodgkinson) Scott Dyke Ode to Martha - Warm and Milky Sunset - Sleepy Stick Bones (all songs by Scott Dyke) Doug and Judy Flack Kyloe Woods / Westering Home - The Breamish/Starry Night in Shetland (all Trad tunes I believe) Ken Eyre Me and Bobby McGee (Kris Kristofferson) - Colours (Donovan) - Sloop John B (Beach Boys) Mick Moore From Clare to Here (Ralph McTell) - a song (by Jackie Witt..something) - Johnny's Gone For a Soldier (American/Irish traditional) Terry Wood Paris in Summer (T. Wood) - Waltzing for Dreamers (Richard Thompson) - Lonley Soldier (Damien Rice & Christy Moore) Chris Payne Down Where The Drunkards Roll (Oconnell Maura) - Forever Young (Bob Dylan) - Until it's Time For You To Go (Buffy Sainte-Marie) John Orchard In the Summertime - Daydream Believer (The Monkees) - I Can't Help Falling In Love (Elvis Presley) Raine Fantasy Score (Raine) - Heyday (Raine) In the 1st spasm Raine performed her poem 'Fantasy Score' which I thoroughly enjoyed. She explored the theory that there should be no such thing as copyright of music. Music was natural and belonged to the earth and we all should play with it unfettered by artificial rules or restriction. Interesting stuff. In the 2nd half she produced one of her trade-mark freestyle musical compositions called 'Heyday' experimenting with sound like a child with powder paint. Well done Raine. Dez is another talented songwriter and to prove it his songs shared the stage comfortably with the Nick Drake classic 'Things Behind The Sun' - seamlessly. In fact I had to check that 'Travelling On' wasn't a cover of a rock classic. Dez is a wonderful arranger of songs as well as a composer and performer. But it is for his easy yet intricate guitar work that he is probably best recognised. Neil is a tremendous host - if you are considering a musical event - get Neil as host. But beyond this Neil is as good a songwriter and musician as almost any of the guests he introduces. This is why he is respected and regarded so highly by so many. Neil puts so much care into creating the Real-Music Club atmosphere week in and week out. The popularity of the Sessions are testament to this care. Graham is often overlooked when it comes to acolades because he makes it all look so easy. A gentle swing. Rocking in a style that comforts rather than protests. But whether performing his own songs or those of more acclaimed rockers you know he will entertain. I can always put Graham on stage if the evening needs a lift, a kick start or if we need a bit more light flooding in. A breath of fresh air blew through The Rising Sun as Scott and entourage stumbled in through the door. Excited applause, whoops of appreciation and a genuine enjoyment of other performers meant that Scott, Kate, Diane, Martin & Ben not only swelled the ranks of what would have been a quiet summer session but plumped it up nicely, Scott is a stiking figure (Sleepy Stick Bones) who writes intelligent, attractive, jazz influenced songs and performs them with joy and a cheeky confidence. If I was going to liken him to anyone it would be Grant Baynam, but how can you compare such a unique performer? Wonderful, lively and memorable. Thanks Scott. The combination of Squeezebox and electronic keyboard seems an odd one for about two bars. But then the mix of old and new, Doug & Judy, porch swing and concert room all seems so natural. Doug & Judy are always popular performers and many traditionalists could learn a lot from them. They play the music like it should be played. No need for lengthy explanations and lessons in historical relevance. "This is a tune called... I hope we don't mess it up" is fine by me. The music and the performance are appreciated for what they are - beautiful, enjoyable and alive! Ken performs no nonsense songs. No artistic pretentions. "These are good songs and I'm going to play and sing them the best I can". And it works. Guaranteed to get the choir singing along and a huge round of applause at the end. Ken is learning guitar late in life but boy am I glad he is. Great fun and always an entertaining set of well chosen classics. Thanks Ken. It is official Mick makes grown men cry! So moving was Mick Moores performance of three beautiful and emotional songs that one chap at least admitted to a tear or two. Me, I just swallowed hard but I have a very barnacled heart. Mick is another of our regulars that we so easily underestimate. It takes new audience members to remind us just how good Mick is. A gentle guitar style and a bluesy voice means he is a pleasure to listen to and sometimes I feel just like dipping my feet in the river and letting the water lap over my toes while I watch the dragonflies skim the surface. No tears, just me and the music in a remote place somewhere warm. I regularly hear Terry's opening chords being accompanied by whispers of "He's good", or "I love this song". I don't think I can add much more except to say "Yes he is" and whether it is a Richard Thompson number, one by Damien Rice or a Terry Wood classic "I love his songs". Always a pleasure. Go along to see him perform whenever you get the chance. Songs made popular by Richard Thompson, Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan but they never sounded like this before. Chris's voice rumbles like a rock fall and bits of plaster drop from the rafters. A delight! I am disappointed when Chris chooses not to perform since he delivers something memorable every time. Impossible to sing along with but wonderful to listen to - as Neil said "His voice goes where most voices fear to tread" (my paraphrasing). Chris has a rich, smooth, dark roasted cocoa-bean of a voice. Harmonica man John Orchard excelled himself this week by playing three harmonicas in one song. A great sing-along set plus tales of his holiday talent show in Devon. Simply wonderful.
16th August The Indoor Garden Party
at The Green Man
Review by Kris Spencer
Well, well, well, the garden party was part rained off and part frozen solid due to typical British weather – Terry tells me he spent twenty minutes out there waiting for us to turn up, but I suspect he was fibbing because he was remarkably dry and frost-free when he arrived. Despite this, a ray of sunshine arrived in the form of Simon Scardanelli and the rest of us soon warmed up a chilly August night.
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Dez Preston hosted this week and started us off with the appropriately titled Get It Right Next Time by Gerry Rafferty – and we will with maybe a garden party just before Xmas when the weather is sure to be warm and sunny!!
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Matt Henderson sang his own song Love is a Mirror and invited the audience to join in, which we did enthusiastically for the choruses. In the second half Matt and Gemma joined forces to perform Life Uncommon, and their harmonies soared out into the evening like an elegant eagle searching out the last of the day’s warm air currents.
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Gemma Wylde sang a song, accapella, which she had sung to her as a child by her grandma. She asked the audience if we knew its’ title and any more verses, but as an audience we were stumped, loved the song though.
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Harry Parker got up to give us a husky-voiced, well phrased, I Hung My Head by Sting. There are just some songs that suit certain people and Harry has made this one his own. During the break, Harry, with a twinkle in his eye, asked me if he could do another solo spot after the break, even though he was going to appear in a group later (guess I must appear to be a soft touch) and Dez said ….. NO!! And so it was, with due regard to Dez, that Harry gave us his own soulful, minimalist version of Gladrags and Handbags in the second half!
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Ken Eyre finger picked Yesterday for us and soon I’m sure he’ll be able to sing along to it and later played Paddy McGinty’s Goat to a delighted audience.
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Dave came all the way from the Scrag End at Measham to invite us along to their club on Sunday nights. He sang us a self-penned number You’re Always There accompanying himself with a soft finger picking style. After the break he sang a lovely song, Today’s Tomorrow, a song written to his mother’s words.
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Jye finally managed to tune his guitar to belt out House of The Rising Sun, just as the sun was setting to our right. Later he gave us an energetic Times They Are a-Changing by Dylan on guitar and harmonica.
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Chris Payne took the stage next and gave us a super, mellow version of Lying Eyes by the Eagles.
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Simon Scardanelli, returning after many months absence, commanded the attention of the audience as he sang The Valentines.
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Terry Wood couldn’t resist telling us one of his ‘jokes’ (?) before he sang God’s Country, a self-penned number that has gathered quite a few provenance stories over the months! Later, Terry gave us his trademark driving guitar rhythm to give us Another Cup of Coffee by Mike and the Mechanics.
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Then, newcomer Lesley invited audience participation as she strummed along to her lovely voice singing Slightly Faded. A chance meeting at the Unicorn in Newton Solney last Sunday where Andy hosted the folk club there, resulted in Lesley joining us tonight. In the second half, Lesley sang a lovely version of The Morning In Your Eyes which some of us tried to join in with.
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Hugh sang us a Scottish song called Father Met a Mermaid which prompted the inevitable question ‘Which distillery was close by’. Later, he offered up a lovely, plaintiff version of The Meeting of the Waters.
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Raine played her mandolin for us this week and performed her own number Summer’s Come. Actually Raine, it’s been and gone this year – we blinked and blinking well missed it!! However, the warmth of the company this evening more than made up for it.
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Graham Hodgkinson played us another of his own songs, Wait Until Spring and I couldn’t help wondering if the evening wasn’t going to follow the theme of the weather - what with Dez’s, Harry’s, Ken’s, Terry’s Lesley’s and Raine’s songs all loosely alluding to the weather, so I gave in and sang Surrender by Elvis, to finish off the first half. After the break Graham gave us If I Fell.
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To open the second half, Andy and Harry Parker were joined by Jason and became The Elvis Gresleys (appropriate since it was the 30th anniversary of The King’s death that day). With guitars at 90° because the venue couldn’t fit three in a row they gave us False Imprison Blues by Johnny Cash and Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode. We have been hearing rumours about this group for yonks from Andy and now we know it’s a reality and not a vision induced by the produce of the distillery that allows you to see mermaids!! We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves listening to and watching this trio.
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Penultimately, Dez and Kris joined forces to play an arrangement of San Francisco Bay Blues. I enjoyed this because I only had to play rhythm guitar (just as well given the amount of happy juice I had consumed) whereas Dez sang and played the riff (on equal amounts of happy juice!)
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Well, the end of the evening was marked by two songs from Simon Scardanelli. As every one knows, I’m useless with song titles, so when I asked him to sing ‘the one where he stamps his feet and jumps around’, the amused smile on his face assured me that he knew just which one I meant! His first song was A Song for a Soldier and the hushed audience hung onto every word. When it came to the song I had requested, The Ballad of Genevieve, Simon realised that the floor was carpeted and promptly climbed onto, and subsequently launched himself off of, a poor, defenceless, nearby chair in order to produce the effect that bare floor boards would with less than 10% of the effort. Well worth it though Simon!!? And, as he limped off stage…………..
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All the best for the next two weeks guys, I’m off on holiday. Well, not quite a holiday because you see, I’m going walking in some mountains. Maybe after the first day I’ll have sussed the location of the best coffee house in the area and just about manage to trek there, collapse, revive myself with plenty of coffee, top-up my energy levels with sticky chocolate cake, chat to the locals, and wait for the return of Eddie and the rest of the walking party!!!!
9th August at The Rising Sun
Review by Kris Spencer
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Well, it’s so long ago now, and I haven’t got round to typing and posting this on the site, that I am just going to give a brief resume of the evening’s events. As always I have got some of the song titles wrong, or missed them completely. Please let me know the real titles and I will amend (Albeit next whenever!)
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Neil Dalton hosted and started us off with his own composition Easy to be True. Later in the evening Neil demonstrated his versatility, when there was an equipment failure, by becoming a microphone stand too. Talent beyond bounds! After fixing the stand, Neil started the second half in my absence – so which songs did you sing Neil??
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Andy Parker sang My Baby’s Feeling Funny in the Morning written by Jackson Brown and in the second half Banana Republics and Raggle Taggle Gypsies.
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Graham Hodgkinson gave us a whistle-stop tour of six numbers (Girl from Ipanema, Daydream, Mellow Yellow, Will You Still Love Me, ‘Til There Was You, World Without Love) all cleverly linked together and finishing on his trademark major seventh chord! Later on he sang only two songs – Where Are You Going To and Fool on the Hill.
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Ken Eyre gave us a confident rendition of the Wurzel’s song, Don’t Tell I, Tell ‘E, and followed with Have a Drink On Me by Lonnie Donegan, after which there was a minor skirmish for the bar!
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How Chris Payne managed to perform Warm Love by Van Morrison without being distracted by a certain human mike stand, I don’t know!
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Keyna Larvin sang My Young Man by Kate Rusby with her usual style and then Though I Live Not Where I Love and The Blantyre Explosion after the break.
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On his harmonica, John Orchard played the Skye Boat Song. There must have been some magic in the air at that moment because the tonal quality of the bass register on the harmonica was excellent. He followed this in the second half with Moonlight and Roses and Morning Has Broken
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Tony Mayo treated us to his Mississippi delta style music with a self penned number, Lone Wolf Blues, and later gave us Solace and an accapella song, the title of which eluded me.
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Gig and Martin gave us We Are Going to be Friends by White Stripe followed in the second half by another White Stripes number, Hotel Yorba and Let’s Get Together
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Dez Preston gave us the haunting River Man by Nick Drake and later, The Debt That We Owe (self penned) and Greenstuff by the Blues Brothers, accompanied by Tony and Neil.
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Terry Wood sang Cardiff Bay by Martyn Joseph and then Maria and a song about growing old in the second half.
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Raine sang It Could Be You and to draw the first half to a close Kris sang Running on Faith.
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2nd August 2007 at The Green Man
Review by Kris Spencer
(tampered with by Neil and Rob)
Summer has finally arrived and the room above The Green Man was hot, sticky, airless and thankfully not so crowded –only 22 people, yet still a veritable cauldron of talent.
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A welcome return of the gaffer, Rob Henry, to orchestrate the evening, along with Neil to host, ensured a smooth evening. I was worried at first because Neil told us a couple of ‘suspected’ jokes before we got underway and I do mean ‘suspected’ and not ‘suspect’, because I’m still not sure.
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And so, Neil started the evening with Chris Chambers who plays Dobro. They played You Told Me You Loved Me and how the slide of the Dobro calms the soul. Neil and Chris led us into the second half with Ricky, a song written by Neil about his dad, obviously as dapper as his offspring can be. Chris hadn’t heard this before, yet his musicianship was so perfectly honed that his accompaniment was spot-on.
Mick Moore was chosen to follow and he gave us a self-penned song In the Past. Always quietly sung, gently strummed but totally, uniquely, Mick. After the break, Mick strummed another song written by him, entitled My Brother
Alan Gregory played a number from the Beatles, Something on the 12-string guitar. Although this guitar can sometimes be loud, Alan’s gentle touch and soft voice and the beautiful phrasing of this classic showed us all a thing or two. Then Jenny added her talent to the mix and outshone her dad to perform You’re Still the One. And I reckon Alan didn’t mind one little bit.
Terry Wood decided to play Beyond the Blue (Tom Russell) and showed us all just why he is always welcome at The Real-Music Club. Perfect guitar and faultless vocals – and Neil accompanied on harmonica. Terry gave us Romeo and Juliet in the second half.
Chris Sweetman sang Everything I Own (David Gates) in a style that suited the evening – slow, soulful and heady. He really re-defined the piece, bringing the message of the song out in stark relief. Hannah joined her dad and gave us When You Say Nothing At All, popularised by someone called Ronan Keating. Chris still managed to stamp his own style on the music, but I doubt he can match the voice of Hannah. Then Rachel joined the mix and together, guitar and mixed vocal harmonies, they performed an enchanting song, Child Again. Chris should be proud, and the girls obviously have talent. The mix of their voices and the gentle picking of the guitar were exquisite. In the second half, Chris revealed a little more about his shrouded, mysterious past (we’ll get the whole story given time – if I have MY way), and performed Waiting for the Hurricane. Hannah and Rachel joined dad to sing I Can See Clearly. Chris, you are outclassed!!
Dez Preston brought on Kris Spencer to help out with a piece of ‘classic rock’ (Dez’s words) originally performed by Extreme – More Than Words – a delightful duet, full of Dez’s signature tasteful guitar accompaniment and Kris’s stylish vocals. Kris led, Dez harmonized and the audience were transfixed (my words, Neil). Dez Preston took to the front in the second half to give us I Want to Come Home (music by Dez, words by Rob Henry himself) to celebrate the return of Rob to the home of his soul.
Doug and Judy Flack on concertina and keybard played a medley of The Wild Hills of Wannis and Dark Island. Doug tried to do it in double quick time, but Judy was having none of it! The transition between the two was absolutely flawless. It is really good to have these instrumental interludes because there is so much music out there that is not meant to be sung, and as a 'music' club it can be so easily forgotten that music can be performed for its own sake. In the second half, this duo and their enchanting mix of instruments performed Gaelic Lullaby and a traditional highland boat song. I’m so pleased that these two souls decided to grace us with their presence again. Please keep coming!!
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Michael Gregory then added his own quixotic talents to the evening and sang a song that reminded us all that we are human?? entitled Sitting on the Bog. We can always rely on Michael to bring us down to earth with a bump. In the second half, he had to run the gauntlet of the jaded (read intoxicated) audience in order to give us In My Dreams. ‘Almost tasteful’ was Neil’s quip!!
Raine, on keyboard, played her own composition, All Good Things To Come, a concentrated study on why we all look forward to the future – an anthem to Thursdays at The Real-Music Club mayhap??
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Chris Moore never told us what his song was called at the beginning, but we didn’t mind because, as usual, he caught us within the net of his musical talent, and he landed us skilfully. We found out later it was called A Sight to Behold by Devendra Ban Hart. After the break Chris played Sad Song– a song written in the past on a journey to the club in his dad’s car and sung from a scrap of paper dragged from deep in his pockets the first time around. Understated, under-rated Chris Moore.
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John Orchard brought along a very big harmonica that he called a piano accordion – but we weren’t fooled – and played a calm, collected, brooding, Alive, Alive O, and the audience provided mixed harmonies. Took some puff John!! He followed this in the second half with Lord of the Dance and again the audience felt compelled to accompany in whatever way they had access to!
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Gary Stacey confounded the harmonica players by playing a piece in E major called The Cliché Blues written by himself - Dez Preston providing additional blues riffs in the right places and Chris Chambers adding further credibility on the dobro. Gary told us he didn’t consider he had the talent to play blues, but the whole room begged to differ after he’d led us through his somewhat satirical swipe at the genre. Playing Al Whittle’s guitar, Gary gave us a lovely piece of typical acoustic Gary, Where Are You Going To Be When The North Wind Blows (self-penned) after the break.
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After accompanying Neil to start the after break session, Chris Chambers played and sang My Old Country Home, and set us up for a brilliant late night session. After impressing us greatly with his wonderful musicianship, Chris was asked to round the evening off and he gave us It’s All Over Now with Neil holding the rhythm and the audience joining in where they could remember the words. Well, we’d all become well lubricated by then!!
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Keyna Lavin entranced the audience with Plaisir d’Amour. You could hear a pin drop! Pure, smooth, golden honey. True Love was the follow up in the second half and if the world had ended then and there, we’d all be truly in heaven.
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Kris Spencer came on and did a request from Rob Henry who was back at the helm having been lost in the world of numbers for the past couple of weeks. She did her own Eva Cassidy style version of Over the Rainbow – terrific stuff and even got extra points for mentioning the weather in a song!
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Thursday July 26th
Real-Music at The Rising Sun.
Review by Kris Spencer
- aided and assisted by Neil Dalton
(well at least that’s how Neil describes it!)
Well, it’s been raining all day and some b***** has scratched the passenger side of my beautiful Blue Boy, so I’m hoping to forget it all tonight - without the assistance of alcohol. New faces in the audience again – come to suss us out I’ll warrant.
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Neil Dalton starts us off tonight and the strains of his slow and relaxing ‘Easy to be True’ calmed the audience and set the mood for the evening. After the break he gave us ‘Not Quite Friends’, a situation that most of us could identify with at one point or another in our lives.
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Andy Parker followed with ‘Dolphins’ by Fred Neil and a beautifully picked guitar accompaniment to ‘Got to Keep on Moving’. Another step closer to relaxation.
Gemma Wylde bravely plugged in for the first time at the club and played a self-penned number ‘Cursed With The Thirst’, which she wrote during an illness. Then Matt Henderson joined her (looking incredibly groomed) to give us a guitar/vocal harmony duet ‘A Heart Needs a Home’. Matt remained on stage to give us ‘The Wind’ (excuse me!!) by Cat Stevens gently picked out a lovely accompaniment to his voice, followed by a self-penned parody called ‘Only Joking Pal’ inspired by the late Bernard Manning again displaying a gentle picking style to accompany the melody.
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Chris Payne sang Bob Dylan’s ‘Positively Fourth Street’ and another Dylan number that I don’t know the title of. Boy does he pick some hard songs with complex melodic chord changes, but with that voice of his, he never fails to pull them off. As Neil commented ‘a voice like a warm overcoat on a cold night’. Chris came back on and did another from his favourite writer Bob Dylan – the still disquieting ‘The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carrol’.
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Keyna Lavin sang a Kate Rusby song ‘Let Me Be’ and her natural vibrato voice rang out on the evening air and the mood was complete. She followed this with ‘Stewball’ by Joan Baez. Kris invited Kenya to come back up on stage and she delivered a wonderful version of When I Fall In Love – just a lovely voice.
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Julian Clarke regailed us with ‘Maggie May’ and the audience were keen to join in. He followed this with ‘Stealing’ by Uriah Heap and his driving rhythm did the song justice until his music decided to steal away onto the floor, but in true professional mode, he wryly commented on how this never happens on the record whilst retrieving it. (smooth or what?)
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Chris Sweetman took to the stage and gave us a really polished performance of ‘Blackbird’ and it was quite close to the original, which is a first for our Chris because he usually bends and twists his songs into unusual rhythms. Then his daughter Rachel joined him and they gave us an enchanting version of ‘All I Have to do is Dream’. Chris came back to do another song, offhand, self deprecating, but always talented. He did a stylish, thirties influenced, big band trumpet solo with a guitar vamped backing of Jada and while his trumpet burbled on, at no time did his lips give him away. The things some people will do to keep the kids quiet in the back of the car!
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The only person who could follow that was Graham Hodgkinson and he didn’t let us down. He sang a self-penned number called ‘Where Are You Going To?’ in his own cool, calm manner followed by another one of his songs called ‘About You’. The Real Music Club’s answer to Andy Stewart. I envy people who have the talent to write their own songs. He came back but sat down this time to sing his own song, Especially You – clearly his first half session had allowed him to get even more comfortable, something he always make the audience feel.
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John Orchard performed ‘A World of Our Own’ following this with ‘Carnival is Over’ playing an appropriately plaintiff and moody harmonica. Excellent!! John always has a joke and pleasing way with an audience. He stepped up again to give us his version of Grandfather’s Clock, joined by the Real Music Club choir, well Keyna at least!
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Raine then played a plucky number, ‘Step Out In Style’ on the mandolin and then recited a poem ‘Late Night Test Drive’ to the ‘captivated’ audience just before the interval.
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Kris Spencer offered us the lovely Jim Croce song, I’ll Have To Say I Love You In A Song’. Late night smooth, a little touch of the nightclub, a little touch of cabaret and a little touch of Kris. Second piece of music “Running On Faith”, yet another piece of music from the Unplugged Album.
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Derek Preston played his Taylor guitar with his usual assured style and panache. He did a gentle and tasteful version of Martha’s Harbour originally performed by All About Eve. Followed by a haunting and affecting tune written by himself with words by Sam Preston – a ballad with a bloodthirsty theme, entitled Good Man John.
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Lucy Ward took the small stage at the Rising Sun with her usual, seemingly casual, confident style. She did an accapella version of the Recruited Collier. Whatever and whenever Lucy sings she shows she has already mastered the difficult art of communicating with an audience. The audience are compelled to sit up and take notice. She did one of my personal favourite Damien Rice songs Cannonball. “Still a little bit of your taste in my mouth, Still a little bit of you laced with my doubt”, a little bit of poetry in song. Lucy came back on at the end and blasted us with her own inimitable version of Mustang Sally accompanied by the always talented Dez Preston and ever smooth Graham on harmonica.
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Terry Wood did a Richard Thompson song Waltzing For Dreamers. Terry has an easy way with a song, an easy way with the audience, skills honed by hosting sessions at the Vernon Arms each Tuesday – he is a terrific performer and a delight to hear. His second song was by Kelly MaCrae – I Heard Johnny Cash Died Of A Broken Heart. Always an affecting performance.
19th July at the Green Man
Review by Kris Spencer
Since he was acting host this week, Dez started us off with ’When You Smile’, as he said, a good ‘strummy’ song to start us off. He set us off on a brilliant evening wonderfully. After the break, he sang a Suzanne Vega song called ‘The Queen of the Soul’. Dez chooses some really difficult pieces and makes them look so easy and tonight he excelled himself.
Catalogue Kings, comprising Giles, Simon, Ian and Phil, playing acoustic bass, steel strung guitar, ukulele, glockenspiel and electric banjo entertained us with close harmony, performing ‘Unburden Me’ and solo voice for ‘That’s How it Felt to Walk on the Moon’. In the second half a self-penned number inspired by a friend of the band called ‘Uncle Monkey’ had the place rocking thanks to an African drum driving the song forward. Thoroughly polished performances and a style we don’t have much of at the club – come back soon lads.
Doug Flack was in the audience last week and was inspired to perform for us this week on the Northumberland pipes. He gave us two very gentle numbers , a medieval piece ‘With All Those endearing Young Charms’ and a Northumbrian tune ‘Whittingham Green Lane’. Considering the heat and humidity, the pipes behaved really well as did Doug! After the break he played a couple of Scottish songs ‘When the Battle’s O’er’ and the soulful lament‘ Leaving Lismore’
Judy Flack wife of the above nervously admitted she had only played to an audience of two drunks before, but as she played ‘The Hesleyside Reel’ on the keyboard the, still sober audience, were very appreciative.
Rachel and Emma sang together to a picked guitar, ‘Ned on the Hill’, a Mormon song and ‘Angel’ by Sarah McLoughlin. Lovely harmonies filled the still night air - motor bikes, ambulance and train excepted. In the second half they gave us a soul-felt, guitar/violin accompanied performance of ‘Cold’.
Mike Bennett, currently resident in Derby, lately from North Yorkshire, but soon to start University in Edinburgh, strummed a lazy guitar and performed ‘Maybe Some Day’. After the break he banged out ‘Land Down Under’ and the audience again felt moved to join in. The beer here is excellent stuff!
John Orchard adjusted his dress before taking to the ‘stage’ to define several genres of music eg: ‘Opera’ – music that should be spoken; ‘Rap’ – music that should be sung. Then he played Lindisfarne’s ‘Hey Mr Dream Maker’ on the harmonica whilst the audience joined in on various instruments. Wasn’t Jamming Reggae? In the second half, accompanied by the well lubricated, harmonically minded audience, he played ‘Streets of London’.
Chris Sweetman energetically delivered ‘Happy Hour’ with his usual flair and we all joined in with the chorus because they was the only words we knew and could keep up with! To finish an excellent evening, Chris, so relaxed he was almost comatose, smoozed through ‘Back in the USSR’. Wish I could play like that!!!
Mary DeVille read us a poem about slavery called ‘Sugar Plantation House’ that left us all thinking, and followed that with ‘Pain Barrier’, despairing the pain of sore fingers when you first pick up the guitar to learn to play. Many in the audience identified with that theme! ‘Heavenly Rainbows’ was Mary’s second half poem and it was redolent with consonance and assonance, despite which it enchanted the listeners!
Three fifths of Harbour Lights, Bethan, Rob and Phil, and played ‘Star Gazer’ and ‘Sweet Hand of Mercy’. Bethan‘s haunting voice, juxtaposed against two softly played guitars, never fails to enchant an audience and we were certainly captivated. After the break, they gently performed ‘Another Rainbow’ and the evening became a sweet, heady night.
Kris Though the evening was hot, Kris was even hotter. Just a few notes in and you could have heard a pin drop. A delightful arrangement of Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” and singing which made us believe it! (penned by Mr Sweetman – not me! Honest)
Andy and Harry Parker duetted a song about an 18th century shipwreck called ‘Lord Franklin’ and so validated the claim that folk music is a genre that always sings about 18th century shipwrecks!! Following this with ‘I Don’t Want to Hear It’ livened the audience up enough to go buy a drink during the break.
Raine brought her mandolin along this week and after reflecting on the vagaries of life, she played a self penned piece called ‘Summer’s Come’ and I swear I could hear the dragonflies.
Dave, another new-comer, sang ‘When Old Men Sing’ a capella, and harmonies broke out all round the room.
Keyna, with the voice of an angel, treated us to a particular favourite of mine, ‘Blue Blazing Blind Drunk’.
Neil Dalton taking the evening off from his usual host role played us a relaxed guitar and crooned ‘When the Blues Come For Free’.
12th July at the Rising Sun.
Review by Kris Spencer
What better than a meeting of musicians on a sultry July evening at the local hostelry? Lots more new faces playing and in the audience this week. It’s probably a good job that we’re not closing this summer – where would all the waifs and strays go?
Another new face on the stage this week and several in the audience – our fame is spreading wide. A packed room, a warm night and nearing the end of the school year meant that quite a few of us were looking the worse for wear but we couldn’t not come – we might miss something!
Neil started the night with his own composition, ‘The Star in the Heavens’ and with Rob’s help from the back of the room they performed their usual double act. In the second half Neil sang ‘The Robin’, a song jointly penned by himself and Dave Matthews which would not be out of place in a play I once read by Aristophanes called The Birds – both are equally satiro-comedic.
Now, it’s a well known fact to the regulars that to try to take a drink between acts is like a red rag to a bull for Rob I made the mistake of forgetting this golden rule and found myself on next. So, unprepared and decidedly sober I played ‘You’ve got a Friend’ and then hastily roped Graham into a duet of ‘All I Have to do is Dream’. He was brilliant!!! Dez helped me out in the second half with ‘California Dreaming’ even though I was considerably better oiled by then. He was brilliant too - even at 100mph!!!
Graham stayed on with guitar to perform his own song ‘About you’ and delivered it perfectly – Mr Smooth strikes again! After the break he and Dave Matthews teamed up to give us a piano/harmonica duet of the Troggs’ ‘Love is all Around’
Andy Parker gave us a Woody Guthrie number ‘The Farmer is the Man’ using a very effective picking style. We all agreed with the message of the song, but the slow infusion of alcohol into the audience certainly helped to lessen the blow. He thought I hadn’t noticed him sneaking off at half time, but I did Andy, and I want your excu..er reasons please.
Hugh, although a familiar face to some of us, graced The Real Music Club for the first time this week with an a cappella rendition in Gaelic of a song entitled ‘The Cuckoo’. A bit late in the year for cuckoos, but we enjoyed the song nonetheless. After the break Hugh sang ‘Galway Bay’ and we joined in with words we knew.
Chris Sweetman was then thrust into the spotlight by Rob and he sang a lovely, meaningful song, penned because of his own experience, called ‘I Should Like to Hold Your Hand’, and betraying his teacher status by using the word ‘should’ (correctly of course) instead of the more widely (commonly) used ‘would’ ! He and his guitar disappeared at half time muttering something about homework.
Tony Mayo then flamboyantly gave us a brief(!) history of ‘St James Infirmary Blues’ prior to delivering it with verve and energy, but I still am none the wiser as to who composed it. Answers on a postcard to……In the second half he accompanied himself on the bass guitar as he sang ‘Walking the Dog’
Dave Matthews always manages to raise a smile when he uses his song to reflect on the peculiarities of the human condition, and ‘Momma Packed a Picnic Tea’ certainly did that. So too ‘Lady Nicotine’ after the break. Wished I could cough like that to order!!!!!!
Dave Smith returned to The RMC after a long break and he soon had us all joining in the chorus of ‘Won’t You Come Down to Yarmouth Town’ as he sang over his melodian. He again had us agreeing to explore the unknown (apologies to that lovely coastal resort!) in the second half as he asked us to ‘Come Awa wi’ Me’ and we were sorely tempted as the room was getting very hot and sticky!
Mick Moore donned his rose coloured glasses (probably in response to Rob’s cliché of a joke) and rose above it all to sing ‘Johnny Has Gone For a Soldier’. After the break Mr Cool played Johnathan Kelly’s ‘Ballad of Cursed Anna’.
Julian had a good old moan before he launched into the Stones’ ‘Satisfaction’ but there was no shortage of that amongst the listeners when he had finished – and he’d managed to get it all off his chest!! After the break ‘Bad, Bad Leroy Brown’ by Jim Croce had an outing and Julian managed to put the ills of society to rights with just two songs. Julian for Prime Minister??
Dez and Dave Matthews performed a song they had co-written with a little help from me entitled ‘Lady of Mine’ and I loved it (naturally). Seriously though, it sounded like one of those melodies you instinctively know and they played it to perfection.
Keyna, partly inspired by Andy’s song and partly unable to make her mind up herself (another exhausted teacher), sang us another version of ‘The Farmer is the Man’. I’m sorry Andy, but not one of us can compete with that voice. Exquisite.
Gene Burton entertained us immensely with a self-penned number called ‘The Irony Has Wounded Me’ inspired by a friend who had other things on his mind when he was listening to Gene’s music!! After the break Gene’s second song ‘You’ll Never Walk Again’ was brilliantly constructed lyrically and musically, but some of the subtle inferences were completely lost on many of us (namely me, a very tired teacher). Well it was coming up to eleven!
Terry Wood found his way out of the wood that is Spondon (soz Tez) and played Billy Joel’s ‘Piano Man’ in the first half, skilfully condensing all those piano notes onto just six strings and in the second half sang ‘Dolphins Make Me Cry’ by Martyn Joseph and so there wasn’t a dry eye in the place. (Think the landlady had called time)
Stuart Davis rounded off the evening with his own song ‘Bitter, Angry’. How he manages to produce such a complex sound on the guitar I am a loss to explain. It must be in the tuning.
At that point, Rob said
"You've had your fun now @!!?%$# - Off home"
and we all duly obliged.
5th July at the Green Man.
Review by Kris Spencer
A good turn out this week with new faces, long absent friends and us regular gluttons for punishment.
Neil Dalton hosted the evening and started us off with his own song ‘An Irish Fiddler’, and although I must admit it’s a long time since I’ve seen a fiddler on the streets of Derby, he painted the picture in words and music superbly and set us up for a lovely evening. ‘Souvenirs’ by Jack Hudson corralled us back into some semblance of order after the break.
Chris Payne sang ‘The Green Fields of France’ and ‘Suspicious Minds’ and his wonderful basso profundo voice melted into the evening air. After the break we were treated to ‘Do anything You Wanna Do’ by Eddie and the Hot Rods.
Harry Parker then gave us his version of ‘When a Man Comes Round’ by Johnny Cash, with a driving guitar rhythm that got us all sitting up and listening. He followed this with ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ by Oasis. Matt and Harry teamed up in the second half to give us ‘The Drugs Don’t Work’ by the Verve.
Tony Mayo treated us to an accomplished slide guitar performance of ‘Stormy Monday’ on his resonator guitar, and then sang his own composition, which he hadn’t given a title, so he allowed us to call it ‘Making Nails for Jesus’. After the break he sang ‘Sleep Don’t Come Easy’ which is quite true when you are fired up with the quality music every one delivered that evening.
John Orchard treated us to ‘Waltzing Matilda’ on the harmonica and put a cheeky little key change to the last verse which confused us as were singing along! Then he started ‘Leaving Liverpool’ and Neil joined in with vocals and guitar – does this guy know the words to every song? ‘It Doesn’t Matter Anymore’ was John’s after-break number.
Andy Parker played and sang a medley which included the first ever song he learned to play on the guitar, ‘Candy Man/Buck Dancer’s Choice/Harry You Now Owe Me a Fiver, and in the process won a bet with his son Harry to the value of – yes, you’ve guessed - £5. (What the older generation will do to get one up on the younger generation is disgraceful – keep it up Andy!!) His performance of‘I Wanna Be Anarchy ’ by the Sex Pistols was both energetic and inimitable. In the second half Andy performed his own version of ‘Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out’ by Jimmy Cox in 1922 and still as fresh and relevant today.
Graham restored order and decorum, crooning two Bacharach classics: ‘Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head ’ and ‘Close to You’ – ending both on the obligatory 1970s major seventh chord. Ahh – those were the days…….In the second half Graham sang ‘Without’, a beautiful self-penned number.
Ken got us all singing along to ‘Paddy McGinty’s Goat’ and laughing til we nearly died as he peered over his guitar at his music through out, with a most peculiar look on his face, and as he finished was heard to utter ‘bloody bifocals’. Then Kris sang Scarborough Fair whilst Ken picked the strings most melodiously in the second half.
Matt was a new face for the evening and played a couple of classic songs beautifully - even Dez perked up when he heard the introduction to the first song ‘Tax Man’ by the Kinks and we all joined in with ‘Annie’s Song’ by John Denver too. Matt got us all singing along again in the second half with ‘Hey Jude’
Derek Preston sang two self penned numbers ‘I want to go to the Moon’ (and who wouldn’t given the weather this summer on planet earth) and ‘Oblivion’ and he got all the words right!! In the second half he finished the evening with a stunning rendition of ‘Before you Accuse Me’ by Eugene McDaniels.
Raine‘ borrowed’ a tune and wrote her own lyrics entitling it ‘The Opera’ and then read one of her poems ‘Success with a Capital S’ delivering both with an enchanting mix of comedy and pathos.
Julian was caught ‘Knocking on Heaven’s Door’ accompanied by Neil and much to the consternation of Dez who has a passion for Dylan music (not) - and then a rare treat – Julian had persuaded Nathanto join him in singing ‘Tambourine Man’ and we all really enjoyed that.
Kris played a couple of classical dance pieces ‘Cancion’ by Marc Andes and ‘Gaelic Song II’ by Peter Nutall.
Jye really got absorbed in the music whilst performing ‘The Times They are a Changing’ and ‘Like a Rolling Stone’ both Dylan classics and knocked the proverbial nails into Dez’s musical coffin.
Super night.
21 June 2007
What a lovely intimate & super-friendly session last night.
From folk to country to blues to rock to pop and back again. From self penned songs to Johnny Cash, from Oasis to Rush to traditional ballads. Once again my highlights were when spontaneous combo's were formed - jamming along - harmonicas, guitars & vocalists - on the spot, unrehearsed. Great fun.
Neil Dalton - Our stylish host with a musical knowledge that surpasses anyone I know. I reckon he's really a Time-Lord who can't be bothered to fight aliens -he just flies from one musical happening to another. Neil brought us the bluesy "Nobody Needs Me Now", the country-tinted "Easy To Be True" and finished the evening by appealing to the audience to "Lay me Down Easy". Neil Dalton - as smooth as chocolate and as cool as a cornetto.
John Orchard - Every week he plays 'Our Monica' and gets the whole room singing. Tonight we all sang "Bright Eyes", "Meet Me On The Corner" and "Matchstick Men & Matchsticks Cats & Dogs" with the third song being one of those combo's I mentioned as Kris provided guitar backing to John's Harmonica. Some people will do anything to avoid having to admit the know the words to "Matchstick Men"
Ken Eyre - Ken told us that the last two times he's played at the RMC he has had his own version of Friday the thirteenth. He has managed to injure himself both times the worst being when he cut his finger with a Stanley Knife. I don't know what he puts in his J2O but perhaps he should stick to water in future. Ken also roused the crowd into singing along with Dylan's "Blowin In The Wind", Donovan's "Colours" and Paxton's "Marvellous Little Toy"
Harry Parker - Harry has now settled into the RMC and become a valued member of our Thursday evening Sessions. Tonight he performed Johnny Cash's "I Hung My Head", "Don't Look Back In Anger" by Oasis and he got a loud "whoop" for "Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)" from Green Day's album "Bullet In A Bible". Not a bad collection of songs from someone who doesn't pick the easy one's to perform. Not everyone can pull it off. Harry not only pulled it off, he threw it up, caught it again and then swung it round wildly over his head.
Kris Spencer - Is it my imagination or has Kris jumped up to another level in the past few weeks? Even before her memorable performance at The Kiln last Saturday she had hosted a few Willington Sessions with style. But her real talent lies in choosing classy songs and playing them with heart, skill and a lot of soul. The combination of her beautiful voice, her search for perfection, her classical training and the sweet sound of her nylon strung guitar is a magical one. I heard a couple of newcomers to the club whisper "she's good" after she had finished "Kathy's Song". Us regulars know that. But with "Desperado" we were reminded just how good. When then she finished by singing "I will be around now and forever", well we couldn't believe our luck.
Julian Clarke - He's back! I know he never left, despite the lure of a boatman's life, but for several weeks now Julian has come along just to watch and listen. Preferring to relax and enjoy what others have to offer rather than performing himself. But we've missed him and his gang - This weeks gang members were "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown", "Maggie May" and Uriah Heap's "The Wizard"
Andy Parker - Andy's set could be subtitled Murder, Sex & Marmite Vans. "I shot a man in Reno, Just to watch him die" he sang. This chilling line sent a shiver round the room. Such is Andy's honesty of performance that for a moment you believed this was the Burton man's startling confession of a recent crime and not an echo from Johnny Cash's classic "Folsom Prison Blues" performed in a Californian Jailhouse in 1968. Then he took us back to the times of the philandering James I with the Irish Traditional song "The Jolly Beggarman" standing "naked on the floor" only to bring us rushing back home to Burton On Trent with "Don't Drive She Said", a rather odd and quirky song that includes the unmistakably local lyric "the Bass lorry in the front and the Marmite van behind" - (sorry if quote is not 100% accurate). A much travelled man is our Andy P.
Keyna Larvin - When Keyna sang "You Left Me Just When I Needed You Most" I just wanted to beg to be forgiven. What a voice. I don't believe I've ever heard anyone dare to make a noise when Keyna is singing. The whole audience hang on every note, on every word. Not many performers command this attention. With no safety net Keyna flies higher than any other and it is a sheer delight to listen to her. She also gave us "Canadian Whiskey" and "Morning Song For Sally" both beautiful and atmospheric songs and both, I think, by Nanci Griffith
Rayne - Without her mandolin or a keyboard to borrow Rayne performed a couple of self-penned poetic compositions which included one described as "Green-Blues" by host Neil Dalton. This was "D-Lock Blues" -a lone ode to the woes of the cyclist in a world full of whingeing car drivers.
"Deadly" Derek Preston - this self-styled, Dylan hating, mainstay of the Real-Music Club picked up a new nickname this week. Will it stick? Only time will tell. It all started when someone told me that they weren't coming to see Ken Nicol because his name was boring. This then resulted in a number of emails flying around suggesting things like "Smokin' Ken Nicol" which got Andy Parker reminiscing about "Hollerin' Dave Bull" and "Hey Nonny Nonny Rootin' Tootin' Slim from Newton Solney". A quick skip from here to "Whingeing Andy P", the addition of "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" gave us "Bad Bad Andy Parker" and by the time Dez took the stage he'd been renamed "DDP". Still there was nothing Deadly about the performance "When You Need Someone" and "Without You", both composed by Dez, cemented the intimate atmosphere of the evening. Both were well received and appreciated by the DDP fan club, but on this occasion,for me anyway, Dez's own songs were overshadowed by his inspiring interpretation and performance of "Closer To The Heart" by Rush.
So that was that. On a very wet and wild night there was a small corner of Derbyshire which was warm and sunny thanks to 10 artistes who shared not only their talent but also their heart. Thanks to everyone. It was well worth the soaking.
.
Green Man 5/4/2007
A less crowded Session as expected for the evening before Good Friday but we still had 17 performers - YES 17! 10 others watched on and at least 5 of those have performed at the club before. So not so crowded on the spectator front but pretty congested on the stage so everyone was limited to two songs.
Harry Parker - treated us to Johnny Cash's 'I Hurt Myself Today' and Mr Blunt's 'Goodbye My Lover'
Andy Parker gave us 'Spencer The Rover' and 'Twae Corbies'
John Orchard played 'The Carnival Is Over' and 'Telstar'
Chris Payne - Bob Dylan's 'Turn Turn Turn Again' and Tom Rush's 'No Regrets'
Graham Hodgkinson - 'In my Life' by The Beatles
Kris Spencer - A Capella version of 'Amazing Grace' got the whole room singing (well the chorus bits anyway)
Graham Hodgkinson and Kris Spencer gave us a beautiful rendition of 'Dream' by The Everly Brothers
Terry Wood sang us a Jack Hudson song (forgotten the title, sorry) and Jackson Brown's 'Blood On The Wire'
Neil Dalton, our host for the evening, sang a couple of country songs, one by Emmylou Harris.
Martin Tabraham - A welcome return for this remarkable guitarist and interpreter of traditional songs. 'Annan Water' was his trad offering and Silly Wizard's 'Golden, Golden' was my highlight of the evenings entertainment.
Dave Taylor normally performs as half of a husband a wife duo. Tonight he gave us solo renditions of 'Keep Away From Those Morrismen' and "Probably The Worst Irish Band You've Ever Seen'. Dave definitely won "the most energetic performance of the week" award
Mary De Ville gave us 'Family Birthday' and 'Coming Of Age In Sping' from the immeasurable collection of her poems
Michael Gregory sang 'Holiday Weekend' and his brother Alan Gregory sang 'Poisoning Pigeons In The Park' by Tom Lehrer
Keyna Larvin sang 'Lay Me Down Gently' and 'In Higher Germany' (is that the title?)
Raine gave us her own freestyle mandolin composition called 'Summers Come' which was inspired by hover flies.
Stuart Davis sang his own compositions 'Paragon' and 'Wishing Well'
Corina sang a beautiful self-penned song called 'Palace' which has a haunting mysticism to the lyrics. It was all carried on the breeze of an enchanting performance
Green Man and Rising Sun Sessions March 2007
"I've been to many, many folk clubs over the years but I can honestly say I've never visited a club night with so much quality, diversity and sheer numbers as last week's at the Green Man - it was a fantastic night. Congratulations.
Cheers for now, Andy P 5/4/07
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Is it my imagination or has it suddenly got warmer? Has the music got cheerier? Has the vocals got livlier? Is there more laughter? more fun? more atmosphere?
Well if it is my imagination then, judging by the feedback, others imagine the same.
The Green Man Session on 15th March was hosted by the delightfully cheeky Michael Gregory and he had the audience sniggering at his comic compositions "Shed" and "Holiday Weekend" which provide a look at normal life from a very abnormal viewing point.
The Rising Sun Session on 22nd March was hosted by the equally delightful Kris Spencer. Her offerings are usually cover versions of classic songs but made her own by either her personal caress or stamp depending on how the school kids have behaved that day. Songs such as "Still Crazy After All These Years" and "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word". However on 29th she proved she’s still got it with two wonderful classical pieces, one as a duet with Dez.
Kris is keen to initiate colaborations and she has the perfect instinct as to what will work. Kris & Graham Hodgkinson (on harmonica) gave us a rendition of "What A Wonderful World" and it was wonderful. Kris coaxed Lydia Dakin to sing "Hotel California" and the guitar ensemble of Dez Preston, Neil Dalton & Kris Spencer were led by John Orchard on the harmonica. Lydia's voiced soared over the music as if on raven's wings and although the guitars did duel at times the song received raptuous applause. You see live music doesn't have to be a precise - but it does need spirit. This had sackfuls of the stuff.
Graham Hodgkinson hosted the 29th March Session at The Green Man. "Especially For You" sang the Big G and he makes it sound as if every song he sings is exactly that - especially for you. Classics such as "Love Hurts" by The Everly Brothers and "Until There Was You" by Frank Sinatra (or was it The Beatles?), Fats Waller’s “Write A Letter” and “Just Tell Her Jim Says Hello” by Elvis tells you where Graham's heart lies. Nestled in the 50's/60's smoochies, that's where. But then he throws in “Your Song” by Elton John just to show he knows some modern stuff ;-)
Dez Preston - His own songs such as "I Will Wait Forever", “Up A Mountain” and "The Debt That We Owe" intertwine well with songs by such as Nick Drake or Sheryl Crow. My favourite of the three sessions is a tie between Dez's highly styalised version of Queen's "One Vision", a classic Real-Music moment, and his rendition of Eric Clapton’s “Before You Accuse Me” during which he kept sliding from blues into classical guitar and back again. I loved Dez’s mock surprise as he acted as if the guitar was playing him not the other way round.
Chris Sweetman - Has taken to perform some very special arrangements of classic soft rock anthems such as "Get Back" by The Beatles, "Slip Sliding Away" by Paul Simon and "Smoke On The Water" by Deep Purple. Chris brings a bit of bluesy swing and mellow guitar to his acoustic arrangements. Fascinating, entertaining and inspiring.
John Orchard - When John places the harmonica to his lips he invites the audience to sing along, not by asking, simply by the ways he plays. His no nonsense melodic renditions of classic songs harps back to the days when people sat around the musician and just joined in. Songs such as "Danny Boy", "In Dublin's Fair City", "A World of Our Own" by the Seekers, “Music I Love” by The Saw Doctors and “She Loves You” by The Beatles are known by most people and most people can't help but join in.
Mary De Ville - Our resident poetess gives us a taste of her take on life. "Spring Produce", "Brightest Star" and her road-poem "Travellers Joy" were all received well and Mary's corner is always a popular one.
Terry Wood - A wonderfully smooth Tiramasu of a performer. Whether it's his own songs such as "Reincarnation" or a Martyn Joseph classic Terry has that wow factor. Easy and slow and with buckets of charisma.
Terry Quanborough - arrived on the plane from Australia that very day and despite the jet-lag blew us all away with "Move It On Over", "Times They Are A Changing" and "Never Felt More Like Singing The Blues". Terry, please come back again next time you're passing.
Gemma Wylde – Gemma has a smile that takes you by surprise. A flash of teeth, a sparkle in her eyes and all of a sudden you can’t help smilng back. Her voice is the same. Just when you sit with your toes dangling at the edge of a song a wave crashes over you and soaks you to the skin. Whether it’s Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi”, “Not Ready To Make Nice” by the Dixie Chicks or one of her own compostions such as “Onion To The Soul”, Gemma delivers an impressive vocal performance.
Julian Clarke – Dylan’s “Mr Tamborine Man”, Clapton’s “Knocking On Heaven’s Door”, Rod Stewart’s “Maggie May” and Uriah Heap’s “Stealing” and“The Wizard”. Delivered with confidence & panache and even a cloak on one occasion. Julian is the first to admit he’s not the No1 singer or guitarist at the club but as regards style, performance and sheer enjoyment there aren’t many that can better him. Julian you’re a star.
Matt Henderson – As well as accompanying Gemma on the guitar Matt performs solo and writes songs that can take 7 years before they are performed or 7 hours. He tackles a variety of styles from rock to flamenco to folk. His self-penned “You Say” or his arrangemnt of Steely Dan’s “With A Gun” means that he has fitted in well with the guitarists at the club and Matt is one of those people who adds something to a Session no matter what he plays.
Neil Dalton – Have you ever noticed how you never visit the areas of outstanding natural beauty on your doorstep. Sights and sites others travel across oceans to see you don’t even drive a few miles to visit. Well, you can go anytime can’t you. You just take it for granted.
It’s the same with musicians and songwriters (and prophets apparently). Always undervalued in their hometown. It’s too easy to forget how good Neil is. You know he’ll open with some friendly banter, strap on his guitar, introduce his songs in that calm understated way as if handing out iced gems rather than cultured pearls. You know he’ll look you in the eye when he sings, tell you a story in his song, a story that will enrich you. You know you’ll hear every word and not tire of hearing them. The style will be more country than city, the subjects will be both universal and personal at the same time. They music will carry the lyrics not compete against them. You know what you’ll get.
“In Another Lifetime”, “An Irish Fiddler” and “Ship’s Cargo” were amongst Neil’s offerings in March. They are wonderful folk songs. All written by the under-rated and taken-for-granted Neil Dalton. It’s time we woke up and took note – he’s worth crossing oceans to see. Don’t miss him supporting Martin Simpson at The Kiln in Sharpe’s Pottery Museum in Swadlincote on 12th May. A rare chance to see Neil perform a set rather than just a taster.
Kasten Harris –When I think back to Kasten’s set the first thing I remember is that he made me smile. Then I remember the cloth tied around the neck of his guitar like a tournequet. Then I get flavours of Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull, a hint of 1977 and “Songs From The Wood”. Then I remember “See The Way She Walks”. Like a good wine Kasten is more than just a drink in a glass!
Chris Payne – with a rumble of a voice that shakes plaster from the rafters Chris gave us Eric Bogle’s “Green Fields of France”, “No Regrets” by Tom Rush, “Goodbye Again” by John Denver and Fairport’s “Restless”. What a welcome change to hear the male voice hitting the bass and baratone keys rather than alto which seems to be the fashion at present. Nothing wrong with that, just a pleasure to hear the contrasting depth and richness of Chris’s voice.
Al Harris – A welcome visit by Al gave us a chance to hear Richard Thompson’s “Waltzing For Dreamers” and the traditional “Big Bad Bill of Louisville”. You know the one,
“Big Bad Bill don't fight anymore,
Washes dishes and he mops up the floor,
Used to spend his evenings looking for a fight,
But now he's got to see his mama every night.
Big Bad Bill is Sweet William now.”
But the most impressive and memorable part of Al’s performance has to be his guitar work. He tells us he missed out 90% of the notes – but hey what a beautiful 10% were left. Awe inspiring stuff.
Chris Moore – Another car-ride, another song. We all know if Chris is late it’s because he’s asked his Dad to drive round the block one more time why he finishes writing his latest song to be performed that night. What it is to be young, gifted and bloomin annoying! It’s been a week since Chris played “I’m Still Open” so by now it’s probably called something else and he’s probably written another two or three new songs. Still it’s good to see that he hasn’t dropped my old favourites like “Sharks Will Wear Shields”. This young lad is worth coming to see.
Check him out on http://www.myspace.com/chrismoore99
Mick Moore – Mick oozes a song. He rests his rose coloured glasses on the end of his nose, sits like a grandpappy on a porch and oozes a song. “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen and “April come she will” by Simon & Garfunkel were Micks offerings this month and both were well worth the wait. Always a pleasure to hear Mick perform.
Anne Coleman – A Glaswegian living in Southampton and singing in Derbyshire. This lady with a big voice and a big heart. Gave us “Summertime” and “Whitby Fisherman” and got the whole room singing along. Come again next time you are in the Midlands Anne.
Jez Upadine – With a friend who’s “a glaswegian living in Southampton” and singing at a club in Derbyshire then what else can you sing but the Yorkshire Anthem “Eh By Gum I’m Cold”. Once again sheer stage presence and determination got The Rising-Sun choir singing along. Thanks Jez, see you soon I hope.
Robert Scott – Robert is busy filming at present so he has been an infrequent visitor to the Sessions. See what he’s up to on www.dolterris.co.uk . However he still managed to entertain us with “How Do You Sleep At Night” by John Lennon and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” by George Harrison.
Andy Parker - Andy fills a stage. He strikes an uncompromising figure and his traditional material is delivered with conviction and passion. "Matty Groves" and "John Barleycorn" have to be driven straight at an audience to be effective and Andy ram raided us. A Great Spot receiving well earned applause.
Harry Parker - Harry has a rocky rasp to his voice which was more evident in his own composition (inspired by his sister) "Wasted Years" than in the demanding Johnny Cash classic "A Man Comes Around". I don't know many songs about the Apocolypse I must confess so I guess this is the definitive one. I really enjoyed Harry's couple of songs and I look forward to seeing him back again soon.
Stuart Davis - A long time since we had the pleasure of Stuarts company at one of our sessions because of coursework and exam committments (damn this ejucashun) and from what he said the mighty Microsoft was trying to keep him away this time. Anyway time hadn't dulled the beauty of "H" and "Forgotten" and it soon felt as if he's never been away at all.
Andy Smith - A couple who had a very special reason to be in our area was Andy Smith and Jennie Moseley and we were delighted that Andy performed a couple of songs for us. The first was "A New Coat Of Paint" by Tom Waits and the 2nd was the classic 70's anthem by John Martyn "May You Never". It was an uplifting performance that got the choir singing. Great songs performed well. Say no more. Andy and Jennie - enjoy your time together.
Keyna Larvin - "Turn around" by Malvina Reynolds, Alan Greene and Harry Belafonte and recorded by Pete Seeger, Neil Diamond & just about everyone else and "Only A Boy" by Linda Thompson's was Keyna's offering for March. As always beautifully sung. I have said many times how highly I rate her voice and she never disappoints. She always provides a high spot no matter who else is performing.
Chris Baldwin - Welcome back Chris -it's been a long time and a big haircut since we last saw you. Chris gave a truly top-drawer performance which included "Wall Of Sound", a self-penned masterpiece that deserves national airplay. Thoroughly enjoyable and impressive. Please come back soon we've missed you.
Talking of missing people, it was good to see Dave Matthews again after such a long time - and looking so well. Hope to see you soon Dave and next time we'll have the piano set up for you.
So I think that’s everyone who performed during March. If I’ve missed anyone please let me know. The other great feature of the month’s sessions is that we have had several people who have come along to listen in, and join in from the safety of the shadows and to each and everyone of them I say…
Hope you had a good time, come again, bring your friends and thanks for supporting Live Music In Derbyshire. Hope to see you soon.
The Green Man 15 Feb 2007
Another quiet winters evening, but with the heating blasting away we were all cosy and as snug as a hug on a tug.
The evening was compered by silver tongued Neil Dalton, whose charm and wit turns a session into an occasion. He also treated us to 4 delightful songs which showed the breadth of this performers & songwriters repetoire. Subjects and lyrics which are both personal and universal at the same time. Songs about relationships - not soppy and sentimental paradies but believable, reconisable songs about real, everyday, unbreakable bonds between people. Songs with Characters that you end up knowing. True 21st Century folk ballads.
Dez Preston took the stage - the only performer tonight to stand and perform. A commanding pose to deliver songs that don't suffer fools lightly. "All Take & No Give", "Are You Up There?", "Your Smiling Face" - direct and uncompromising. Just to prove a point Dez finished his set with "Stairway To Heaven". He proved it. This Rock Classic didn't dwarf his own material - it just settled down alongside them like a proud big brother.
Graham Hodgkinson cuts his own path and it is too easy to underestimate his talent. "Don't Tell Her Jim Said Hello" he chirruped. And now Louise Armstrong's "All the Love in the World". "She's Louis's sister", he quipped. "Hello Mary Lou, Goodbye Heart" he sang. Graham by this time had the whole room relaxed, singing along, wanting another happy song from Mr Smoothie himself. Wonderful.
Two-Thirds of the Elvis Gresleys stepped forward and gave us "willin" by Little Feat. They then did the 2nd half solo. Yes you've guessed it - it's Andy & Harry Parker again. Andy gave us "The Lusty Smith" and "Raggle Taggle Gypsies O" with Traditional drive and passion. Harry then bought us up to date with "Goodbye My Lover" by James Blunt and "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd (ok not quite so modern but hardly Trad Folk is it). Harry has a rasp to his voice and an intensity in his delivery. Don't ignore this young man whether solo, in a duo or as an Elvis Gresley.
Julian Clarke is a mean sax player but chooses to play the guitar at the Real-Music Sessions. He jokes that life was easier a year ago when he only knew 3 songs;- now he has to choose 3 from 6. He actually performed 4 and quantity is not the only improvement to his repetoire. Julian gave us Dylan's "Knocking On Heaven's Door", "The Wizard" by Uriah Heap, "Take A Walk On The Wild Side" and "Norwegian Wood". A classic set performed with style and panache.
Terry Wood always delivers. First Leonard Cohen's "Famous Blue Overcoat", then "The English Rain" by Show Of Hands then "Paris in The Summer" by Terry Wood. Seamless transition from well known classic to an equally loved but less known classic. Terry deserves to be recognised by a much wider audience. If you get a chance to go and see him then GO! If you want to know where take a look at his myspace or else go along to The Vernon Arms in Spondon on a Tuesday or to The Real-Music Club on a Thursday. Failing that come to see Martin Simpson, Neil Dalton & Terry Wood Live In The Kiln at Sharpe's Pottery Museum on 12th May.
Rob Henry "The Resident Poet" finished each half with a selection of performance poems. "The Door", "Primroses & Promises", "The Final Retreat" and "The Word".
That'll teach you to be so thin on the ground.
The Rising Sun 8 Feb 2007
A Letter From Willington
Hi Neil
You were missed last night but bearing in mind the snowy weather your absence was understandable.
Due to a problem with the heating system The Rising Sun function room was freezing.
I should have guessed what was in store when I opened the door and the light came on.
One could sense the underlying tension as desperate people jostled for position around the radiator and arguments broke out over whose turn it was to sit next to the candle.
We had a vote and all, except me, agreed that my poems should be sacrificed. I must admit to being a little hurt by the number of people who rushed down to the bar to buy the matches.
The cremation of my life's work provided brief respite, and much too much cheering I thought, and then once more we were plunged back into finding cheap distractions to take our mind off how cold we were. The most successful of these distractions was betting how far a fart could travel before it froze and fell to the floor and shattered. I won £1.75 with a one-and-a-half metre masterblaster.
The game was cut short following an unfortunate incident involving Dez, an untimely cough and a lighted cigarette.
By this time the audience were turning ugly - blue is not an attractive colour for a human. A violent scene was successfully avoided by setting fire to a couple of guitars and an 80 year old lady who had been sat at the back. We didn't feel too guilty since she had admitted she'd found the stairs difficult, and so we thought it was the best solution all-round.
Entertainment wise, it was a comfortable low key night rather than an exciting one, but very pleasurable all the same. There were only 16 of us who had battled through the snow, one of whom was the 80 year old lady mentioned above. Her husband left early to check the small print on their life assurance policy. You know, the bit under the heading "What you are not covered for".
Highlights on-stage were
Dave Webster - great to hear a sax at the club again. I especially loved the Shirley Bassey classic "Hey Big Spender" and "I Don't Know How To Love Him" from Jesus Christ Superstar
Julian Clarke - "The Wizard" by Uriah Heap was the best of Julian's set which also included "Maggie May" and "Lunatic" by Pink Floyd
Mary De Ville - How Mary keeps producing poetry of such quality at such a rate I'll never know. Here offering tonight included her reflections on the Napoli shipwreck & the Bountyhunters and "Paradise Or What" a reminiscing on the holiday sunshine that seems so long ago now.
Harry Parker & Andy Parker - 2/3rds of a trio performed as a duo in the 1st half and the split was complete as they went solo in the 2nd half. I especially liked the "Gossip & Rumour" song but Harry's rendition of Johnny Cash's hit "Hung My Head" and Andy's Nic Jones style delivery of the traditional song "Lord Franklin" were memorable.
Kris Spencer once again delivered quality & warmth with "Easy Like A Sunday Morning" and "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" being my two favourites of her 4 songs.
Robert Scott & Dez Preston went from solo to duo and back to solo again. As Lunargrass they gave us "Gotta Get The Job Done Properly" and "What Do You Want". Robert gave us "Fiona Price", "Precious Lives" and the Beatles "You've got to Hide Your Love Away". Dez gave us two new songs one of which I loved called "All Take & No Give" and he finished the night with my personal highlight of the evening, a beautifully arranged acoustic version of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway To Heaven".
All in all our first session of 2007 was a mild success, and at least the weather should be better and the heating fixed for our next visit in 2 weeks time.
Next week we are at The Green Man. See you then.
Rob