Gypsy Rose
I have a policy of not reviewing singles (there’s just too many of them) and an EP has to be exceptional for me to consider it. Well, Tuk Smith & TRH have released the best EP I’ve heard for yonks. Four songs, a perfectly balanced, fifteen minutes showcase of the man and his band.
Troubled Paradise –
As Tuk as you can get with a ringing intro, choppy guitar verse that goes into one of those great, uplifting singalong choruses he’s so good at writing. The melody line of the twinned guitar solo takes it’s time ascending to the heights as the bass descends behind it, giving the listener a feel of running away without a care in the world. A hint of melancholy followed by unity rounds it out. This one gets your heart.
Runnin’ With The Wild Ones –
A mid-paced number but seemingly out of control due to the continuous guitar line that drives it along, you certainly get a feeling of running with the wild ones whoever they may be. The Restless Hearts played this as their final song for their set in Tokyo last year. The band pushed Tuk to his limits and he pushed back harder, truly in the moment, he spun around, knocked his mic stand over and didn’t even notice. Rock’ n’ Roll at its finest.
Sadie May –
We all know Tuk loves Thin Lizzy; this is more along the lines of Rod, Ronnie, Mac, Kenny and Woody, A.K.A. The Faces. Every night was a party for them and I bet they would have loved to have this in their set. You can see the entire audience singing along to it, beer glasses raised, arms around shoulders. Football stadium stuff.
Love Don’t Live Here Anymore –
With a title like that, you don’t need telling this is the ballad on the EP but it’s much more than the regular ‘4th track of side one’ song that was around in the 1980s. Acoustic start, expected middle but a searing last part vocally that blends with the guitar followed by a very unexpected but appropriate ending.
No doubt about it, Tuk Smith is one of the best Rock ‘n’ Roll writers around and he knows how to record. No frills, great solos, easy to perform live, when The Restless Hearts hit the stage, you know exactly what you are going to get. Keep ‘em coming Tuk, you’re on a roll.
Track List
Troubled Paradise
Runnin’ With The Wild Ones
Sadie May
Love Don’t Live Here Anymore
EP
TUK SMITH & THE
RESTLESS HEARTS
TROUBLED PARADISE
ALBUM
DAVE BAINBRIDGE
ON THE EDGE (of what could be)
Open Sky Records
It seems like a lifetime ago…but then again, it seems like yesterday, since Mr Bainbridge released To the Far Away. In actual fact, it was in 2021, the covid years which does, indeed, seem like both a lifetime ago and yesterday. Dave is very much in demand these days, playing with Lifesigns as well as Colin Blunstone’s band and touring with Sally Minnear as a duo, so it’s no surprise that On the Edge (Of What Could Be) has taken a bit longer than expected.
It was worth the wait; this two CD set is a magnum opus. Playing guitars and keyboards, he has a plethora of talent with him to bring out the best in his compositions; the man himself also both produced and mixed album. There are long pieces, short pieces, ones that are aerious, others that have all the musicians in full flight. Some chop and change and others are delightfully simple. All of them showcase Dave’s passion and understanding of Celtic music, using a rich blend of enchanting voices and modern and classical instruments. Medieval horse bells anyone?
A soft, welcoming, layered keyboard and vocal track settles you into the album and from thereon, it’s an aural overload of atmospheres from beginning to end. “On the Slopes of Sliabh Mis” runs the gauntlet of sonics, with parts that flirt and excite of what is to come contrasting with quieter moments that have you floating away. “That They May Be One” is an exquisite electric piece accompanied by gentle keyboards while “The Whispering of the Landscape,” is destined to become an acoustic solo to study for aspiring Prog/Classical guitarists on a par with Steve Howe and Steve Hackett’s most well-known works. Dave even gives you the tuning for this one so dust off that old acoustic you have in the loft folks.
Disc 2 opens with a quite extraordinary composition. Dave writes in the liner notes that he wrote it around an improvised drum track that Simon Phillips recorded in one take. Think about that…I don’t think that’s ever been done before but there again, when you have Simon around you, anything is possible. Jon Poole on bass shows real quality on this track as well, playing not only to Simon’s part but counterpointing Dave’s lines, somehow gluing them together and adding his own personality. As if that were not enough, given that keyboards are his second instrument, Dave plays some nifty runs and fills that echo Classic Prog’s greats towards the end of this one. “Fall Away” is magnificent. The longest track, clocking in at over sixteen minutes, has all his guests on fire – Sally Minnear and Iain Hornal are exceptional throughout the album. It doesn’t have the proverbial kitchen sink but it does have tea and Branston pickle (apparently).
Soothing vocals drifting off into the distance close the album, echoing the opening. Like waking up from a wonderful dream, you’re back in reality. Press ‘Play’ and drift off once again or better still, keep on ‘Repeat’.
Track List
Disc 1
For Evermore
On the Slopes of Sliabh Mis
Colour of Time
That They May Be One
On the Edge (Of What Could Be)
The Whispering of the Landscape
Hill of the Angles
Disc 2
Farther Up and Farther In
Reilig Òdhrain
Beyond the Plains of Earth and Time
Fall Away
When All Will Be Bright