JOHN KIRKPATRICK BAND - The Complete John Kirkpatrick Band
Fledg'ling Records FLED3091
A little piece of history. Actually, quite a large piece of history: two hours of music on two CDs, more than two full albums from 1996 and 1997, towards the end of John Kirkpatrick's career as a folk rock star, representing most of the output of the official John Kirkpatrick Band. La Mouresque, George's Son, Long Odds, Mr Gubbins' Bicycle: they're all here. Kirkpatrick provides sundry squeezeboxes and sings, with a mixed bag of folk and rock instrumentation behind him depending on the mood. Folk rock is always confusing, neither one thing nor the other, and certainly not both: but there is enough of a spread here to justify either name. From the almost pure Morris of London Pride to the arguably contemporary rock of Blue Balloon, past the indisputably French sound of Ménage à Trois to the indescribable madness known as The Gas Almost Works, the John Kirkpatrick Band covers all the basses, drums, guitars, tubas, fiddles, pipes, keyboards and banjos required by both genres.
There really isn't much more to say about this re-release. All the details are online at www.johnkirkpatrick.co.uk and probably other places. It's authentic, it's nostalgic, if you were there it'll bring back the memories, if you weren't it may not mean much to you. It's quite cheap though. The Complete John Kirkpatrick Band includes the albums Force Of Habit and Welcome To Hell as well as one track from the compilation Georgia On Our Mind, so if you've still got all of these in good condition you might not need this CD. On the other hand, if your originals have been scratched or mislaid, or perhaps broken up in a messy Morris divorce, then you may be glad of this chance to replace them. If you never had them in the first place, of course you'll want to make the most of this opportunity: aren't we all, deep down, closet Morris men and accordionists’ manqués? Especially the women, it seems - but that's another story. Anyway, there's more nineties English folk rock here than you'll see in a year of BBC4 documentaries and more Morris than a whole Ashes series of women's cricket, so what are you waiting for? That's a rhetorical question of course.
Alex Monaghan
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this CD online from The Listening Post The Listening Post is the CD mailorder service of The Living Tradition magazine. This album was reviewed in Issue 98 of The Living Tradition magazine. |