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REVIEW FROM www.livingtradition.co.uk

 


 

 

 
MILTON HIDE - Temperature’s Rising 

MILTON HIDE - Temperature’s Rising 
Howdy Records HOWDY4 

Hailing from the East Sussex open mic and folk club circuit, Milton Hide are husband and wife duo, Josie and Jim Tipler. Temperature’s Rising is their first full length album. Essentially they are an acoustic act, accompanied by clarinet, cajon and guitar. However, their musical accomplishments also include xylophone and piano, a sight for sore eyes when unloading the car on an average gig night methinks!

All the tracks are original numbers which have been honed and developed in recent years by live performance. Drawing their inspiration from a variety of musical sources including Appalachian, Klezmer, traditional English song and popular music, these various styles and influences have been blended together into a homogenised musical soup. The thrust and substance of Temperature’s Rising is just that, a reflection of the angst of the world. Whilst some of the lyrics are quite thought provoking, the accomplished music, in my view, falls into the ‘easy listening’ category. Nothing wrong in that, testified by the many plaudits gleaned by their growing popularity.

The artwork and overall production of this CD is superb, especially considering the album was created during the trials and tribulations of ‘lockdown’! Faced with the task of producing and engineering the work, John Fowler has done an astounding job in collating the musical talents of several talented guest musicians. Owing to COVID-19 restrictions, the various parts were individually submitted to John who, with a partially non-acoustic licence, was tasked with melding everything into a comprehensive entity - and a very fine job he has done of it too.

Temperature’s Rising, with its laid-back pleasantness, is a CD that will be a pleasure to many and perhaps an anathema to others. That said, the track, Say It All The Time, has elements and overtones reminiscent of The Moody Blues, praise indeed!

www.miltonhide.com

John Oke Bartlett

 

This review appeared in Issue 138 of The Living Tradition magazine