TONY WILSON - A Definite Parallax
Private Label
My dictionary defines a parallax as “when an object appears to change its position because the person or instrument observing it has changed their position”. Very helpful. This helps explains the theme of Tony’s album, where he looks at many of the experiences in his now longish life, with new eyes, in this retrospective of 15 tracks that are entirely his compositions, written over his 50+ years of experience as a musician and storyteller, and recorded live in November 2019. A couple of those songs though were only days old here, when he performed them to an enthusiastic audience, some of whom were apparently hearing his music for the first time. South Shields-born Tony then throws in an obscure local traditional song, The Newcastle China Metal Garland, as an (unlisted) bonus track. My dictionary (again) defines china metal as “Shale baked to a hard, white, coarse, porcellaneous substance”, and Tony helpfully explains just that.
Indeed, I liked his explanations and his patter a lot: he comes over as a warm, enthusiastic and sincere guy. And an über talented one. He has dazzling multi-instrumental skills, and a voice most of us would happily kill for. His diction is great, thus there’s no need for lyric sheets.
Two of the tracks stood out. His banjo medley The Voice At The Letterbox/Jim’s Jig was a tour-de-force, and the phenomenal brio which he brings to the vocals of Still Got My Tomorrows, and that infectious driving guitar of his, is truly something to behold.
www.tonywilsonfolksinger.co.uk
Dai Woosnam
This review appeared in Issue 136 of The Living Tradition magazine