REVIEW FROM www.livingtradition.co.uk

RAB NOAKES - Standing Up Again
Neon Records NEONCD013

There’s always a good, open, honest quality to Rab Noakes’ presentation of his material, with his preference for live recordings and minimalist additions – an extra guitar here, a touch of harmony there, and that’s the track laid down. He’s also adept at writing his own material and adapting that of others to suit his preferred style, and this album gives us lots to chose from, with eight new compositions, a revisit to an earlier one, and half a dozen from other composers, ranging from Don Everly and John B Sebastian through to Bob Dylan and Radiohead, so plenty of eclecticism there!

Although that may seem a very disparate choice of composers, there is a commonality with Rab’s own writing and general approach to songs, in that they’re there to tell you a story, or to evoke a series of emotions, or to get you thinking about a topic. Indeed, a lot of his general philosophy is summed up in the line which is at the core of Heart Of The Darkness, when Rab reminds us, “don’t forget you don’t get to come here twice”.

So, no messing about then, and no second shots, because life throws a lot at us, and we have to make the best of it or go under. That’s not a bad approach when you think about it, and having singer / songwriters like Rab to help us make sense of it all is always going to be a great help as we try to go our own ways.

Another well-balanced effort from one of Fife’s finest.

Gordon Potter