Between the Tracks - Reviews and quotes

Art work by James Erskine

Thank you so much for "Between the Tracks".  It arrived on Saturday and it is brilliant.  Your interpretation of "Summertime" is brilliant... and there are just so many amazing things in this CD. Kell A. Peterson, North Carolina, USA

Just got through the cd - frickin' excellent!  Milonga had me shiteing ma scants, but stonefox was like being on E!! Gavin McGinty, Scotland, UK

Inspiring CD, hopefully it will push me onto more blues material in addition to my hymns, folk songs & all Regards John Shaw , March, England, UK

‘Between the Tracks’ reviewed by Richard Archer – The Shivers  

Train Calling
I like the arrangement on this - banjo, fiddle etc. It reminds quite a bit of how JJ Cale would open an album (“Call Me the Breeze” etc). I think it’s a great idea to open with the solo harmonica as it kind of sets out the stall and says whose album it is!

Travellin’
Very Chicago-blues sounding. A good tune. Nice to give the electric guitar a brief moment to stretch out but I also like it being reigned in too.
 

Caramel
This is very beautiful tune which I could almost see being a jazz standard for future generations. It makes me think of tunes like “Autumn Leaves”. It’s also a tune that creeps up you a little bit which I quite like – you don’t notice how far into the song you are as a listener. It’s very subtle!

I  Like To Move    
An unexpected diversion when you consider the style of the rest of the album. I wasn’t expecting to hear any reggae.  It’s a nice song with an odd middle section. I like the arrangement –  the trading of riffs between the harp and fiddle in the solo bit of the song was a nice touch and brass sections are always pretty cool.

Cajun Twist
Ry Cooder-ish charm aplenty on this track. It’s very moody, which always appeals to me and I particularly like the rhythm-heavy bit at the tracks end. You’re playing the harp like it was the drums! Nice sharp ending too.

Milonga
This was unexpected too. It feels like Portishead but probably a bit lighter in touch, which (for me at least) is a good thing because I always found the trip-hop genre to be uncomfortable listening. I like the harp wailing on this one too – it reminds me of ‘Once Upon A Time in the West’.

Like A Boomerang
A sunny tune. On this song only, your singing intermittently reminds me a bit of Paul Heaton (Housemartins)! Nice brass arrangement too.

Summertime
It’s a very gentle arrangement this is – when the plucked strings enter and at various parts of the song, its sounds as if they might grow or swell to take over the arrangement but they never actually do which is clever. I like the opening harmonica licks which are frantic without being discomforting. It all flows beautifully.
I  particularly like the spacey bit in the middle where everything stops but the harmonica – there something echoey lurking about in the background which gives it a proper atmospheric edge.  It really is a fresh take on an old standard and I would say it is one of the best versions of this that I have heard. It also feels as though this is the centrepiece of the album.

Old Sage McGraw
Great piano playing on this track and a nice sneaky key change during the solo. Or at least I think there is!

Stonefox
This sounds like the sort of music that would have been used as the backing for early house music (i.e, when it was good). It seems like the most straightforward showcase or display of your technical ability on the CD and is welcome because there is a great deal of discipline on all of the preceding tracks and it’s good to have some tracks which you lead definitively (Summertime is a definite showcase track too).  The change in key is, like the previous track, seamless.

Intro 414
When I hear this I am reminded of all the quiet bits on Led Zeppelin albums (Black Mountain Slide etc). A lovely guitar riff that – probably my favourite guitar riff on the album. That sleepy kind of blues harp is my own personal favourite kind of harp too

Epiglitoris
A strong ending to the album

The whole album is fantastic – It just sounds very natural, well-produced and a great introduction to what you do.
I like the excursions into styles that don’t normally associate with harmonica and they flow well with the more traditional blues and jazz numbers. It’s also a fantastic showcase for your supporting musicians, who have brought a great deal of their own personalities to the mix.
My favourite tracks are ‘Caramel’ (which I’m now thinking that in another arrangement could even sound like Nat King Cole!), Cajun Twist, Summertime and Intro 414.