|
| Return to Newsletters Index. |
Mike Garner's New Album |
||||||||
|
||||||||
 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
The Album
Mike Garner - Cad's Alley Fisrtly let me confess to a conflict of interest with this album: I was involved in some early pre-production and played a couple of minor guitar parts on Cad's Alley. Nigel provided bass throughout, while Sonia contributed trumpet on two songs. None of that, however, makes me biased when I say that this is a GREAT album! This collection is primarily small-band acoustic, though things kick off with Mike's electric tremolo and tasty electric slide on a song that - like so many of his - sounds like an unearthed classic from '50s Chicago. Throughout, Mike's original tunes are complemented by the occasional rearranged blues standard. Thus "Have You Ever Loved A Woman" and Leroy Carr's "How Long Blues" get playful reworkings with more than a hint of South Pacific lilt. But world events have obviously been on Mike's mind and it shows on two of the album's strongest tracks: "Louisiana Hurricane" describes the events of hurricane Katrina and the New Orleans flooding, with evocative lyrical images all given a timeless feel by the chorus line "Dirty water running down the street / knockin' all the people right off of their feet". Sonia's trumpet adds an unusual hint of New Orleans soul to the jumping arrangement. "Tsunami" deals with the Indonesian tragedy, bringing a suitable sense of history to a strong lyric and music that leans towards Mike's folk influences. The title track (named for a real steet in Singapore) is another tough little electric workout, while "Gonna Start Drinking Again" revisits an electric blues from a previous album, now with a new acoustic arrangement. Mike also returns to one of his favourite themes, writing about the blues itself - a songwriting minefield if ever there was one - and comes up with ragtime gem, "Pay Your Dues". It references Robert Johnson and Big Bill Broonzy, and again features Sonia's trumpet along with trombone from Lindsay Brighouse, while drummer/percussionist Warren Houston adds to the atmosphere by switching to washboard. He does excellent work throughout, bringing variety by moving from various drums set-ups to djembe and other eccentricities. Nicely recorded at Aztek Studio in Rotorua, Cad's Alley is a very assured blues album, combining fine intelligent songs with well-planned and executed arrangements. It showcases the effortless authenticity of Mike's voice and the range and skill of his guitar playing. More nods need to go to Mike's sons Paul (for his soulful contributions on electric guitar) and Simon, for excellent cover design which perfectly suits the atmosphere of the album. Highly recommended. ************************************************************ |
||||||||
| Top | ||||||||
.jpg) The GigAt the end of January, Nigel and Derek went over to Chambers Belgium Cafe & Bar in Rotorua for a great night of blues. It combined a reunion of Stepping Out - Mike and his son Paul Garner's blues band from a few years back - with the (unofficial) launch of Mike's new album Cad's Alley. The particular reason Nigel and Derek were there, aside from hanging with old friends, was that Nigel played bass on both Mike's new album and on Paul's last album, the rather brillant Love Vs Blues from 2005. Derek and Sonia also helped out with Mike's album on a couple of tracks. .jpg)
And a splendid night was had by all! First there was the Stepping Out reunion, then Paul, Nigel and Warren Houston played songs from Love Vs Blues, then Mike played songs from his new album with a variety of players. And - finally - there was a big jam. And we're happy to report that Paul is playing like an absolute demon (he always did, but - if anything - he's even sharper these days), and Mike's new songs are simply fantastic. .jpg)
Many thanks to Sally Garner for sending over (more than) 100 pictures of the night. These are only a small selection... | ||||||||
| Top | ||||||||
| Return to Newsletters Index. |
||||||||
— — — — — — — — — — — — — |
