ALBUM REVIEWS
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ALBUM REVIEWS |
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Jackie Leven
THE HAUNTED YEAR: AUTUMN: GREEK NOTEBOOK and ONLY THE OCEAN CAN FORGIVE COOKING VINYL 26.10.09 @www.vanguard-online.co.uk
The most prolific Scots troubadour (with an emphasis on dour…..), Jackie Leven, wraps up his year-long reissue series with another double set of albums previously only available to fan club members or, occasionally, at gigs. As always, there are a number of live tracks, an environment where Jackie excels, alongside unreleased songs. It’s a bargain introduction to the man’s work. However, if a neophyte, you might want to grab one of the three other Haunted Year releases instead. Half this set is Greek Notebook, an album mocked in fan circles as an indulgence that defies understanding. Yup, Lou Reed had Metal Machine Music, Jackie Leven has Greek Notebook. The latter is not so unlistenable, more “why would you bother”. Jackie spent a couple of months a year for a few years on a Greek Island. He spent time recording musical ideas on a Sony Pro Walkman. This album claims to be the highlights of the results. There is sumptuous guitar, whistling, snatches of lyrics and the foot taps he uses as percussion. There’s also the brrrups of cassettes switching on and off, passers by, traffic and Jackie being told his eggs are ready (and not broken). There are some almost-songs and sound quality is generally fine (except where excitement pushes into distortion). On its initial release I heard it once and put it on a shelf before selling it. Allegedly it sells for big money on Ebay, which says a lot about collecting…… For review purposes I took another listen and, despite owning all Jackie’s records, my opinion is the same – “why bother”. Only The Ocean Can Forgive is a different disc entirely. Three studio songs, not world-class but fine, and half a dozen live tracks from three gigs. Some see a wash of keyboards, some trumpet and keys, one has old bandmate from Doll By Doll, Joe Shaw. It’s interesting to hear accompaniment for this mostly solo live performer. Live favourite, Classic Northern Diversions, is present and correct, hymning the lost men of northern latitudes, “drinking deep from a jar of pain”. Extremely Violent Man is a powerful tune, Paris Blues is a very strong song and Barefoot Days is a good ‘un too. One of the tracks is a lengthy and farcical tale of getting caught up in a web of lies and starting a rumour that Sting has died in an oil rig accident. Like the cracking yarn in the liner notes, it showcases the raconteur side Jackie brings to his live performances. And, now the fan club is long gone, the tales appear monthly on his website (and his regular live gigs), often recording the itinerant life of the touring solo musician and its frustrations. With 8 discs over the last year, a regular schedule of 50 to 100 gigs annually and the last song on here stretching over thirteen minutes, Leven is becoming the Grateful Dead of Kirkcaldy. To which I can only add – long may he “keep on truckin’”. www.jackieleven.co.uk More Jackie Leven on Vanguard Online: Album Review - September 09 |
