Issam Hajali. Mouasalat Ila Jacad El Ard. Habibi Funk.

I received a copy of this 1977 release from In House Press, a very fine music PR company based in Manchester, who are promoting the re-release of this lost recording. The music blends Arabic, Jazz & Folk sounds with influences from Brazil and Iran woven into the seven tracks featured. It is a very eclectic sound mix of diverse influences and the vocals of Issam Hajali take some getting used to as all songs are sung in his native Lebanese Arabic tongue.

There are hints of the feeling behind the songs in his delivery and his back story is certainly fascinating; from his days in a politically motivated band, Ferkat Al Ard, to his exile in France and latterly, back running a small shop in Beirut. This was his debut solo album and recorded in just one day in a studio in Paris; it subsequently disappeared due to no funding for a proper label release.

However, one copy of the original tapes made was kept by Issam Hajali and it became the source for this release. Not for everyone admittedly but if you enjoy Folk based music from around the World and the freedom to stretch the sounds into other musical idioms, then this should interest you.

Review by Paul McGee

Jack Klatt It Ain’t The Same Yep Roc.

This is a varied bag of delights, from the traditional Country sound of Ramblin’ Kind to the slow blues of Caught In The Middle. The rockabilly of Prove My Love is perfectly balanced by the Roy Orbison influenced sound and groove of Tinted In Blue. The folk sound of Love Me Lonely is another example of the ability that Klatt has to write in any one of a number of musical styles.

Joined in the studio by stalwarts, John James Tourville (The Deslondes) on electric guitar and pedal steel; Casey McDonough (NRBQ) on bass; Alex Hall (JD McPherson, The Cactus Blossoms, Robbie Fulks) on drums, percussion and keyboards – the playing is superb throughout with Klatt leading on acoustic, electric guitars and vocals. Klatt wrote all of the songs with the exception of the title song that was penned by John James Tourville and his vocal style is rich and warm in the mix.

In 2013, Klatt released his first album, LOVE ME LONLEY, and he followed this up with SHADOWS IN THE SUNSET, recorded in 2016. This release shows a great diversity in the performance and the sound of these eleven tracks. A very enjoyable listen.

Review by Paul McGee

The Gothic Cowboy and Mando Dan Between The Wars Self Release

Straight off from the get go, you know what you’re getting here, a gruff/lived-in voice backed by guitar and mandolin. There’s stand up bass and harmonica in the mix too. Melvin Litton (the Gothic Cowboy), Dan Hermreck (Mando Dan) with Til Willis (harmonica) and Jeff Jackson (bass) are the components on this double album. 26 songs which, according to Litton, are about the trials of life and the temptations of heart and soul.The songs seems to come from several sources of inspiration, including stories of murder and arcane publications.

The quartet perform these songs in a similar style, so this is not going to be something that everyone may take to the heart, but if you embrace the likes of Malcolm Holcombe, then this may be an album that will entertain you. In the way that in previous times folk music was a means of spreading folk tales and stories, you listen to these stories of the darker characters who inhabit the songs. As well as murder there are the misuse and casting aside of soldiers returning from war, set amid the telling of the lives of gamblers, grifters and the graduates of life’s hard lessons.

However with both discs clocking in at over an hour each it is a listen for ardent fans, those acquainted with the duo’s music locally or for the more casual listener an opportunity to dip in and sample the delights of these hard, rough-hewn, stripped-back lessons in life.

Review by Stephen Rapid

John Salaway Americana Dreams Self Release

With a Curriculum Vitae that boasts playing shows with Denny Laine of Paul Mc Cartney & Wings fame, Peter Frampton and Ben Folds, there was little chance that the playing on multi-instrumentalist John Salaway’s latest album would be anything but top drawer. Equally satisfying, is that the quality of the writing and production matches the instrumentation. Self-produced in his home studio in Murfreesboro Tennessee, the album offers ten tracks written or co-written by Salaway.

Heavily influenced by The Beatles and Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Salaway creates a sound that lands midway between the two, the perfect blend of roots and pop. Unlike his 2013 recording THE SONG IN THE AIR, where he performed every instrument, he doesn’t attempt to entirely hog the limelight this time around and engages some Nashville big hitters and emerging artists to contribute. Particularly impressive are Joey Fletcher, whose slide guitar on the catchy Take The High Road is killer and indeed the fiddle playing compliments of Nashville neighbour Bri Murphy on the cool ballad It’s All In Your Mind. Comparisons could be drawn from the latter to Simon & Garfunkel but possibly more accurately a Paul Mc Cartney sound rings aloud for me. Another Nashville talent Kelsey Steele, sings harmonies vocals on the bluesy You Better Believe and the stomping I Just Wish The Best For You. The single A Little Bit Broken is a co-write with another accomplished local singer songwriter India Ramey and hit the No.1 spot on the Independent Radio Charts Worldwidw. Inspire You is a stripped back ballad in the style of Hayes Carll, with another welcomed appearance from Bri Murphy.

 In keeping with so much great music coming out of underground Nashville, AMERICANA DREAMS is a body of work loaded with impressive hooks, that hit the spot a couple of listens in. An album well worth your attention.

Review by Declan Culliton

Zachary Lucky Midwestern Wroxton

Saskatoon in Canada is the birthplace of Americana darlings Kacy & Clayton, alongside Colter Wall, who is currently one of the most promising young country artists to emerge in recent years. It’s also where Zachary Lucky was born and spent his childhood. The title of his latest recording pays homage to that landscape and its residents, both past and present. The track titles also reinforce his bond to Midwestern Canada with No Shame In Working Hard, Rock And Roll Dad, Sunday Morning At The Dragstrip and Back To The Country all proudly celebrating fond memories, both bygone and more recent.

I’m reminded of Texan songwriters on much of the material and the stylish writing, two equally impressive albums of late from Chuck Hawthorne and Terry Klein spring to mind. Indeed, the track Moment Of Time, could have been plucked from Mary Gauthier’s songbook. It’s a beautiful stripped back ballad, delivered semi spoken by Lucky with acoustic guitar and haunting pedal steel wrapped around it like a blanket. The opener There Was A Time When I Used To Run sets the album’s theme of reflection and appreciation of the important things in life, often close to home.

Didn’t Know That You’d Come Along is a co-write with fellow countryman Del Barber. Revelation Blues is a modern day country song, honing in on topical issues of the day, including environmental, increasing cell phone dependency and obscene wealth.

The material is delivered with a gravelly and lived in baritone vocal that is laid back and gloriously loose throughout. MIDWESTERN is confirmation that Lucky’s nomination as artist of the year in the Canadian Folk Music Awards in 2017 was recognition of another rising star from that most fertile musical landscape. He’s due to tour the U.K. in 2020 so let’s hope he includes some dates in Ireland on his travels.

Review by Declan Culliton

Mike and The Moonpies Cheap Silver And Solid Country Gold Prairie Rose

When reviewing STEAK NIGHT AT THE PRAIRIE ROSE, the crack album released last year by Austin’s Mike and The Moonpies, I posed the question as to whether it might be the breakthrough album for the band. A well-earned reward for their annual two hundred plus live performance perhaps, affording them the opportunity to establish a firm foothold outside their native Texas.

STEAK NIGHT and its predecessor MOCKINGBIRD (2015), firmly cemented them as the premier honky tonk dancehall band in Texas, where they have toured relentlessly since their formation, over a decade ago. Their latest album is a departure from their signature sound and it is, to say the very least, a courageous sidestep.  They’ve put their hearts and souls - and most likely their life savings - into the album. With festival dates booked in Italy and France, they took advantage of their time in Europe to prearrange three days at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London to record the album.  Rather than replicate the successful formula of STEAK NIGHT, frontman Mike Harmeier and his bandmates chose to work on a somewhat alternative sound this time around, in particular introducing more instrumentation and visiting a more Countrypolitan vibe, recalling the Nashville sound of the 60’s and 70’s. To achieve their goal, they also hired The London Symphony Orchestra to add the orchestration and it’s fair to say that the end result is an album to match any other released this year under the country banner. They haven’t abandoned their core sound entirely, the Texas twang, pedal steel and telecaster still feature throughout, although not quite as dominant as on previous recordings.

It’s not a particularly long album, timing in at just over 31 minutes across eight tracks, but it oozes quality on each and every track.  A few well selected covers feature, the closing track is a melodic low-key treatment of Gary P. Nunn’s London Homesick Blues. They also include a dreamy version of If You Want A Fool Around, a song Harmeier had always intended recording and finally found the ideal home for. However, it’s their original material that takes pride of place. Both the opening title track and You Look Good In Neon are lessons in how to write and deliver first rate classic Countrypolitan songs, without dumbing them down. It’s not all strings and lushness either, in sharp contrast Danger is high octane upbeat outlaw fare and Fast As Lightning is equally pacey and toe tapping. With the finishing touches to the recording taking place at Yellow Dog Studios in Wimberly Texas, they roped in Nikki Lane - who was in town at the time - to add vocals to Miss Fortune. The musicianship, as you would expect, is top notch throughout and Harmeier vocals are splendid, unveiling his expertise as a crooner, alongside his customary outlaw vocal deliveries.

 With this album Mike and The Moonpies have managed to create a sound that is classic, sophisticated and acceptably commercial, yet never crosses over into pop/country. Their core following will no doubt buy into the sound and with exposure, the album has the potential to reach a far wider audience. If only the market, record labels and radio stations would take a listen and accept that this is a quality, radio friendly and commercial sound, that would shift truckloads of products, if it were supported. It’s without doubt the best ‘country’ album I’ve heard this year and with Jason James, Tyler Childers and Ags Connolly also recording old school country albums, the tide may finally be turning. Let’s hope so.

Review by Declan Culliton