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T O P I C R E V I E W
lemonade kid
Posted - 21/02/2012 : 00:59:59 Dave Evans...way under-appreciated UK folk artist singer/songwriter/guitarist fingerpicker extraordinaire! (not the other Dave Evans of AC/DC....)
I've only just discovered Dave Evans in the last couple years, and I am so excited...it's like discovering a long lost Nick Drake album!! SO DAMN GOOD! Especially his "The Words In Between" lp...so great.
Musical fame and reputations are built on many things: being good at what you do can help, but even better is to have released albums on small indie labels that fetch a king's ransom today, to be well away from the performing circuit, and, if possible, to die young and have a good-looking corpse (vide Buckley, T., Drake, N., Buckley, J., etc.). Dave Evans fits the bill on all but the last of these requirements, and is happily making and repairing guitars in Brussels instead (not so glamorous, maybe, but much, much healthier). His first album is now re-released after 30 years, and is a "lost classic" that really lives up to its name. Recorded on a two-track in a Bristol basement, Evans's self-made guitar rings and growls away, perfectly in sympathy with some bizarre tunings (the instrumental "Insanity Rag" is a good example), and shows its maker to be up there with the Guitar Greats, British Division One (vide Jansch, Carthy, Graham, Renbourn, etc.). In addition, Evans's songs are written to exploit both his left-field compositional sense and his matter-of-fact voice; and they are an appealing mix of slices of everyday life ("Rosie", "Doorway", "City Road" and the autobiographical "Sailor") and more abstract themes (the title track, "Magic Man", and "Now Is The Time"). The mood is relaxed and conversational, with on some tracks additional guitar, female backing vocals and harmonica, but there is an intensity in the guitar playing and an immediacy in the tales being told that catches the listener and demands further playing. Five tracks from the follow-up Bristol album, Elephantasia, are included, with "Beauty Queen" and "St Agnes Park" the standouts, plus the loony-toon title track. All in all, this should not only allow oldies to replace their vinyl or even find a copy, but hopefully be the inspiration for current aspiring guitarists and songwriters, as an example that intricacy and virtuosity need not mean musical over-complexity or lyrical obscurity. Fab and groovy, indeed. Dave Evans is a brilliant contemporary finger-picker. This was his first album released on vinyl on 'Village Thing' label in the 1970s. It is a classic. Deservedly it's been re-issued, plus it has an extra song or two from his follow-up album.
I found it on Amazon whilst attempting to replace all the old LPs that I had worn out long ago. It's as fresh today as it was then and should be in every 'folk' guitarists collection. I just love his CGDGAD tuning.
Dave Evans has lived in Belgium for many years, but is due (2007) to do a few gigs in Wales.
This 1971 classic still holds all the magic it had 30 years ago.The simple lyrics hide many stories bringing characters to life as in"Beauty Queen" and "Rosie" Daves wonderful maudlin vocal style gives added depth to tracks such as "Grey Lady Morning" and "St Agnes Park" Not only do you get all the true Dave Evans style on The Words In Between but a bonus of 5 tracks taken from Daves second album, Elephantasia. The title track undeniably shows Daves intriguing guitar style with bouncy tinkling chords he makes the guitar sing. A true Folk album which still sounds as good today in my forties as it did in my teens.
I was introduced to this album in the 70's, at the same time as I was introduced to Nick Drake and John Martyn... typical art college student listening at the time. However this album remains fresh, consistent, and optimistic. The guitar playing by Evans in various obscure tunings is brilliant. the songs little pastiches of life in his Bristol circle at the time. All recorded beautifully on two mikes into a 4 track reel to reel ( remember them?) I love this album, and I'm so pleased its now available on disc
I've only had a chance to listen to this album a couple of times but it is absolutely stunning, im in awe of this man's guitar and compositional skills and sadened that he didn't make it big. if you are a fan of Nick Drake, Bert Jansch, Davey Graham, Donovan, Bill Fay, John Martyn or any of the other great guitarists and artists from the 60's and 70's then this is for you. I would go so far as to argue that on initial listenings his playing is even more impressive than the illustrious aformentioned and certainly every bit as unique. Standouts are numerous but so far Rosie, The title track, grey lady.. magic man, now is the time and the wonderful st agnes park (from his second album Elephantasia, 1972 shame it wasn't added in full) all make this disc an essential purchase. His songs are sweet and breezy and his tunings and playing incredibly inventive. I'll write a more comprehensive review when i get a chance but i would purchase this without hesitation.
Dave Evans is a guitarist with a unique style, all of his own making. He wrote the songs, composed the tunes and instrumentals, invented some of the guitar tunings, and built the guitar with which he made the recordings.
Every track is a gem, a virtuoso performance by a true master of the guitar. Music to listen to over and over again - these songs and tunes never get boring when repeated.
This album, and an album of instrumentals, the Sad Pig Dance, were released on the Kicking Mule label - which, of itself, says that Stefan Grossmann found Dave's playing interesting. Unfortunately, it also means that these recordings are not easily available on CD. If you want an introduction to the playing of Dave Evans, a CD of his first album "The Words In Between" incorporating some tracks from his second album "Elephantasia" is easily found on Amazon.
The British guitarist Dave Evans, a real dazzler of a fingerpicker, has been recording since the early '70s. His first entirely instrumental album was released in 1974. Entitled Sad Pig Dance, it might have attracted only farmers and policemen's ball attendees, but nonetheless managed to do a great deal to set up Evans' reputation in a somewhat crowded genre. This player's compositions, particularly his harmonic frameworks, are quite different than better-known players such as John Renbourn or Bert Jansch; he sometimes sounds as if he is playing all of their guitars at once. What he is actually playing is a guitar he built himself, so any and all compliments for this unmistakably cavernous sound should go to Evans himself.
His great instrumental talents -- including techniques involving alternate tunings and percussion-like sound effects -- have continued to be an obsession among guitarists from the new age crowd to free improv noise guitar deviates; this fact tends to overshadow Evans' work as a singer/songwriter. It was in this mode that he first presented himself to the listening public on the 1971 album entitled The Words in Between. It has been correctly pointed out by several critics that those were the days when a songwriter armed with a guitar was expected to really be able to play, not just to be a strum and humbum. It was Evans' picking, not his singing, that attracted fellow guitarist and record label manager Stefan Grossman who, in the late '70s, began documenting a variety of guitarists including Evans on the Kicking Mule label. Most of Evans' best music from the '70s has been reissued.
If you consider yourself an expert on folk but aren't familiar with Dave Evans, it isn't surprising. The acoustic guitarist never became well known, although not because of a lack of talent--Evans' talent is obvious on 1974's Sad Pig Dance, his first session for Kicking Mule. On this unaccompanied solo guitar outing (which was produced by Stefan Grossman), Evans' focus is instrumental folk that incorporates elements of rock and Mississippi Delta blues. The British guitarist plays with a lot of warmth and feeling on such reflective, earthy originals as "Sun and Moon," "Morocco John" and "Raining Cats and Dogs," and he is equally appealing on Bert Jansch's "Veronica" and jazz improviser Jimmy Giuffre's "The Train and the River," which lends itself nicely to a folk setting. Sad Pig Dance was out of print for many years, but in 1999, Fantasy reissued it on CD and added nine bonus tracks from 1976-78--four of them were originally heard on 1976's Take A Bite out of Life. Unfortunately, recording albums wasn't how Evans would end up earning a living; the 1980s and 1990s found him paying the bills by building and repairing instruments in Belgium. But the fact remains: Evans brings a lot of charisma to Sad Pig Dance. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
We are raised to honor all the wrong explorers & discoverers- -thieves planting flags, murderers carrying crosses. Let us at last praise the colonizers of dreams.
