Reviews / A great troubadour of our time
In mediaeval times, troubadours passed from palace to palace and marketplace to marketplace. They played songs of love and told tales of heroism. As they made their way from year to year, they must I suppose sometimes have come back to somewhere they were before.
Martin Simpson is a great troubadour of our time, and it is our loss that he last passed our way 29 years ago. In a wonderful evening at Mareel, he brought us insights into love and heroism, delivered with golden skills of musicianship and the sensitive strength of a man who has been there, and now is sure of his own grounding.
The first half of the concert was an Englishman’s encounter with the blues. ‘In the Pines’, ‘St James Infirmary’ (from the Dylan take on it), ‘Heartbreak Hotel’, and Tom Waits’ ‘Hold On’ were pure blues-based Americana. And boy, can Martin deliver that material authentically…. Not with an acquired American drawl or by copying bluesmen’s guitar techniques, but because he has developed his own distinctive transatlantic musicianship.
Martin Simpson is a guitarist’s guitarist. He has travelled beyond mastering other people’s styles to make his own unique contribution with his own unique skill and style. The fluency is unparalleled. Precise, sensitive, lightning fast when it was wanted, at times tragically beautiful. There was wonderful use of bottleneck technique and of open tuning, and I simply don’t know where he found a dozen extra fingers on his right hand.
The truth is that there were times in the first half when I was wishing him not to sing at all so that I could be washed through with the guitar playing. That may even have been the case when the American-honed technique was applied to the old world. Jacky and Murphy was a beautiful song of heroism and love about death on the beaches of Gallipoli 100 years ago.
In the second half, the focus moved from blues to ballad, and the anecdotes returned to family and friends this side of the pond. ‘Never Any Good’ was a delightful and tender tribute to Martin’s father. Love and heroism again.
Ballads brought out a new almost lute-like quality in the guitar-playing, which continued to be a pure delight. (Bottleneck on ‘Waley Waley’ – now that is mixing your sources!). And with a wistful visit to ‘St Helena’s Bleak Shore’ as an encore, it was all over. Too soon. This is a troubadour who must be persuaded to return. Soon.
Shetland’s own Arthur Nicolson introduced the evening with an excellent set of his own songs – plus a Beach Boys cover. He is a singer-songwriter of the highest quality, and his album ‘Sticks and Stones’ deserves to be a great success.
The introductions to his songs are a particular strength, with some great guitar riffs. I look forward to hearing much more, and meanwhile encourage Arthur to project his singing out to his audience more assertively as his skills and confidence grow.
Danus Skene
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