Gates of Eden
Mick Bennett, who worked with
Ralph back on his early albums, wrote this really nice piece on Gates of Eden.
To read about Ralph and Mick's work together on Spiral Staircase on Ralph's
site, click on the album below.
Journal entry ........Sunday 15th October 06
Sound turns into feeling and feeling turns into memory and memory lives in the
song ready to release the feeling again.
Gates of Eden.........Ralph Mctell
From the first shivers felt through the dewladen, 'Pastures of Plenty', to
and through the shimmering, ' Gates of Eden', with a generous helping of swing
from, 'Do-Re-Mi' and 'Spoonful', on the way this is Mctell at his majestic best,
relaxed and in total command of the materiel . Interpretation of other peoples
songs is a tricky business. Its pulled off here with great panache engendered by
an obvious love of the songs and artists and is a textural feast of different
acoustic feels and styles. There are also some real surprises such as Guthries,
'Prisoners River', Not only had I never heard it, I'd never heard of it. Of
course this may be an oversight on my part, nevertheless a revelation. The
choice of Dylan songs is exemplary, from the title track through to some of his
most powerful early work. Not exactly reinterpretations but through guitar
technique and Mctells naturally rich baritone these pieces are made very much
his own. My favourite tracks are at the time of writing and I suspect shall
remain, 'Pastures of Plenty', given a mysterious gravitas beyond Guthrie.
'Do-Re-Mi',the good old good time Mctell. ' Love Minus Zero,' the sounds of the
deep south........Croydon. 'About a Spoonful', impossible, a joy. 'To Ramona',
cagey-cornish-cream. One small note of criticism, I think he(Mctell) missed a
chance by not having a washboard on ,'You Got To Change Your Mind'. But this is
nit-picking and to pick seperate tracks is misleading because all the materiel
hangs together as a whole. Stevie Turners guitar work embroiders some of these
tracks quite beautifully. His white country boy ethos being replaced with a more
black lean on the beat approach which helps ensure a real blues feel and some
genuinely understated charm. After the second listening my cheeks needed
massaging from constant smiling.
Of course the trouble is you get McTell, Dylan and Guthrie in your head and all your own thoughts disappear. I am now condemned to weeks if not months of aimless wandering whistlings not to mention skull numbing hummings..................your cracked country hips.........whistle sounds.............as to be by the length of your chin...............MMMMmmmmmmm..............bankers shoeless neices knees trembling.....................more whistle sounds...............wind howling like a chisel.............MMMMmmmmmm.................hound dogged hermits its a mighty hard prune...........................
Watcha mate. This is me trying to be unbiased and impartial and I think failing miserably. Thanks Ralph as I hope is obvious I love it.
See you soon
Mick