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| Track List: 1. Steady As She Goes 2. A Man With My Skills 3. The Year Of The Leopard 4. 5 AM 5. St Patrick 6. Shipwreckers 7. Queen Of Spain 8. Would You Have Me Born With Wooden Eyes? 9. Orgiva Song 10. 6.30 Is Just Way Too Early Running time: 41 minutes Released: 2008 |
James Yorkston is one of my all time favourite artists. I picked up his debut, Moving Up Country in a random purchase a decade ago and it remains one of the most cherished records in my collection. Acoustic Sessions is, to quote his site, a "limited edition compilation of radio sessions from 2004-2008" - covering albums up to When the Haar Rolls In. I think I bought it at a JY gig, handing the money over to fellow Fence-r UNPOC (after earlier that evening making a tit of myself wondering if he was The Pictish Trail in disguise, and later falling into a trance to Stolen Shark when Rozi Plain was live). Oh well.
Although I already owned every track on this disc, the purchase was well worth it as it is populated with live versions of several of my favourite tracks. This should be enjoyable.
It opens with a track from The Year of the Leopard, an album I unfortunately wrote off at the time, but came to love later (after the covers disc - other musicians playing Yorkston's songs - in the special edition of When the Haar... opened my eyes). Steady As She Goes is a charming tune, but I can never quite seem to wrap my head around the words. I prefer the recorded version for the extra instrumentation, but it works as a simple picked melody. Yorkston would never be held up as a great vocalist by anyone, and neither would he merit the tag of virtuoso player. His music works because he writes darn fine songs. Evocative lyrics, sweet melodies, nicely compiled and delivered with talent that is up to the job, if not top tier. I have always got the impression he loves his work - even when his grumpiness comes through. I have seen him live twice, and seen him speak about his book (although given mic problems I could hardly hear much of that, alas). I like him so much I can forgive him being vegan.
Tracks 2-4 are playing. Two more from Leopard and one from Roaring the Gospel. These are not amongst the tracks I love the most and to be honest whilst I recognise them I struggle to pick out anything much to say specifically. I hold him to very high standards (alas I have been largely disappointed with the last 2 albums). All these renditions are pleasant performances rather than defining moments.
St. Patrick is up there with my favourite songs ever. At one of the live performances, Yorkston broke a string during it, and it almost ruined my night - I love it that much. This delivery is subdued with a very, very soft accompaniment to the vocal - but this just allows the lyric to stand out and stand up. It is a song that makes me think of what might have been, but which has at other points in my life given me great hope. I like this version, but prefer the original album rendition on Moving Up Country.
This performance of Shipwreckers, though, I love. Another all time favourite track, I actually think the best version is Adrian Crowley's cover (I account for 10% of the meagre number of scrobbles on LastFM). That does not stop this one raising goose bumps. I think this song is probably Yorkston's finest verse, even if someone else performs it marginally better. It is evocative, it is immediate, it is demanding, it is rewarding, it conjures vivid images and, above all, it tells a story. All set to some great picked melodies. The song was originally on Just Beyond the River where it was overshadowed to some degree by the Banjos (#1 and #2) and his version of The Snow it Melts the Soonest - which to me is the definitive version of that traditional song but I have since come to regard it as the pinnacle of Yorkstonian penmanship.
Queen of Spain is from Haar, and I realise I have not listened to any songs from that album for a long while. I should rectify that. Wooden Eyes is of the same era, but it is not amongst the tunes I consider JY's finest. I have a sudden desire for Midnight Feast and Temptation instead, with a side dish of Tortoise Regrets Hare. On the one hand, it is a real shame his later work is departing from what I consider his strength. On the other, I have criticised groups in the past for sticking blindly to the same formula, so more power to his evolution. I may get left behind by most of it (which I will still buy to support him), but he has left me with a wealth of enjoyable material over the years for which I am wholly grateful.
The closer here, 6:30 is Just Way Too Early is a perfect example of said material, another Moving Up Country favourite. That album is 10 years old now and I have probably played it as an album more in that time than any other. This rendition of the song loses something - the recorded version has an arrangement which really sells the track - but like with St Patrick this gives power to the lyric which is so much clearer. I cannot help but think it was not the best song to play with just him and the guitar, but it still makes me smile, and feel warm. This song has a sentiment that I can relate to in every verse - for different reasons each time. It ends, and the room is quiet; unfortunately I am alone.
Although I already owned every track on this disc, the purchase was well worth it as it is populated with live versions of several of my favourite tracks. This should be enjoyable.
It opens with a track from The Year of the Leopard, an album I unfortunately wrote off at the time, but came to love later (after the covers disc - other musicians playing Yorkston's songs - in the special edition of When the Haar... opened my eyes). Steady As She Goes is a charming tune, but I can never quite seem to wrap my head around the words. I prefer the recorded version for the extra instrumentation, but it works as a simple picked melody. Yorkston would never be held up as a great vocalist by anyone, and neither would he merit the tag of virtuoso player. His music works because he writes darn fine songs. Evocative lyrics, sweet melodies, nicely compiled and delivered with talent that is up to the job, if not top tier. I have always got the impression he loves his work - even when his grumpiness comes through. I have seen him live twice, and seen him speak about his book (although given mic problems I could hardly hear much of that, alas). I like him so much I can forgive him being vegan.
Tracks 2-4 are playing. Two more from Leopard and one from Roaring the Gospel. These are not amongst the tracks I love the most and to be honest whilst I recognise them I struggle to pick out anything much to say specifically. I hold him to very high standards (alas I have been largely disappointed with the last 2 albums). All these renditions are pleasant performances rather than defining moments.
St. Patrick is up there with my favourite songs ever. At one of the live performances, Yorkston broke a string during it, and it almost ruined my night - I love it that much. This delivery is subdued with a very, very soft accompaniment to the vocal - but this just allows the lyric to stand out and stand up. It is a song that makes me think of what might have been, but which has at other points in my life given me great hope. I like this version, but prefer the original album rendition on Moving Up Country.
This performance of Shipwreckers, though, I love. Another all time favourite track, I actually think the best version is Adrian Crowley's cover (I account for 10% of the meagre number of scrobbles on LastFM). That does not stop this one raising goose bumps. I think this song is probably Yorkston's finest verse, even if someone else performs it marginally better. It is evocative, it is immediate, it is demanding, it is rewarding, it conjures vivid images and, above all, it tells a story. All set to some great picked melodies. The song was originally on Just Beyond the River where it was overshadowed to some degree by the Banjos (#1 and #2) and his version of The Snow it Melts the Soonest - which to me is the definitive version of that traditional song but I have since come to regard it as the pinnacle of Yorkstonian penmanship.
Queen of Spain is from Haar, and I realise I have not listened to any songs from that album for a long while. I should rectify that. Wooden Eyes is of the same era, but it is not amongst the tunes I consider JY's finest. I have a sudden desire for Midnight Feast and Temptation instead, with a side dish of Tortoise Regrets Hare. On the one hand, it is a real shame his later work is departing from what I consider his strength. On the other, I have criticised groups in the past for sticking blindly to the same formula, so more power to his evolution. I may get left behind by most of it (which I will still buy to support him), but he has left me with a wealth of enjoyable material over the years for which I am wholly grateful.
The closer here, 6:30 is Just Way Too Early is a perfect example of said material, another Moving Up Country favourite. That album is 10 years old now and I have probably played it as an album more in that time than any other. This rendition of the song loses something - the recorded version has an arrangement which really sells the track - but like with St Patrick this gives power to the lyric which is so much clearer. I cannot help but think it was not the best song to play with just him and the guitar, but it still makes me smile, and feel warm. This song has a sentiment that I can relate to in every verse - for different reasons each time. It ends, and the room is quiet; unfortunately I am alone.
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