RADIO
BORDERS
Fox finally
delivers…..
And boy
it was worth the wait.
Bob Harris
is just one music fan waxing lyrical about the debut album by Borders
singer/songwriter Allie Fox and he's also played a track
on his show on BBC Radio Two. Radio Scotland is also supporting
the album, playing a track last weekend.
This, coupled
with the fact that national music mag Mojo described the
album as "a beautiful debut," illustrates in itself the
quality of Allie's first solo release.
Diving
for Pearls was produced in Edinburgh by top Scottish producer,
Iain McKinna, and gets its national launch in Hergé's in
Galashiels on Thursday night where Allie will perform songs from
the album backed by a five-piece band.
It seems
to be a good year since Allie first told me about her debut release,
but I think we were assured a quality production from the outset
as she announced that some of Scotland's premier session musicians
would be performing on it.
Jazz guitarist
John Rutherford, formerly involved in the Mike Heron Band, and Dave
Haswell (Fish and Capercaillie) are joined by regular contributors
Gavin Dickie (Nat Kings) on fretless bass, and David Little, renowned
percussionist and producer.
The album
itself is not just a shining example of Allie's outstanding technical
abilities as a guitarist and singer, nor the perfect song structure
and production. What it is, however, is a perfect debut of beautifully
honest songs with Allie's reflections and observations of life so
far.
Highlights
include her ode to American boxer Joe Louis in Joe Louis Blues
and Marguerita, the track played by Bob Harris on Radio Two.
She chops
and changes styles throughout the album with the occasional nod
to Celtic/Latin styles, but mostly she's stuck to the recognised
singer songwriter style that she's so respected for.
JASON
MOYES
THE
BORDER TELEGRAPH
Allie
Fox Boxing the Blues
Allie
Fox has just dropped off a promo track from her new solo album
and it's going to establish her as one of the finest singer-songwriters
in the Borders.
Joe Louis
Blues is a taster track from her new album Diving for Pearls
released on Allie's own Vixen Records. The track features John Rutherford
on slide guitar and a recording with the people of Nakibembe Village
in Uganda deep down in the mix.
Joe Louis
Blues was inspired by the story of Joe Louis who was born in
a small shack in Alabama and grew up to become one of the most famous
heavyweight boxing champions of this century.
"Joe
Louis was a true hero of his time - he was more powerful even than
the strength of his fists. He became a universal symbol of hope
and achievement, and he showed how the human spirit can overcome
against all the odds."
The track
is an epic at well over five minutes and features Allie's famed
finger-picking and some great blues riffs, superb production and
Allie's pure and powerful voice.
THE
ECTOPHILES' GUIDE TO GOOD MUSIC
Allie
Fox - Diving for Pearls
This album
is an object lesson in the need to listen to the whole thing before
trying to evaluate it…..
The first
couple of tracks seemed to be some good, solid work, but….on
the third track, Rise and Shine, Fox really finds her voice,
showing her ability to work with words, and with tunes as well.
This continues with the next selection, Birdwoman. A sticker
on the booklet suggests that commercial radio play the fifth track,
Marguerita, and I can see why; it doesn't underestimate the
mass audience's taste for simplicity. But Fox returns to form with
I Was Wrong, an understated song about homelessness that
compares very favorably with Phil Collins' "Another Day in
Paradise"--generally considered the definitive pop ballad on
the topic. The title tune, a meditation on the limitations of love;
and Joe Louis Blues, which uses the boxing great's career
as a metaphor for freedom fighters of all types, seem to me a near-tie
for the album's best tracks.
Fox's first
album shows an artist of great substance…. at the very least
she can look forward to a successful career as a niche artist, and
quite possibly more.
At various
times while listening to the album, I thought of Holly Near, Frentel,
Suzanne Vega, Joni Mitchell, and Kirsty MacColl. But the best songs
on it didn't remind me of anyone--the sure sign of an original.
www.smoe.org/ectoguide
