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Michael
Chapman - Journeyman Live On The Tweed (Secret
Films)
****If
there was any justice in the world, a 'live' DVD from a man who famously
once played an entire whisky fuelled set with his back to the audience,should
promise a bit of an event. But in true Chapmanesque fashion -an the
ol' boys one of the last great acoustic rebels - weirdness no longer
forms part of his territory. So here he is filmed in whats obviously
a favourite Berwick boozer, showing off his peerless guitar wizardry
and singing songs from a back catalogue that'll put the frighteners
on current young strummers. Although in the past Michael's had his chances
- he cut albums with Mick Ronson and was a mate of the late John Fahey,
and was once even John Peel's Radio One favourite - his profile has
remained sadly low. However when it all comes down to it he has crafted
some of the most beautiful acoustic soundscapes and on this showing
is still on top of his game.
Julian Piper The
Guitarist June 2004
Michael
Chapman - Journeyman Live On The Tweed (Secret
Films)
Now
this is a rare treat. Not only do we get a first rate Michael Chapman
performance, in 5.1 Digital Surround Stereo no less, but accompanying
moving pictures too. Something of a pleasant surprise to this longtime
Chapman fan when it emerged recently, the DVD - subtitled 'Live On The
Tweed' (captured at Berwick Upon Tweed's excellent little Barrels venue
in August 2003) - is a very welcome addition to the Leeds-born singer-songwriter's
catalogue of more than twenty albums. Always a scintilliating guitarist,
acoustic and electricm Chapman has penned some terrific songs over the
years and was even fashionable for a period in the 70's. Here we get
snapshots from a career spanning close to forty years. 'Postcards Of
Scarborough' and Shuffleboat River Farewell are representative of those
earlier days while 'The Mallard', standout track on his mid 90's independant
release Navigation (Planet Records) gets an airing as do several
from more recent collections such as Americana 2 (Voiceprint).
Eighteen tracks in all and of course, every self respecting Michael
Chapman fan will want to own a copy. Apparently the company behind this
DVD release have also reissued Chapman's long out of print The Man
Who Hated Mornings so with rumours of the Decca albums (Millstone
Grit, Deal Gone Down & Savage Amusement) about to re-emerge
elsewhere then there's plenty for we fans to celebrate.
Dave White Song
book June 2004
Michael
Chapman - Journeyman Live On The Tweed (Secret
Films)
A no-frills straight-upfront
film of the man with the criminally low profile in his ideal milieu
and doing exactly what he does best - performing live in a small room
(a Berwick-on-Tweed bar) - in August last year. This 105-minute film
is a permanent record of what amounts to a highly typical Chapman live
gig, which exemplifies Michael's reliable consistency and total artistry.
Quite simply, he lives and breathes the music, and so do you when you're
hooked in by his intimate and natural presentation. You just can't go
away from this film without realising that the man's got more talent
in his fingers than many of today's overtly flashier players (it's not
just that Michael's strumming has soul) and that the man's penned more
than a few classic songs over the years! The repertoire performed at
this gig mixes pieces from all through the span of Michael's 20 albums
and more than 35 years in the biz, from early material (One Time Thing,
Postcards Of Scarborough, Rabbit Hills and Kodak Ghosts), steaming on
through Navigation's The Mallard and then bringing it all up to date
with stuff like Dust Devils and Looking For Charlie In Nogales from
the most recent instrumental album Americana 2. This continuing gallery
of vocal and instrumental snapshots from "time past and time passing"
is interspersed in true Chapman fashion with dry, bluff anecdotes recounted
in typically relaxed fashion with his trademark delicious humour. Happily,
the man never lets up - and in doing so never lets down. Basically,
this fine DVD gives as complete a picture of a present-day Michael Chapman
performance as you'll get - without actually being there of course.
And if you're not yet a convert, I feel sure you'll be in the queue
for tickets for the next Chapman gig within striking distance after
watching this. Sound quality's superb (and I mean superb), with absolute
faithfulness to the tonal blend of the instrument and a credible (and
wholly satisfying) balance between guitar and vocal, while the camerawork's
welcomingly straightforward - unobtrusive, steady and allowing for plenty
of study of the self-confessed journeyman's fretboard wonders (freeze
those frames and marvel anew!) through a sympathetic use of gentle zooming
in to close-up at key moments.
(Only one tiny quibble
- the track menu on the box misleadingly titles item 1 as One Time Thing,
whereas it's actually just a brief snatch of instrumental excerpt from
that song shown as backdrop to scene-setting for the venue location.)
David Kidman netrythms
Magazine 2004
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Michael
Chapman - Americana 2 (Rural Retreat)
It's a well kept secret that Michael's still alive and well and making
great music. His latest studio album of songs (The Twisted Road) came
out quietly a couple of years ago, swiftly followed by a very fine completely
solo, all-instrumental venture, Americana, which was inspired by his
then-recent tour of the Southern States. I described Americana as a
potent invocation of genius loci, and the same holds true for its slightly
lengthier sequel. That sense of time-stands-still (or rather, inhabiting
a different time-scale) is acutely strong throughout, whether on the
delicate opener La Madrugada (with its distinct echoes of Miles Davis
in his Spanish-sketches period) or the leisurely stretching-out of Blues
For The Mother Road, or even on invigorating little vignettes like the
2½-minute Silverking (another of those perfect little encapsulations
of the spirit of improvised bluesy ragtime that Michael does so well),
the cheeky Dust Devils and the joyous Mingus-prayer-meeting feel of
Looking For Charlie In Nogales, not to mention the timeless old-timey
country-waltz of When Dottie Goes Dancing.
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White House (subtitled
"at peace in the Canyon de Cheliy") is a luxuriant 6-minute
bathe in acoustic guitar textures, and Ghosts In The Sycamores strongly
recalls the melancholy of the descending chord-sequence of No Song To
Sing. The 7-minute Navajo-inspired Thunderbird Lodge finds typical Chapman
ramblings elevated to high art. Michael even makes his début
playing banjo on the strangely hypnotic Apache Creek, which makes inventive
use of "found sounds" (rhythmic water splashes) within a musical
structure wherein I detect more than a nod to Hank Marvin! In a slight
departure from the earlier Americana, Michael here has the benefit of
the instrumental expertise of steel guitarist Jeff Betsworth, while
long-time collaborator Rick Kemp plays fretless bass on the spacious,
elliptical final track (So Many Echoes). The production is excellent,
and the presentation most attractive - this time the package is enhanced
by a fulsome portfolio of evocative photographs. Michael has produced
another impressive album here to rank among his best.
David Kidman netrythms
Magazine Oct 2002
Michael
Chapman - Americana 2 (Rural Retreat)
GRIZZLED
70'S ACOUSTIC VETERAN'S INSTRUMENTALS***
A deceptively simple
sequel to 2000's Americana instrumental set that gathers depth with
every play. Bolstered by all manner of digital rumblings (water percussion,
Tom Waits like clankings), Chapman's expansive guitar work creates a
filmic soundtrack of the American South-west that's as compelling as
anything Ry Cooder might muster
Rob Beattie Q Magazine
Dec 2002
Michael
Chapman Americana 2 Rural Retreat Records
The last time I
spoke to Michael Chapman he was living on a farm in North
Yorkshire, or was it West Yorkshire? It doesn't matter except to say
that the
title of the album does sum up this album based over 3,000 miles away
from
Yorkshire but Chapman is a professor when it comes to making music American
style.
The opening track is 'La Madrugada' a guitar instrumental that goes
on for eight
minutes but I never wanted it to end, Chapman's style is mesmerising.
If you have never heard a Michael Chapman album you ought to have a
try at this
one, not only is the music special but his photography is something
that ought
to have its own exhibition. Here all of the photos are taken as a result
of a
visit to the States West Coast, California and southwards. However,
dusty desert
shots of rusting cars and lonely, strange shaped buildings and Indian
graves are
almost unnecessary as Chapman describes the scenes in his music. Words
are not
always needed in music, as Chapman impresses here.
His style has attracted the respect of musicians from all quarters including
Camel's Andy Latimer, a man who knows a good guitarist when he hears
one.
Here he is back with old friend Rick Kemp on fretless bass and Jeff
Betsworth on
steel guitar. A superb album of guitar ingenuity!
Martin
Hudson Classic Rock Society (CRS Magazine 2002)
Must mention the cover to this Chapman album (above), which shows a
rough dirt
road leading to the horizon with a sign at its start saying Not A Through
Street
Americana
2 Rural Retreat VPRR1CD
There is nothing
wrong with jumping on a bandwagon so long as it takes you somewhere
interesting. This album certainly does, as finger picked and slide guitars,
sound effects and (amazingly) a banjo, take us driving through mythical
America (in Clive James’ memorable phrase). A dozen tracks we
travel through a musical diary with instrumental impressions, all exceptionally
evocative, of unspoiled and wide open vistas in the Midwest. A collection
of quite stunning photographs and MC’s amusing notes help us along
out way.
Let it wash over you on first hearing. Then return and listen to the
nuances, subtleties and musicianship. Best tracks? Looking For Charlie
in Nogales (Mingus and not anything white or powdery): Thunderbird Lodge
(Navajo country, all white and powdery): the wide open space of So Many
Echoes (the desert, “nothing with space around it”)
A movie for the ears and mind.
Tykes
News Nigel Scofield January 2003 back
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Americana
2. Rural Retreat Records VPRR1CD
Deserts, rusting
hulks of abandoned cars, dusty roads, the setting sun catching on an
old oil derrick and Marlboro roads that stretch into next week are all
images that Chapman manages to create via his unique guitar playing.
Americana 2 is the obvious follow up to the brilliant Americana. The
principle's the same, instrumental pieces that work as aural photographs
from the stunning La Madrugada, through the Twin Peaks sounding Breakfast
In California to the astounding Dust Devils. Chapman in some respects
has taken over from where Leo Kottke left it, and manages to paint even
more vivid landscapes that Kottke seemed to have just sketched. I know
I've said it countless times on every review of Chapman's, but this
guy has such a gift for not just playing it, but using it as a method
of communication. Even without the titles, which in some cases, don't
give too much away, the music is so evocative it wouldn't be too out
of place to call it tactile. The booklet has loads of photos in from
Chapman that further underline the atmosphere and moods of the places
he plays. Twelve pieces that wouldn't be out of place (if it was possible)
in an art gallery. (Dw).
Modern
Dance Magazine 2002 back
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Twisted
Road Q Magazine: June 2000 ***
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New set from '70's
acoustic hero with the lived-in voice. Think John Martyn's grumpy uncle.
Having disappeared
for much of the early '90's through ill health and a brief affair with
new age music, Michael Chapman continues to make up for lost time. 1995's
Navigation was a gem, and The Twisted Road continues his good form.
From the nihilistic refrain of Another Crossroads ("Nothing means
nothing at all") to the final defiant strains of I Got Plans, Chapman's
voice - a breathy, rasping thing - is as distinctive as his acoustic
guitar playing. It's supported here by a bigger band which stretches
out nicely on Cowboy On The Beach, the ugly overtoned Memphis in Winter
where "it gets too dark to rain", and through the surprising
key-changing chorus of All Day, All Night. This is the sound of a real
songwriter who's lived a real life - and all that entails.
Rob Beattie
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Twisted
Road Mojo: May 2000
Thirty years on
from Fully Qualified Survivor (John Peel's favourite album of 1970)
the Yorkshire bluesman still does the biz.
You know where
you are with Michael Chapman: the middle of nowhere. Take the first
song, Another Crossroads: "There are ghosts out on the water/ There
are devils in the sky/ There's wreckage on the highway/ No teardrops
in your eye." If that isn't bleak enough Chapman obliges with a
chillingly delivered chorus: "There's nothing in any direction/
And nothing means nothing at all." The relentless melancholia is
counterbalanced by his beautiful folk-blues guitar, aided by exemplary
backing musicians who give the whole affair a wonderful, faded-at-the-edges
feel. As for the voice, think of JJ Cale gargling gravel with a wry
undercurrent to leaven the pain.
Twisted
Road Record Collector: June 2000
"This sensitively
produced album shows Chapman in his best light for years. His gravel
voice, a cross between Dylan's phrasing and Cohen's nicotine drawl,
is more mature and evocative than ever."
Twisted
Road Net Rhythms: June 2000
"Michael Chapman
is a father figure in the world of British singer-songwriter, it's a
pity that we don't treat him the way the Americans treat their elder
statesmen of music. He's someone for the younger breed of acoustic artists
to investigate, he's been around long enough, and if he hasn't got their
respect, it's about time he did."
www.netrhythms.co.uk
The Twisted Road Modern Dance 2000
Yes,
okay, Fully Qualified Survivor, was one hell of an album, and it was
no wonder it was Peely's fave album of 1970. And yes, musicians are
allowed one classic album in their career. Whilst it has been 30 years
since that release, Chapman's been here and there, done a bit of this
and a bit of that, but this album is one hell of a welcome return. New
and reworked material, with a gravely voice, brightly clear acoustic
guitar with one or two superbly arranged 'bigger' pieces, Twisted Road
is an album that both Chapman and Mystic Records should be proud of.
Songs such as Full Bottle Empty Heart, All Day All Night, That Time
Of Night and A Girl On A Train are stunningly heartfelt and just so
rich in depth that's ripped by emotion and soul. There's 11 tracks in
all, with Memphis In Winter, I Got Plans and After All This Time getting
scaringly close to his earlier music. An incredibly wonderful surprise
with this album 'cos I honestly believed it would be okay, but only
just. Superb, and a pat on the back for both the above parties. (Dave
W Hughes).
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Michael
Chapman - THE TWISTED ROAD (Mystic MYSCD. 139)
/ PLEASURES OF THE STREET (Mooncrest CRESTCD. 047)
This mag seems to
be reviewing a Michael Chapman album every month! So here's two more
recent releases……. The Twisted Road is a brand new studio
album, where Mike's gruff, gravelly tones growl through eleven excellent
songs on the themes we've come to expect from him - bluesome despondency,
weary and lonely journeys where landscapes mirror states of mind, late
nights and so on. And his distinctively bluesy, raggy picking through
a forlorn tuning as always provides a perfect setting for the songs.
But it still never ceases to amaze me how it all comes up sounding fresh
on each new album, and this one (his twenty-somethingth, I've lost count…)
is no exception. (Even so, there are some nifty little reminiscences
of earlier glories - Sometimes unavoidably evokes Electric Ragtime,
for example.) I reckon Twisted Road is even better than Dreaming Out
Loud, certainly more consistent, and as a bonus there's no case of keyboard
overdose! Mike's own solos, whether on acoustic or electric, are all
the better for being understated, and he gets some great accompaniment
from Jeff Betsworth (steel guitar), Alan Pill (bass) and Roy Whyke (drums)
in particular, though mention must also be made of Patsy Matheson's
supporting vocal on a couple of tracks near the end. Another fine album,
Mike - keep 'em comin'!
PLEASURES
OF THE STREET (Mooncrest CRESTCD. 047)
Pleasures takes us back to the live album of that name culled from two
evenings of concerts in Hamburg in August 1975, and is a reissue of
that album together with five extra cuts from the same sets (three of
which duplicate songs featured earlier in alternate performances). This
is definitive mid-70s Chapman, here featured first in solo acoustic
mode then from track five onwards with a band (Keef Hartley, Steffi
Stephen and Achim Reichel), arguably at the zenith of the soulful-rockin'
phase of his career.
David Kidman
(published in Traditional Music
Maker, Feb 2001)
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Mystic
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Traditional
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Americana
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Ace
Producer Gus Dudgeon (Elton John, Chris Rea, XTC) once remarked of Michael
Chapman's "tendency to sound like two exceptionally good guitarists
playing at once".
'Americana' - a collection of new, totally instrumental songs inspired by Michael's
most recent tour of the US Southern States. - proves that nothing has
changed. Hot, swampy, dusty - rarely has an album captured the sense
of a time and place better. Michael's immense talent as a guitarist
has regularly remarked upon, but rarely highlighted. 'Americana' aims to change that. Here's what the press have said about 'Americana' so far:
"A
national treasure"
Record
Buyer
"This
album is a testament to the man's unfathomable gift"
Guitar
Techniques
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"Connoisseurs
of the guitar will lap this album up"
Wondrous
Stories
"..
the album retains the simplistic essence of Southern music"
North Guide
Americana Record Buyer & Music Collector: October 2000
"This is an
instrumental effort, only the second of his long career and, suffice
to say, the required ambience comes over despite or perhaps because
of that. He really is a national treasure is Michael Chapman, and it's
good there are still labels willing to put his work in front of the
public."
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Americana Dorset Echo: September 2000
"For the most
part, these are unaccompanied acoustic guitar vignettes of a rare beauty
and an appealing bluegrass based simplicity, intended to conjure up
mental pictures of rural America. What do you know, it works too. The
production is appealingly up-close audio verite, with the occasional
hint of fret buzz to add appropriate smudges of character."
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Americana Guitar Techniques: October 2000
Michael Chapman
is legendary amongst the fingerpicking 'unplugged' community and has
been featured in GT on a couple of occasions. This album is a testament
to the man's unfathomable gift - and it was great to see that the albums
notes include all the various tunings, so six-string scholars please
take note.
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Americana Modern Dance 2000
Apart
from the fact that Chapman came from Leeds, and apart from the fact
that in his time he's given us some brilliant albums, he is simply a
stunning guitarist. Take it from me, if you're starting out learning
guitar (or even play a decent tune or two) try and wean yourself gently
with this album. It will either inspire or make you want to learn another
instrument! The sleevenotes endear you to his warmth and personality,
failing that, the album is simply incredible.
Americana
is an album that contains songs that derive their origins from the States,
although not all. Elements of Ry Cooder slip through on Swamp, Kottke
and many other blues/country guitarists whisper their influence and
jazz makes an entrance on more than one occasion. However, despite these
obvious influences, Chapman has taken them all, count them, each and
every one and made them his very own. Sweet Little Friend From Georgia,
The Coming Of The Roads, Anything But The Blues, Rattlesnake, a Strangers
Map Of Texas, and the un-American, Jumping Geordie all combine to make
this an essential album for the guitarist as well as those of you who
appreciate fine musicanship, and cracking songwriting.
Americana
should be rated as up there amongst Fully Qualified Survivor, and bring
Chapman's name back to the front as a truly gifted British guitarist,
highly inventive and just what the Dr. ordered. (Dave W).
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AMERICANA
(Siren SRNACD. 4002) October 2000
Inexplicably, Michael remains vastly under-heralded in this, his home
country. Despite that, however, these days it seems that every time
I turn my back there's another Michael Chapman release out! Not that
I'm complaining - after two great recent Mooncrest CDs of earlier material
(Growing Pains and Pleasures Of The Street), and hot on the heels of
his excellent new album of songs The Twisted Road, comes a further new
studio venture, this time exclusively instrumental. Inspired by Michael's
most recent tour of the Southern States, all but one of the tunes self-composed,
and every guitar and percussive device played by Michael himself. The
album's 49 minutes represent as potent evocation of genius loci as you
can get, on an expectedly wide range of musical styles encompassing
both the wonderfully primal simplicity of Sweet Little Friend From Georgia,
Be Natural and Coming Of The Roads and more ambitious collages in the
form of sound-pictures like the lengthier Swamp and Gaddo Lake. Some
have seen parallels with John Fahey as a major inspiration in both kinds
of composition; though there's an element of truth in that observation,
Michael's own playing is distinctive and his conceptual arranging skills
highly individual. Indian Annie's Kitchen brings to the "voice
of the turtle" a kind of "kodak ghost" that is sure to
strike a chord or two in all long-term Chapman admirers! This fine album
is far more than mere travelogue or mood music, as it digs right deep
into the psyche of the landscape of the Southern States in a way that
ranks with those epic Ry Cooder filmscapes but (unlike much of Cooder's
cinematic music) possessing a real lasting appeal away from any induced
wide-screen context.
David
Kidman
(published in Traditional Music Maker, October 2000)
Americana Taplas: October/November 2000
"Americana
- a purely instrumental album - emphatically demonstrates his total
mastery of the acoustic guitar, from which he produced an exceptionally
rich, warm and full bodied tone... What makes (this album) stand out
from the crowd, apart from sheer technical skill, is Chapman's ability
to stamp his own footprint on a well-trudged musical road. His evocative
melodies often conjure up vivid images of wide-open spaces, which he
splashes with just enough colour to bring them to life, effectively
adding elements of surprise and adventure.
From
an interview in Record Buyer:
Q: So this is that rare beast, an instrumental concept album?
"It's a musical
impression of me driving across through the southern states of American,
which I've seemed to have done quite a lot just lately, either for reasons
of work or go over there to do a tour and then just stay for a while.
I love to just get in a car in America, especially in the South, and
just drive around, to what I call small town America - the small town
America you used to see in the movies and it is actually still there,
even though it's dying.
Because what they're
doing in America is what they are beginning to do here, they suck the
life out of the little places by putting all the shops and malls and
everything on the edges and it sucks the life out of the town so the
town actually dies. But it's still there, there's still like the odd
little places here and there where you can wander in and there's still
a family run café or restaurant where you can eat yourself daft
for $5.
Q: Are you depicting it as it was and will no longer be?
"I'm depicting
it as I see it, basically, but with a guitar! The main piece on it is
a thing called "Swamp". My wife got interested in swamps as
we drove across the South looking at swamps... full of mud and water
and 'gators and snakes, all kinds of things. I just love the whole feel
of the South, its slower, people have got time for each other, people
talk to each other and I wanted to sort of get this across but using
the guitar rather than words.
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Growing
Pains Q: August 2000 Release Date: 20-Apr-2000
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There are those
who feel Michael Chapman never quite got the credit he deserved for
his folk/rock crossover work in the early '70s, when in the space of
two albums he graduated from the folk club circuit to progressive troubadour,
trading electric licks with a pre-Ziggy Stardust Mick Ronson.
The quality of
his recent albums has doubtless encouraged the release of this: 16 previously
unreleased recordings - some live, some studio - from solo in '66 to
four slick, band-led tracks from '80. Songs such as Naked Ladies & Electric
Ragtime and the wonderful Rabbit Hills are available elsewhere, but
the early recordings reveal much, particularly See See Rider and Let
Me Go Home Whiskey with its remarkable tapping bottleneck style, which
signpost the expansive guitar landscapes that followed in his later
work.
Reviewed by Rob
Beattie
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