Long time ago and far away I recall an interview with Peter Knight in one of the music weeklies during which he confessed that when the time came for him to leave Steeleye Span, he’d be quite happy playing jigs at jam sessions in Irish pubs. Well…that didn’t quite work out.
As a musician he’s never done anything by halves, even before he did finally depart Span he’d laid the foundations of Gigspanner. He made that work splendidly, their early albums are daring and full of exuberance but still he sought further potential. Having formed an occasional duo with Bellowhead’s John Spiers it was natural he should join in, then Hannah Martin and Phillip Henry – aka Edgelarks – who already took folk music to some strange but wonderful places threw their hat in the ring. Hence Gigspanner could now be a big band.
‘Turnstone’ is enthralling. It’s a serious piece of work which’ll leave your head and critical consience in a spin, it’s music that can only come from of a bunch who trust and respect each other for what they can deliver. Deliver they do…in spades. No one personality dominates the music, it’s all for one and one for all. Whilst the track listing may seem stacked with familiar titles, these versions are anything but, Gigspanner are not afraid to push those boundaries, let them bend and even on occasion break, it’s healthy.
I’m not going to go through each track writing a review which, whilst fulsome and glowing would be lengthy and somewhat pointless, no instead I’m going to focus on ‘Sovay,’ to illustrate my intent. Is there a more well known and comfy track? Martin Carthy put it on his first album God alone knows how long ago, 2 minutes 14 seconds it was. Gigspanner double that. A quiet beginning with plucked fiddle builds gradually, slide guitar and percussion underlining the hasty vocals, looping the slide at first chance an instrumental section brings in the ensemble delievring a spikey melody line over and over, heightening the tension. Just as you expect it to go up another gear, they trim it all back and let Knight glide his violin gently to a solo, more vocals and the layering starts once more only this time Roger Flack goes into full, howling, rock guitar god mode with a scything solo, enough to cut down oak trees. This is impressive stuff. ‘Sovay,’ duly retooled and reinvented.
To say that ‘Turnstone,’ is cavalier would be a massive understatement, the arrangements and settings cover so much ground so you’ll need Sat Nav rather than an OS Map to chart it all. Repeated plays reveal more wonders. Another track I must mention is the roustabout cajun take on ‘The Suffolk Miracle,’ far more bayou knees up than gentle, fen ghost story. Such diversions spread across the recording making it a certain contender for end of year honours.
With their confidence this high and their determination set to full, live shows will surely deliver pure magic. You have been duly warned. Without any doubt…essential !
Simon Jones.
www.gigspanner.com
