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Folk, maar voor de Neil Young liefhebbers.

Recent encounters with Baskery via the End Of The Bloodline album and a Cropredy appearance lead us to The Young Sessions. A project where the Swedish sisters adopt a suitably ‘live to tape’ organic philosophy. It makes sense. Shakey being an artist whom Baskery have admired and covered, set down for the record.

i sing the song because i love the man
The selection focuses on the theme of laidback, easy on the ear choices. No Arc Weld-styled wild and feedback riddled improvs here. None of the famed Crazy Horse raggedness either and any of the rustic or, it has to be said, the occasional seat of the pants, but endearingly shambolic Young/Crazy Horse vibe. Any possible rough edges are smoothed and soothed by the accompaniment of the sweet Baskery harmonies.

Opening with a leaf out of the book in typical Young fashion , three tracks are segued into one extended piece. Out On The Weekend eases in on a mid to slow tempo. It heralds the first appearance of some lovely subtle harmonica, easing into a more vibrant Don’t Let It Bring You Down. A pause and some firmly struck chords (which granted, would have sounded awesome given an overdrive guitar and valve amp turned up to eleven) and we’re swinging for a short interlude. A pause and an almost acapella A Man Needs A Maid fades in. Minimal guitar emphasises the aching melancholy that makes solo Neil so riveting.

The rustic plunk of banjo on Old Man keeps the bucolic mood and momentum trundling along before the girls shave the melody a little on Heart Of Gold. The oh so familiar lines get the sort of tweak that makes doing covers worthwhile. The zithery lead line has an element of winging it, teetering on the edge of not quite getting it right.

Alabama is dominated by the vocals over what feels like what could potentially be a dirty little groove, chugging straight from the garage. It surfaces in the vocal free passages. A twangy guitar solo mid song comes straight from the Neil Young guitar tuition book. Just listening to the Promise Of The Real/Noise & Flowers version, there’s an underlying distorted edginess about Neil playing anything that’s almost impossible to replicate. Sugar Mountain sees the ring of the folky guitars duel with the harmonies. Less shrill and less urgent and all the better for it is The Needle And The Damage Done. Worthy of inclusion for the chance to sing the “I sing the song because I love the man” line.

The album highlight sees Baskery jamming out on a groove on Down By The River – just as the master would be inclined to do – across ten minutes that leads them where it leads them. The spotlight is on sharp guitar lines slicing through the plodding tempo with some bluesy inflection in the vocal. By the halfway point the prospect of closure looms, having seemingly exhausted inspiration, but the riff resurfaces and we’re back on track and heading over the rainbow. Like it’s partner at the start of the set, the open ended looseness is the star.

As expected, an interesting and rewarding diversion from the day job as well as a clear indication of where the Baskery roots lie.

Tracks:
01. Alibi 
02. Goddess 
03. Waiting Game 
04. Brain 
05. This Is What It Feels Like 
06. Stick 
07. Fuck Em Only We Know 
08. Beggin For Thread 
09. Warm Water 
10. Bedroom Wall 

Staat er compleet op, 10% pars mee gepost. Met zeer veel dank aan de originele poster. Laat af en toe eens weten wat je van het album vindt. Altijd leuk, de mening van anderen. Oh ja, MP3 doe ik niet aan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za7G_aXB2uE