Various Artists
Live at Ramblin’ Man Fair 2016
(Via Live Here Now)
So the excellent lineup of artists making the Fair a great success were all approached by the organisers to allow the release of a track played in their RMF stage set. Most of them agreed, probably because they felt the Nordoff Robbins musical therapy was a good cause and to commemorate their participation in the weekend. Just Listen To This applauds all parties as we certainly agree that the charity deserves support..musicians usually rally to a good cause. In an ideal world EVERY act would have contributed a number….
To acknowledge the spirit of the project, we will note every act on the three discs and here goes:
Inglorious Holy Water – easily one of the best performances all weekend, the band tear in up on this great bluesy song. Echoes of Free and an undercurrent of fire beneath the spirited vocal
I O Earth Redemption – pumping dark prog, a memorable riff and liquid guitar over purposeful bass and moody keyboards, steady drumming, topped by a lovey female vocal
Road Dog The Wreck of Duvall County – racing acoustic guitar drives this Americana story, a good set inclusion
Frost Black Light – twinkling keyboards under a conspiratorial vocal..makes me think of dark woods and mysterious lights…and I don’t even take substances! Tough guitar hangs like a vulture over the musical tumble. Prog fans will love this, you can sense the care and love
Hogjaw This Whiskey – almost Crazy Horse fuzz guitar strokes this steady and sombre song. Well delivered
The Dead Daisies Mainline – from a hard-hitting set that lit the field up from the start. Galloping drums power the song and the snarled vocal makes its point. Blues Rock and with Doug Aldrich on the guitar. Festival gold, friends
Terrorvision Celebrity Hitlist – a dark spiky riff brings this in and angry tale is told over chugging guitars….very catchy nonetheless
Purson The Sky Parade – acoustic-led song with a touch of All About Eve, settling into a strumming psych ballad with haunting keyboards and one of the best female singers we saw all weekend. Their set was a triumph
Whiskey Myers Early Morning Shakes – rattling country rocker with emphatic beat and a Neil Young touch. Paints a great sonic picture
Lifesigns Carousel – nimble guitar with a John McLaughlin spirit that rolls along with dazzling axe runs and heavy keys chording whilst a fluid bass swims under the whole. Sort of Yes with menace
Bob Wayne Dope Train – eccentric country performer tells a cautionary tale
The Zombies Time Of The Season – a classic song played with fizzy psych mystery intact. The singing during their set matched the instrumental fireworks!
Supersuckers Gibber Jabber – driving rock with great throaty vocal, a sort of nod to The Georgia Satellites to my way of thinking and they were fabulous… fine drumming throughout and a fun guitar solo
Europe Nothing To Ya – pulsing track from pop-metal kings. Creeping pomp to the max and riffs threaded through. He IS a good frontman
Uriah Heep One Minute – reflective piano-led treat from veteran hard rockers. Hard to fault the vocal delivery. A reputation upheld
The White Buffalo Home In In Your Arms – thrashing acoustic guitars and a dark-brown vocal. Irresistible tempo. Perfect for a sunny afternoon
Thin Lizzy The Boys Are Back In Town – the big hit Lizzy song in a set delivered by a six-strong ensemble
Hayseed Dixie Warpigs – a mix of Edwin Starr and banjofied Sabbath…..a strange concoction but that’s what these lads do
Family Top of the Hill – slow and moody piece with menthol electric piano and tapping snare. Chapman sneers out the vocal over chiming guitar…a definite tinge of Traffic’s Paper Sun
Pat McManus Iona Sunset – Irish rocker presents a Celtic-soaked guitar instrumental, volume swells and all. A bit of a Mark Knopfler moment in a blues rock set
Graveltones Forget About The Trouble – fiery riffing with an edgy vocal and a very impressive drummer who makes it punchy as hell. A real band sound achieved here with its own character
The Fierce & The Dead Magnet In Your Face – twiddly guitar figures and a tumbling beat from a pretty varied set..some Metheny-rolled- in mud touches!
Simo Rather Die In Vain – who would want to follow this Nashville blues-psych trio? Just part of an explosive and inventive set that drew a huge crowd as they played. A wall of guitar-fuelled soul
The Kentucky Headhunters Have You Ever Loved A Woman – the veteran band playing a smoky blues standard
King King Waking Up – bass-driven and organ soaked number with a fabulous Alan Nimmo vocal and Wayne Proctor on the skins. A rousing song and the guitar is just spot-on. Such a high-standard of playing yet they connect with their audience
Blurred Vision No More War – spiky trio with a political slant. I was impressed with their bassist who didn’t overplay once and gave the music a pulse. The song has a hint of Manic Street Preachers
The Answer Come Follow Me – brilliantly played blues rock number and sung with force. They sound more and more cohesive. The crowd lapped it up
Tax The Heat Fed To The Lions – stomping blues-rock tune, all dynamics and burning riffery. Vocal is pretty much metal in impact. The whining slide guitars give the song a different flavour
The Von Hertzen Brothers New Day Rising – this act worked hard and the audience responded. Skying guitar leads off the selection and the brew comes together into a belting rocker. Maybe this is prog-metal ? but it needs no label. Really. They sound confident and driven, here
The Cadillac Three The South – warped bluesy sound on this on this treader with a lonesome vibe. Their thing seems to be atmosphere and an elemental approach. Electric roots music morphing into an almost Faces number
Devin Townshend Gone Is Gone – with Aimee Dorval and Casualties of Cool, here…a Sun Studios tempo and hypnotic singing
Walter Trout Playin’ Hideaway – the great survivor Walter is revered by all in the blues rock world and is back on stage rattling licks from his Strat over his punchy band. The raspy voice is still unmistakable. It’s a rather good song, too
Thunder Backstreet Symphony – no act put more into their set than this crew. Hard rock melodic emperors but with blues-soaked guitars and here a Bo Diddley beat. Wonderful
Procol Harum Man With A Mission – the band with the widest variety of material of the all. Never underrate the Harum..especially with Geoff Whitehorn on guitars, the man is a first-class band player. This tune is a wah-stoked funk blues with a memorable hook and bobbing bass topped by a Gary Brooker vocal. Splendid act, brilliant set
Black Stone Cherry Me & Mary Jane – Kentucky rockers who can play a lot of different styles and support charity events and causes. Just hear the crowd joining in on this air-punching growling tune. A proper band sound, they play off each other and have amassed a trunk of own songs, notwithstanding the odd dip into the Howlin’ Wolf songbook. Born to play live and they sure project
What a great assemblage of talent , eh?
Now if you want to read the report of the 2016 Fair, head here: http://bit.ly/2aaEqnq
Pete Sargeant
* Many thanks to Glenn Sargeant and Duff Press
