colm@mathcs.emory.edu (Colm Mulcahy) (06/07/91)
TRANSPARENT MUSIC Hannibal HNCD 1325 1989 Time 43:50 Having plopped the CD into the player, I stepped out of the room for an instant. Upon returning I thought I detected the strains Buddy Holly's "Raining In My Heart" played on a Hawaiian guitar, or was it a glass harmonium, or pan pipes ? Actually it was Debussy's "Claire De Lune," played on an "orchestral" steel guitar. The player is one of Britain's most amiable and overworked session musicians, BJ Cole. A man whose geneality makes Dave Mattacks look positively hostile by comparison ! BJ's recording resume is rivalled by few over the past 20 years. While his name may not be as familiar to North American record sleeve readers as - say - Jim Keltner's, he has guested on almost as many albums as the ace drummer. In the 70s he added his unique touch to recordings by over a hundred artists, including singer/songwriters Joan Armatrading, Steve Ashley, Michael Chapman, Marc Ellington, Andy Fairweather Low, Roy Harper, Elton John, Ian Matthews, Maddy Prior, Gerry Rafferty, Andy Roberts, Al Stewart, Clifford T. Ward, Jimmy Webb and Terry & Gay Woods, as well as rock acts such as Humble Pie, Procol Harum and the Alan Parsons Project. The man knows no shame, having also lent his talents to Showaddywaddy, Shakin' Stevens and Nazareth ! What makes BJ's touch so unique is his choice of instrument: the peddle steel Few British musicians have mastered this most American of contraptions, and virtually none have made names for themselves as a result: the legendary Gordon Huntley (later of Matthews Southern Comfort) preceded Cole on the scene by quite a few years, and must surely have been an influence on him. Younger players have had brief shots at fame in the years since, but the undisputed fact remains that when an artist recording in the UK is in need of a touch of steel, there is a very good chance that they'll turn to the man with the Chesire cat grin and 59 allan keys: BJ Cole. In the 80s acts as diverse as All About Eve, Billy Bragg, K. D. Lang, Level 42, and Hank Wangford (England's singing gynaechologist) have done so. Even respected American country singers Emmylou Harris & and Tammy Wynette have called on his services. "Transparent Music" is his second solo album, the first was 1972's "New Hovering Dog" on United Artists. As on that LP, he enlists the help of bassist Danny Thompson, himself a veteran session man. However the current release could hardly be mistaken for a mid70s English countryrock foray, delightful though that prospect might be with the right man at the helm. The music here is contemplative, atmospheric, and almost hypnotising at times. It sounds more like an ECM release, eg., one by German bassist Eberhard Weber, than what one has come to expect from an English artist and label more renowned for their folk rock credentials. Hannibal, who seem to be shifting gears as we enter the 90s, proudly boast that they have come up with a completely uncategorisable record which will confuse the music business. They may well be right - I saw it filed under jazz at a local store - but who cares when it sounds this good ? Guy Jackson, who cowrote about half of the music, provides keyboards and "sound treatments" to accompany BJ and Danny on most of the tracks. An occassional use of percussion, violin and synthesizer completes the aural landscape. The Weber similarity is most striking on some of the slower cuts, such as the haunting "Ely Cathedral." Here Danny treats the listener to a less familiar aspect of his playing, and the steel guitar's presence is not consciously felt, as it seems to imitate other instruments. On "Window On The Deep" lyrical steel wafts by gently from time to time, to a backdrop suggesting a multitude of wandering organisms in an underwater world far below the waves. The arrangements are tasteful throughout, with a surprising variety of textures, in view of what I imagine to be natural limitations of the featured instrument. Ravel's famous "Pavane" is given a spirited - yet dignified - reading, and both Satie's "Gnossienne No. 5" and BJ's own "Sun Tear Serenade" are lively and infectious - and perfectly suited to his playing. A lovely traditional piece called "The Coventry Carol" brings this charming album to a satisfying conclusion. Refreshing. Store at room temperature, between Al Cohn & Ornette Coleman. Serve frequently.