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Kelly Joe Phelps | Beggar’s Oil EP

6-track collection of unreleased outtakes and alternate versions.
EP, Rykodisc

Tekst: Robert Brown

Publicatiedatum: 18 september 2002

This 6-track EP is announced as a companion to last year’s Sky like a broken clock. Featured here are a couple of unreleased outtakes and alternate versions from the Broken Clock sessions, as well as a live recording from 1999.

If you are already familiar with Kelly Joe Phelps’ work, this should be all the recommendation you need. You should already be at the local record store, forking out the cash for this modestly priced, limited edition release. For years now, Kelly Joe Phelps has been in the forefront of contemporary American roots music, firmly established as one of the most authentic and gifted artists around.

On his first two albums, Roll Away The Stone and Shine Eyed Mister Zen, he presented his brand of mysterious and beautiful country-folk blues with no more than his spectacular fingerpicking and slide work, and that voice, of course. That unique, one-in-a-million voice: gravely and hoarse, yet flexible. With this voice he conveys a sense of age and timelessness like no other of his generation. Add to this a skill for great storytelling and inspired songwriting, an impeccable timing, and the picture’s complete.

On his third album, Sky Like A Broken Clock, Kelly Joe Phelps departed from his solitary approach to form an ensemble around his unique guitar playing. He collaborated with Larry Taylor (on string bass) and Billy Conway (on drums and percussion), amongst others, recording a new collection of songs in just a week. These sessions, supervised by producer George Howard, resulted in one of the most impressive blues and folk albums of the past fifteen to twenty years, and which will probably be recognised as a classic in its genre in the years to come.

Four of the five unreleased tracks on the Beggar’s Oil EP originate from those same recording sessions. Two of these are alternate band arrangements of album tracks.

On Beggar’s Oil (which is also featured in its original, acoustic form on the EP), the band brings a great amount of urgency and energy to the song, contrasting with the resignation and weariness of the album version. The alternate take of Tommy stays closer to the original, with quietly plodding drums and string bass, a simple and effective cello arrangement enhancing the mood of the song. Which brings us to the two outtakes from the Broken Clock sessions, both remarkable recordings in their own way.

Firstly, the up tempo Don Quixote’s Windmill, an extraordinary display of skill and ensemble playing which will have you grinning, snapping your fingers and tapping your foot in time to the tune. The sheer fun and pleasure these guys had in playing together just shines through.

The second outtake is a moody, quite sinister blues jam, bizarrely titled Frankenstein Party Of Three: Your Table Is Ready. Overall, it’s mainly an exercise in style and texture, showcasing some stellar guitar work, with an off-hand and seemingly tongue-in-cheek touch of Tom Waits-like growling and huffing here and there in the second and third verse.

The last track on the EP is a real bonus: a beautiful rendition of an old traditional, Lass of Loch Royale (If I Prove False To Thee), recorded live from a solo performance. Addressing the ‘Lass’ in the title, Kelly Joe sums up all the ills that will befall this earth if he should be untrue to her. Gliding acoustic slide guitar accompanying the haunting vocal, he gracefully drifts from verse to verse, entirely ensnaring the listener within the song, and not letting go until the very last note. Sheer class.

http://www.kindamuzik.net/recensie/kelly-joe-phelps/beggar-s-oil-ep/1873/
Meer Kelly Joe Phelps op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/kelly-joe-phelps