Andy Collins
self produced
Roadtrain/Pascoe River/Gulf Road/Barron Delta Blue/Swinging In The Trees/Francis Gabriel Lam/I Found Love/Sixteen Tons/Long Lonesome Road/Round The Bend/International Blues
Like a bottle of prize wine, this album comes with a cluster of stickers indicating medals won. Embellished with two different 'Album of the Year' awards and one for 'Acoustic Song of the Year' from the Australian Songwriters' Association, the CD holds promise straight away.
A beautifully recorded CD, Collins' originals are mostly not blues but a well crafted collection of songs that employ a blend of blues and country stylings to put his beloved Queensland into the foreground. This is done with real taste. We discover that America isn't he only country whose place names are evocative. In Collins' skilled hands, Bamaga, Broome, Burkestow, Rockhamton and numerous other places trip off the tongue and sound as familiar as Route 66 or Memphis. But this is not saccharine Australiana. Even the odd bit of didgeridoo is there because it fits musically, not because it is a cultural icon. Collins cares about his country. "Don't want to be a slave to global organisations" is a fine sentiment and an unpromising lyric, yet he phrases such lines effortlessly. And there's real beauty here, too. The title track, "Barron Delta Blue" is breathtaking, a simple bluesy chord sequence on a grand piano that showcases Collins vocals to great effect.
"Swinging In The Trees" I found a little too lush but "Francis Gabriel Lam" is a rollicking country flavour piece with excellent mandolin playing by Peter Ella, blended with accordion and acoustic guitar. It tells a story of a real swagman, "the only road he travels is to Stuart Creek and back"
"I Found Love" features nylon acoustic guitar, violin and accordion, and has a very pretty melody.
Merle Travis' "Sixteen Tons" was probably a common feature in Collins' live act, around the bars and taverns of North Queensland. It's a neat arrangement with harmonica and electric slide guitar.
"Long Lonesome Road" is a blues which features just acoustic slide and harmonica and suggests that Collins has paid his dues playing blues in the far north too. Nice track.
"Round The Bend" is a little too 'programmed' for me . With a real big band, though, this could be a Louis Jordan song.
"International Blues" has vibes in the foreground, a lovely instrument criminally underused for blues, and a baritone sax solo. There's even a kookaburra. What wonderful use of textures!
All in all, this CD lives up to the promise. Beautifully recorded, well written songs and many textured, this is an album to enjoy over and over again.
Barron Delta Blues is available from Stone Hut Music at
http://www.granite.net.au/~pegler/stonehut.htm
or from Andy Collins at
www.andycollins.com
