Universal appeal
MANY singers are said to be “soulful” but I reckon any dictionary definition would have to include the words Sam and Lewis because the Nashville-based singer-writer-guitarist epitomises the word.
He comes to the Live Theatre, on Newcastle Quayside, tonight, promoting a new album, Loversity, which is, in this scribe’s estimation, a stunner.
Lewis has form, too, as his self-titled debut album (2012) and the follow-up, Waiting On You, both received high praise from a number of respected, high-profile artists.
Five-time Grammy winner Chris Stapleton, for example, described him as a “modern Townes Van Zandt.” Lewis’s second album also brought cracking reviews from the likes of Mojo magazine and The Telegraph.
With the new record, Sam Lewis delivers the universal appeal of, say, James Taylor, the observational, socially aware lyrical skills of John Prine and a voice which is pure countrysoul.
Loversity has 14 quality tracks to bang home that message – and all but two of them are his own. One of the two covers is Loudon Wainwright’s Natural Disaster, his wry meteorological-themed note to the object of his desire who “hit me like a flash-flood, drained me like a drought”.
Loversity, recorded at Southern Ground studios in Nashville, sets Lewis alongside a band which includes hotshot guitarist Kenny Vaughan and Derek Mixon on drums.
The relaxed feel of the record suggests a laid-back writer with a matter-of-fact delivery but this is no middle-of-the-road plodder. There are several detectable (mainly retro) influences which spring to mind, but no one who sounds like him.
He manages to escape the world of blandness despite its all pervasive impact. Lewis once said: “I flip on a radio or stare at my phone, and I hear some familiar sounds and I see some flashy things being made right now – and that’s cool.
“But it’s real hard to find something that’s being said beyond what’s superficial.
“And then go I and spin a record by Lee Dorsey and I feel the world lifted with four words and a funky groove, and then I’ll listen to Pops Staples preaching the most earnest spirit with some shake, swagger and sweat thrown on it – and man, there it is, there’s the fresh air, there’s the hope.
“These are the men that paved the path I want to walk on, the path I want to preserve. Everyone is welcome to walk it with me. I hope they do.” It is a record which does owe a debt to the past – including some of the rootsy influences he mentions above – but he has wrought an album of simmering soul that will undoubtedly stand the test of time.
He is, surely, destined for much bigger things, assuming that is what he wants, of course.
Tonight Lewis is supported by the Liverpool troubadour Tom Blackwell.
Across at Sage Gateshead (Hall 2) tonight, there is an attractive evening of folk music with Ian Stephenson and Kitty McFarlane the guests.
Stephenson has a multi-faceted CV which includes, in addition to his obvious credentials as a folk musician, experience as a composer, studio engineer, videographer and tutor.
He plays guitar and melodeon and has worked in bands such as Baltic Crossing, KAN, 422 and with Alistair Anderson and others. He has a new album/live project called Modulate which combines several of those skills. His instrumental work is enhanced by visual projections and looping techniques to make for a multi-dimensional experience.
Joining him is the hotly tipped Somerset singer/guitarist Kitty McFarlane, who has attracted much praise of late for her writing as much as for her pristine voice.
There is a strong natural world thread running through her material and her new record, Namer Of Clouds, has drawn praise from some good judges.
She has opened shows for Kathryn Roberts, Sean Lakeman, Blair Dunlop and his father, Ashley Hutchings. McFarlane was named Female Artist of the Year (2018) by acoustic music magazine FATEA, and was named among The Guardian’s folk albums of the year in 2018.
Her already impressive CV was enhanced when she helped out on albums by Sam Kelly and, more recently, Ben Walker. There is more
folk music the weekend after this when the Poozies are in Sage Gateshead’s Northern Rock Foundation Hall (Saturday, March 9).
The Scottish quartet has undergone a number of personnel changes over the years but the current line-up comprises newer additions Sarah McFadyen and Tia Files alongside founder member Mary Macmaster and her long-time associate Eilidh Shaw.
What materialises when the four of them are on stage is an eclectic mix of folk’s more traditional fare, plus some country-leaning Americana and pop – essentially a Scots string band (fiddle, guitar, banjo, harp etc.) with four-part vocal harmonies to top off the instrumental prowess.
The name, by the way, is courtesy of Robert Burns’s Poosie Nancie (a tavern keeper’s wife) and forever etched into lore as the character who brings in the haggis on annual Burns night celebrations.
These Poozies, however, are as invigorating as nip of Laphroaig and as fresh as Rannoch Moor.
Oh, and they swing like a sporran, too. (Apologies to our Caledonian friends!)