TIGER MOTH TALES
Story Tellers Part Two White Knight Pete Jones weaves tales of whimsy based on classic children’s lit.
It’s not unreasonable to suspect that there hasn’t been an instrument invented yet that Pete Jones – otherwise known as Tiger Moth Tales – couldn’t play if he decided to put his mind to it. He performs all of the musical parts on his new album Story Tellers Part Two himself, in the process covering everything from piano and guitar to clarinet and harmonica, and they’re always performed with aplomb. On bass he doesn’t simply plod away on the root notes, but deftly dances up and down the frets as though it were his life’s calling.
His recent profile-boosting recruitment into Camel clearly hasn’t consumed all his creative energies, although the main influence apparent here is Gabriel-era Genesis. Story Tellers Part Two is unashamedly melodic and English in character. Like the first Story Tellers album, the songs are inspired by fairy tales and writers that Jones loved as a child, a theme laid out most plainly in tracks like The Boy Who Cried Wolf and Toad Of Toad Hall. At times, the album has a family-friendly style, from the playful humour of Three Little Pigs to the big, Disney-esque ballads with lyrics about friendship and true love. On that front, Eternity features an impressive guest vocal from Emma Friend, while the album is bookended by Best Friends and Best Friends Reprise, the latter featuring a sweeping melody borne aloft by swelling strings.
There are three instrumentals: Kai’s Journey has a classic prog vibe, Hundred Acre Wood is a lovely duet between piano and clarinet that’s quite gorgeous, while The Palace reveals more of Jones’ rock leanings with a showcase electric guitar solo. Jones’ vocals on The Boy Who Cried Wolf certainly sound a fair bit like Peter Gabriel, while Match Girl, based on the tragic story by Hans Christian Andersen, conjures the sadness of its source with a bluesy, mournful harmonica and gentle piano.
Jones doesn’t seem to be on a mission to chart the deepest water of prog, as there are tracks here that could fit comfortably on a children’s album. So for those who take their prog po-faced and earnest, this isn’t likely to be a good fit. There’s nothing as grand in scale and ambition as Winter Maker from his The Depths Of Winter album, or Tigers In The Butter from Cocoon, but that’s clearly not the goal behind the Story Tellers concept. This should find its home among those willing to embrace a distinctly English sense of whimsy, in the tradition of Nursery Cryme-era Genesis, and occasional bouts of silliness for its own sake. And Jones’ considerable talents as both a songwriter and musician shine through every track.
HIS CONSIDERABLE TALENTS AS A SONGWRITER AND MUSICIAN SHINE.