REVIEW

“Discoveries of joy, but pensive with loss” Dan Byrnes

Review by Dan Byrnes (3 June 2001) of: “Dance of the Good Life“,

CD by Andrew Clermont and Parris Macleod 2000. Sunball Records Cat 266.
Produced/engineered by Parris Macleod. Recorded at Cloud Studios, Wyong.

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From a series of albums from Tamworth-based musician, Andrew Clermont, “Dance of the Good Life” is a record of entertaining musical friendships. There are discoveries of joy, there are moods of loss. It’s poetry in music – but no lyrics at all. It’s about being human.

Clermont said, it was a matter of two musicians sitting around with instruments, saying, “What about this?”, or, “Hey, no! What about this?”

The result is an entertaining trip through love of music, moods and emotions, devotion to friends, all another bright feather in Clermont’s musical cap.

Clermont says the production time of “Dance of the Good Life” was 1/52nd of the effort put into his earlier CD, “The Longing”.

In review of “The Longing”, I said it was a masterpiece. “Dance of the Good Life” is simply very good, and it seems effortless.

Clermont has been issuing his own compositions for years, and “Good Life” carries hints from much-earlier tracks. That is, certain emotions persist.

There is also new material (and it should be realised, Clermont now travels widely,last heard of in New Orleans).

The CD?
It happened like this. Clermont’s friend Guy Kachel insisted he listen to a track by Little Feat – which inspired the opening to “Who Trod on the Cat?” Very lively.

Clermont and Simon Molloy (see the track ‘Try Change’ – “Three Chord Wonders/ Totally Gourdgeous CDs and ‘The Longing’ title track) once wrote a quick-step, reworked here with Macleod minus the vocals(!) – “Round the Bend”.

So, good life progressed, becoming a picture-gallery of musical conversations notable for their emotional depth.

I thought I detected a few influences from Penguin Café Orchestra (based in London, but who play as though they came from the neatest parts of Louisiana.)

I was also reminded of music from guitarists and pianists heard on California’s Wyndham Hill label, which is dedicated to showing off musicians dedicated to music for music’s sake.

As record label, Windham Hill acts as a bank for musical purity. Clermont-Macleod now seem to be opening a branch in New South Wales.

Title track “Dance of the Good Life” is a lively, Celtic-flavoured discovery of joy. “Round the Bend” is lively guitar/piano, a set of rapidly-changing moods.

“Light at the End of the Tunnel” is wonderfully pensive; you could use it behind the voice-over for a TV documentary on any loss of human paradise, any day.

“Buggerlug’s Boogie” sounds like an attempt to tear boredom to shreds. “Reeling in the Big One” is just that, the feeling of getting that big catch (plus hint of didgeridoo). “Three Mandolins” (influence from King Crimson) has a hint of a virtuoso wondering, what’s next? Clermont had improvised the pensive solo piece, “Lonely Fiddler” after Macleod’s 2am directive “Now’s a good time”.

“Time Changes Me” is written for the influence Macleod’s son has had on him, a pensive, reflective piano piece. (I got to thinking: adults realise they are changed by time; children don’t realise this, till it is too late!)

And for the critics, the last four tracks are remixes. Presumably, comparisons are invited, In which case, we can re-explore this CD’s so-clean production values, its feeling of lightness.

These fine musicians use: Clermont: fiddle, mandolin, acoustic guitar, Didgeridoo (from the PVC Islands), bass guitar, 5-string electric violin; Macleod: piano and keyboards, acoustic drums, bass guitar, hand percussion. Because this album is so friendly, because it is part of the written-on-the-run Clermont musical auto-biography, I want to know when the follow-up is due out?
What’s been happening, mate?

(Well, the rumour was, it might be a conversation between a violin and a grand piano.)

– and so it did transpire! See ‘Happy as Larry’

written by
Dan Byrnes Word Factory,

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