 Half A Fruit Pie (Fellside Recordings FECD181) |
Benji Kirkpatrick – Half A Fruit Pie (Fellside Recordings FECD181) Paul Adams at Fellside Recordings must be feeling well chuffed at the moment. As stated in the press release he has started to obtain a roster of English folk artists who are fast establishing the label as one of the leading companies in that particular field. The latest solo addition to this already impressive list is Benji Kirkpatrick and from the opening track ‘A Bed Between Friends/Urge To Caper’ you can rest assured that he has emerged from under his illustrious father’s shadow with the kind of dignity you would expect in keeping with family tradition. Benji’s father is John Kirkpatrick the squeezebox maestro who puts in an appearance on Toxic Haze. Unusually Benji’s chosen instrument is the bouzouki, and, although not generally considered a tool in the English cannon of folk instruments (apart from maybe Jez Lowe) the delicate – but not in a prissy way - employment particularly when accompanying the vocals proves very refreshing. For those of you looking for something a little different, the melody and chord accompaniment on the challenging second section of the title track for some reason bring to mind those used in The Adventures Of Robinson Crusoe TV series from years ago. Sparingly adding touches of fiddle courtesy of Seth Lakeman and the drums of Richard Adams, the album doesn’t so much rock your socks off as show that with a bit of thought production skills can enhance without being intrusive. Many moons ago I witnessed the revolution that Donal Lunny and Andy Irvine inspired in many Celtic musicians to pick up the bouzouki and as I’m sitting here writing this review I can’t help but think that Benji could do the same for the English. This is a sparklingly good recording and one that deserves your attention. |