Iain Matthews Appreciation Thread--solo, album by album + track by track (pg. 18)*

Doesn't appear I will be able to share a track by track of this fine new album,
but I will share as many live cuts from Iain and The Salmon Smokers as I can!


Such a stunning group of talent!

Really refreshingly new interpretations of classic Iain songs by the man and the band!

 

Woodstock



What a great reinterpretation!

 

Fra en konsert på Herr Nilsen, Oslo 2018



We could make a great set of bonus tracks complimenting the Fake Tan album...really fine live stuff!!
Iain hasn't lost a step.If anything he has more depth and emotion infused into his mature interpretations
and new music!

Damn! What a great band he has here...love that stunning fuzz!

 

...just ran across this great one from 1976!

Brown Eyed Girl


As good as Van if not my fave!

 

From The Austin History Center Archives!
Wonderful to see and hear!



Iain Matthews at the Armadillo WHQ Homecoming Concert (1994) Iain Matthews is an English singer songwriter who initially sang with Fairport Convention before forming his own band Matthews Southern Comfort. They had a number one hit in the UK with a cover version of Joni Mitchell's song "Woodstock". This performance introduced by Micael Priest, was recorded at the AWHQ Homecoming show at the City Coliseum on September 2, 1994, when Iain resided in Austin, Texas. The band includes Mark Almond, Glen Fukunaga, and Paul Pearcy. Produced by the Austin Music Network.

Iain Matthews at the Armadillo WHQ Homecoming Concert (1994)

Opens with fave...I Drove.

 

Iain ...and The Salmon Smokers...

Performing Woodstock 2018...a new blues filled reading recounting the days of peace, love, and glory, lost.

 

Seven Bridges Road...still the best version hands down

 

live...still the best

 

Took me years of searching in person for a copy, but I traded my cousin a piece of memorabilia for a stack of British folk rock imports including an original UK pressing of "Journey From Gospel Oaks" (other records included Fairport Convention WWDOOH, Fotheringay, Bert Jansch, Santa Barbara Honeymoon and a Mooncrest copy of Steeleye Span Hark The Village Wait). What a great album, and I had completely forgotten he covered Polly by Gene Clark, one of my other favorite songwriters. I bought HI-FI "Music For Mallards" today in the wake, been meaning to pick it up for years and my shop has had a copy for a long time. I picked up Demonstration Record years ago and have always enjoyed it, so I expect I'll enjoy it as well. I am worried about the Prince cover that's big shoes to fill. Enjoying Plainsong while it dries, his records through the mid 70s were untouchable, I feel it gets a little spotty after that.

 

I agree about the 80's, but with Iain's great 1990 release "Pure & Crooked", his creative muse got back on track... and for me, every effort right afterwards up to today has been stunning.

After 1990, Iain embraced the art of obscurity and became comfortable with just making music without the pressure of widespread success.

The Art Of Obscurity (2014)...When I Was A Boy


Prior to its release, Matthews suggested this would be his last solo album (he's not looking to retire from music but would rather focus on collaborations if he chooses to record), and this would function as a fitting coda to his long career [please, NO!-lk]. Tinged with nostalgia that's never rose-tinted, and sounding warm and comfortable without ever being too cozy, The Art of Obscurity celebrates how Matthews crafts gentle, elliptical songs that are never evasive and are often easily melodic, even if they're heavy on lyrics. As such, this music glides across the ears, never indicating how deeply its hooks are sinking in; these songs wind up growing in the subconscious, suggesting how Matthews knows precisely how his obscure art works. If he winds up retiring from songwriting after this, so be it -- The Art of Obscurity shows that he's mastered his art.

 

First concert in 16 months for Iain....he and BJ Baartmans (half of Matthews Southern Comfort).
Uhhh, and a NEW album released! What else would we expect of Iain
Iain is amazing! He never gives us anything but his very best!



Matthews Baartmans Conspiracy...with a wonderful new album too!!!

Full concert for the album "Distant Chatter":


What a great guitarist is BJ!

 

BJ Baartmans biography October 2020

Singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer /



BJ Baartmans was born in 1965. He has been writing songs since he was a teenager, initially mainly for the bands in which he found a place as a guitarist. Both in English and in Dutch. He only started to interpret them himself around the age of thirty. In 1998 he made his debut as a “singer songwriter” with the CD The Pawnshop Guitar Chase. With this he laid the foundation for a very unique form of bringing narrative songs and recording them. In 2005 this form automatically passed into the Dutch repertoire that BJ is now bringing to the fore. BJ's songs have since been recorded on thirteen CD albums under his own name or as BJ's Pawnshop and most recently BJ's Wild Verband. The last in the series BJ BAARTMANS COLLECTORS will be published in September 2018.

As a lyricist, BJ Baartmans presents a wide range of subjects in contemporary folk, blues and pop songs, in which he does not shy away from much. Big life questions and small reflections go hand in hand. Brain fantasies fed by wonder, adventure, homesickness, unrest, doubts, remorse, love affairs, friendship, politics, the pub, the money, the house or the weather... Told from the perspective of an almost fifty year old musician/songwriter but equally ageless in its urgency and emotional recognisability. Not devoid of the necessary self-relativity and a subtle sense of humor.

In doing so, BJ presents his audience with a mirror. But at the same time it also provides a pleasant escape from everyday worries. He makes music out of it. And, like many other productions in which he is involved as a session musician or producer, he has been recording it since 2008 in his own studio space, Studio Wild Verband in Boxmeer.

In May 2015 the album LATER will be released, recorded with BJ's Wild Verband: Mike Roelofs (B3 hammond, moog) and Sjoerd van Bommel (drs). A dozen songs recorded "live in the studio" that mix traditional rock, soul, blues, gospel and jazz influences with a very idiosyncratic way of improvising. What is special about LATER is that the album is bilingual in its entirety: written, recorded and available in both a Dutch and an English version. The album has received a whole series of super positive reviews and the band will perform 25 performances in 2015/2016, partly as support act/backing band for New York singer-songwriter David Corley, in the Netherlands, Ireland and Italy.

Two group albums will be released in 2016 on which BJ plays a major role as a composer/guitarist/singer: the roots rock album Pan Alley Fever by Hidden Agenda Deluxe with Eric Devries (git/voc), Sjoerd van Bommel (drs/voc), Gerald van Beuningen (bass ) and guest Rob Geboers (keys). Hidden Agenda Deluxe brings their own English songs by the three songwriters in the band in the atmosphere of The Band, CSNY, Little Feat and The Allman Brothers Band.

And then, in 2016, Ins Blaue Hinein will be released, an entirely instrumental duo album by BJ and co-composer Mike Roelofs (keys, drums) on which Jazz, Blues, Soul and World Music merge into a titillating road movie soundtrack. The album gets great reviews and a beautiful once again wholly instrumental sequel in 2017: Outward and Return.

From the end of 2017, BJ is also a permanent member of the youngest line up of Matthews Southern Comfort, a band around the legendary folk rock singer/songwriter Iain Matthews. Besides BJ we find Eric Devries (git/voc) and Bart de Win (keys/voc) in the band. BJ produces the album Like A Radio which will be released early 2018 on a German record label. A number of short tours in England, Germany and Austria will follow. The New Mine will be released in 2020, again recorded at Studio Wild Verband under the production direction of BJ.

In addition, in 2017 and 2018 there are again a number of projects with Frans Pollux and BJ does session work with Carter Sampson, Levi Parham and Oh Susanna. And he works as a producer/musician on albums by acts like Hidden Agenda Deluxe with Carter Sampson (roots), Flight of The Ant (jazz), Dirk Wim In 't Hof (NL pop), Etan Huijs (rootspop), Jeff Finlin ( americana) and David Corley (roots rock). Hidden Agenda Deluxe comes two consecutive years with special Christmas albums with its own songs and covers from the Americana genre that rub against the edges and have guest appearances from Carter Sampson (on the first) and Oh Susanna.

BJ Baartmans' VERZAMELAAR will be released in 2018, not so much a classic compilation album with "the best of" but an overview of independent songs that BJ made between various album releases. Songs often written on commission or for a special occasion, which, despite the various recording sessions and various line-ups, form a beautiful whole.

In the same period, a lot of time is spent in a number of (slide) guitar instruction DVDs that BJ makes for the American company True Fire. Known for very well-made products, they also house big names like Sonny Landreth, Ozz Noy and Larry Carlton. Not bad company!

One of the nice unexpected consequences of making the DVDs is the establishment in 2018 of The Space Age Travelers, an entirely instrumental trio with drummer Sjoerd van Bommel and bassist Gerco Aerts. The debut album @Ventures In The Shadows with a wild mix of Surf, Rockabilly, Jazz, Spaghetti Western themes and Cuban atmospheres is warmly received in the music press. The successor Spaceology will be released in early 2021. Baartmans writes the song material, but the characters of his bandmates are a large part of the sound.

From 2020, BJ will also be associated with Rowwen Heze frontman/songwriter Jack Poels, as a sideman on stage but especially in the studio as producer/musician/arranger of Jack's first two solo albums, De Blauwe Vear and its sequel (release early 2021).

Partly in isolation imposed by the corona pandemic, BJ is working on soundtracks for a podcast by Frans Pollux, De Laatste Dans, a documentary about a very special tradition around De Metworstrennen, a horse race in his native village Boxmeer and an internet/tv series for the Toneelgroep Maastricht. in collaboration with BNN/VARA.

All these projects may provide a somewhat diffuse profile, but above all they reveal a heart that beats for all kinds of sincerely made and enjoyed music in which the special love for the guitar is a common thread.

Session guitarist, producer

BJ Baartman's guitar work is a different story. Once described as an unemphatic virtuoso, he uses a playing technique in which various styles merge. As deeply rooted in the tradition of blues, folk, jazz and country as it is free from purism. Fingerpicking, colorful chord parts and expressive slidelicks are fixed elements. A beautiful singing tone too. Comparisons with guitar celebrities such as Ry Cooder, Richard Thompson, Eric Clapton and Marc Ribot are often made. Each and every one of them character players, but just like with these string masters, BJ's guitar playing is always in the service of the song and the atmosphere.

It makes him a much sought-after sideman and session musician.

And it has shaped him in his role as producer. Here too, the technology is nothing more, but also nothing less than a pleasant means of creating a sound image. Music that breathes. He can push and pull, stimulate and slow down.

In recent years BJ has done session work for Iain Matthews, JW Roy, Oh Susanna, Jenee Halstead, Brian Webb, Frans Pollux, Bart de Win, Ricky Koole, Frederique Spigt and André Manuel. In addition, there is the band Hidden Agenda Deluxe (roots rock and soul favourites) of which BJ is a part.

BJ does a lot of his work as a producer and session musician in his home studio, Studio Wild Verband in Boxmeer in North Brabant. A modest but well-equipped and very attractively decorated play area.

 

The Matthews Baartmans Conspiracy – [distant chatter]: Album Review
BY JOHN BARLASS ON 31ST OCTOBER 2021
Iain Matthews and BJ Baartmans reflect upon life under lockdown – and offer a few answers!

Release Date: 17th September 2021

Label: Talking Elephant Records

The Matthews Baartmans Conspiracy - [distant chatter]: Album Review – At The Barrier

 

Saw the Matthews/Baartmans Conspiracy live last month. Excellent!

 

Iain Matthews en BJ Baartmans in Leeuwarder Troubadours treffen

Singing some Waits...sublime.

 

Saw the duo live, recently. Excellent show.

 

Important news for Plainsong fans!

Hello there,

As someone who has bought an Iain Matthews/Fairport Convention title directly from us previously, we wanted to give you advance information about a new title in the same family, and a chance to order a signed and numbered edition before the deadline of 14th March 2022. The book is In Search of Plainsong by Ian Clayton. It tells the full story of the original incarnation of this incredible group. A Deluxe Edition comes with an exclusive CD of a previous unreleased live recording of Plainsong at Folk Fairport in Amsterdam.

In the autumn of 1972, Plainsong released their beautiful debut album In Search of Amelia Earhart. It was the height of the golden era of English folk rock. The record received universal critical acclaim for its musicianship and sublime singing, but just three months after its release the group disbanded in acrimony. How could a group capable of such exquisite harmonies disguise such disharmony within themselves?

In the fifty years that have followed the album’s release, what we know about the original incarnation of Plainsong has been shrouded in myth and misinformation. In Search of Plainsong tells the true story of the group and their classic album for the first time. It is a cautionary tale told through the voices of the key protagonists and those who were lucky enough to see Plainsong in full flight or bought the album first time round.

In Search of Amelia Earhart remains a folk-rock classic. For those who don’t know it, it might just be the greatest debut album you never heard.

‘A group that doesn’t come up and sock you in the eye, all decibels blaring, but kind of sneaks up and insinuates itself into your psyche almost before you have begun to notice it. By that time you are hooked by its gentle genius.’ – Karl Dallas, Melody Maker

‘In Search of Amelia Earhart is, and let us not mince words, the finest display of gentle, sometimes liltingly so, English folkiness and rockabilly to surface in a long while.’ Cameron Crowe, San Diego Door

‘A startlingly fine album.’ Charles Shaar Murray, NME

Foreword by Clinton Heylin

This book will go on general release in Autumn 2022, but we will be releasing advanced copies of special signed and numbered Deluxe Edition in Spring 2022 exclusively from this website. The Deluxe Edition comes with a CD of a previously unheard Plainsong concert, recorded at the Folk Fairport Cafe in Amsterdam in April 1972. (Click here for more details on the CD.)

The numbered edition is limited to advance pre-orders only. To guarantee a numbered edition, please place your order by Monday 14th March. Books will be despatched shortly thereafter.

Click here to order

Many thanks for ordering direct through us. It makes a difference.

All the very best

Route
www.route-online.com

 

Great news. I’ll be ordering in the morning.

What a superb album in a year of great releases. I’m a major Andy Roberts fan going back to the Liverpool Scene so this release is a “must”.

 

Yes...Andy is a great one. I have these:
Home Grown
Nina & The Dream Tree
Everyone



Great to know that Andy & Iain stayed in touch and recorded more together years later.

 

It sure is!

I've got the above, along with:
Urban Cowboy
Andy Roberts & The Great Stampede

and the 2CD comp (on Castle): Just For The Record.

Home Grown is my favourite and I prefer the original RCA release rather than the adjusted B&C reissue from '71.


And now, back to Iain...

 

The Plainsong 1972 Amsterdam gig is icing on the cake. I hope this recording sounds decent and not rough. I don’t think I should get my hopes up though.

 

I contacted Route to inquire about the quality of the Amsterdam gig. They were nice enough to include a sample. All things considered, it sounds very listenable. I went ahead and ordered a copy of the book. In Search of Amelia Earhart is a desert island disc for me so this was a no-brainer. I tried to include the sample but I’m having technical difficulties. All I can say is it sounds fine and not like it was recorded with a blanket over the tape deck in the parking lot.

 

What did it cost with postage n' all?...USD$

 

$65 bucks or thereabouts.

 

Iain Matthews & The Salmon Smokers

Iain Matthews – Fake Tan: Album Review
BY JOHN BARLASS ON 8TH FEBRUARY 2021

Live and kicking ass still!


Iain Matthews has a remarkable CV. From his formative days with “English surf outfit,” Pyramid, via Fairport Convention, Matthews’ Southern Comfort, Plainsong and an extensive solo career, he has ploughed diverse furrows that have seen him hailed as, amongst other accolades, the finest British exponent of the Americana genre. Since 2000, Iain has been resident in The Netherlands and last came to our attention in mid-2020 when he released the fourth album by the revived Matthews’ Southern Comfort, the excellent The New Mine.

Now, Iain’s back with a new solo album that revisits his extensive back catalogue to give us a string of interesting, sometimes radical, reworks of a selection of old favourites. The story goes that Iain had, for some time, been looking for a new musical direction, and a chance encounter with Norwegian promoter Tom Skjeklesaether resulted in Iain getting together with the renowned Norwegian backing band The Salmon Smokers to record and hopefully tour the rejigged songs.

Along with The Salmon Smokers – Eivind Kløverød on drums, Finn Tore Tokel on bass, Omar Østli on guitar and Freddy Holm on just about everything – Iain has recorded more than 20 tracks from his past archives, including favourites from his live sets, plus one completely new song. Eleven songs have been selected from this marathon session to form Fake Tan, an intriguing and wonderfully enjoyable collection.

Iain still sounds as fresh as ever and turns in some fantastic vocal performances. He’s lost the slight American twang that he acquired during his long sojourn in the USA and the boy from Lincolnshire is now clearly detectable in some of his vocal inflections, and that gives many of these songs a warm, comfortable feel. The band is outstanding; the backing is never overcooked and the instrumentation knits together perfectly, regardless of the musical style chosen to embellish these reworkings. That’s quite a range, encompassing jazz, Doors-like rock, swamp-rock, country, soul and even a splash of reggae! What these songs do have in common is a refreshing difference to their respective original versions. For Woodstock (the big hit, which topped the UK singles chart for three weeks back in 1970) we’re treated to tinkly guitars, a big chorus and a reggae-fied instrumental break in which the original pedal steel solo is replaced by distorted guitar and a soulful vocal from Iain.

Likewise, the new version of Battle Of Gruene Hall is a classy, jazzy, shuffle; 1998’s Something Mighty is reimagined as a folky, acoustic number that retains its punchy immediacy; Southern Wind (originally from the 1971 If You Saw Thro’ My Eyes album) is given a makeover that manages to retain its vivid Texan desert imagery and Iain’s soulful vocal treatment of Jules Shear’s epic Following Every Finger is backed by jangly mandolin and a lazy slide guitar. If all that’s not enough, Dylan’s It Takes A Lot To Laugh is given a completely new disguise as a swampy, guitar-laden gumbo that would slip comfortably onto Dr John’s seminal Gris-Gris album.

Fake Tan is an excellent album from start to finish. For me though, there are four tracks that especially hit the spot. The album’s sole new song, I Threw My Hat In, is an entertaining piece of abstract autobiography in which Iain recalls tribulations right through his journey from Muswell Hill and Fairport back in 1968 to Amsterdam in 2020. Reno, Nevada, the Richard Fariña song that was a staple of the early Fairport live sets and which has become an Iain Matthews signature song is reworked with a ‘Riders On The Storm’ feel on which bass and piano combine marvelously and Iain delivers yet another top-notch vocal. Iain excels similarly on If You Saw Through My Eyes, the title track of that 1971 album, and even more so on the CD bonus track, Keep On Sailing. Previously conceived as a big ballad, here it’s presented as a soft, folky number with some terrific banjo and pedal steel work to back up that awesome vocal. A sublime end to a tremendous album.

Watch Iain Matthews and The Salmon Smokers perform Battle of Gruene Hall here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_fT0Qk0iNE