Ask someone to categorize Eddie Walker, and I guarantee
he/she will have to think for a minute. For the fact is that Eddie is
as varied-a-performer as there is on the British Folk Scene.
Not only is he a guitarist who plays blues, ragtime and bluegrass
supremely well, he also writes the occasional finely-crafted song. Add
to this his fine interpretations of contemporary songs from writers
such as John Prine; his nicely understated humour which always
manifests itself in his introductions; and one term would seem to be
the obvious description of Eddie. That term is “Mr. Versatile”.
But if we called him that, it would be a travesty. For the fact is that
such people are invariably Jacks of all trades and masters of none. But
not so Eddie. Here is someone with a formidable technique as a
guitarist: so formidable in fact that he has headlined a host of
festivals at home in the UK and also made many foreign tours.
So formidable was his technique that the great John James chose him as
his partner when forming the much-lauded and (much-lamented) duo
“Carolina Shout!”. It was that technique that led to him being booked
three times as a solo artiste at The Cambridge Folk Festival, Britain’s
premier event.
And this DVD shows he has lost none of his talent. He is filmed in two
settings: first a club in his native North-East of England, and second
at last year’s Cambridge Festival. And this DVD (his first) delivers in
a way his AUDIO stuff never quite has.
You see the DVD really brings the WARMTH of the man right into your
living room: the audio stuff never managed to convey it. True the light
tenor voice that has never forgot its Teesside roots was JUST as
winning on audio CD, but it takes that marvellously expressive FACE to
give it maximum value!
And one area where the DVD wins hands-down is in his vocal trumpet
impressions. They always were the best simulated trumpet sounds since
Jon Betmead and Earl Okin reigned supreme in that area some 25 years
ago: indeed it was his sheer degree of accuracy in mimicking a trumpet
that was the problem.
You see, on audio cassette/CD, this talent was wasted: the casual
listener would think it WAS a trumpet, and think no more of it. However
with the DVD, only when you see Eddie shape his lips, does it then
really hit home that here is a dazzling piece of mimicry.
And there are all the old favourites for Eddie Walker-fans like “Song
For Steve”: it is as good a DVD as it gets. But there is one aspect to
it that causes me some concern. And here’s what that is.
When it comes to the back cover of his CDs and of this DVD, I
am neither impressed by - nor agreeable to - his practice of listing
his SOURCE for a song in the place on the track listings where the name
of the WRITER should be shown. By this I mean the space in parentheses
after the song title. Better it always be the actual writer, even if
the names are sometimes completely unrecognizable to the modern
reader/listener.
Like which names exactly? Well, take his last CD. This showed “The
Glory of Love” with the noble name of the great Big Bill Broonzy after
it. Which is fine, insofar as this tells me that Eddie (and doubtless
his hero Steve Goodman) both learned it from Broonzy’s recordings. But
not me. I knew this truly brilliant Billy Hill song as a kid in the
very late Fifties/early Sixties, before (I’m ashamed to say) I had ever
heard of Broonzy. It was a “standard” played on the BBC Light Programme
all the time, sung by such people as (if my memory serves me correct)
Peggy Lee, Dean Martin and Jimmy Durante.
Now I know that somewhere in the details on all his CDs (and indeed
this DVD too) is a disclaimer to the effect that “the names shown are
not necessarily those of the writers of the songs”. But, the truth is
that a majority of the population do not read the fine details: they
just look at the tracks, and what THEY perceive to be the writer’s name
after it. And although I know very well that Eddie is too kosher-a-guy
to mislead anyone, the fact remains that a young person glancing at the
back cover will think “ah, so Big Bill Broonzy wrote that song!”
True, Eddie usually gives the writer credit somewhere in the liner
notes (I say “usually” because there is alas no mention of Billy Hill
in the “inside” notes of his last CD). But even if he ALWAYS gave a
mention to the writer in the liner notes, I still say, that this is not
good enough Eddie. For the fact is (sad to say) that many people never
bother with reading the liner booklet. (Yes, their loss I know: liner
notes can occasionally be the best part of a CD.)
And here a casual glance at the contents of the DVD sees the following
song listed: “Over The Rainbow”, and then in brackets, what do we see
after the song title? Why the name “Judy Garland” of course!
Yet, the lyrics were written by the great Yip Harburg, and the melody
by Harold Arlen. Writers didn’t come much more celebrated than these
two.
And these guys brilliantly succeeded in putting themselves inside the
head of a pre-pubescent girl in ankle socks, played by the 16 year-old
Judy Garland. Evidently they succeeded too well: because SHE gets the
credit here, some 65 years later! And these two giants don’t get a
mention, inside or outside the DVD.
Personally, I have never thought “Rainbow” such a great song outside
the context of the film (in performance Eddie juxtaposes it with
his blisteringly good version of Woody’s “Do-Re-Mi”), but these guys
have between them written true gems: none better than Harburg’s “Buddy
Can You Spare A Dime?” And their memory deserves better than to be
missed off the credits, and for the little girl in the gingham dress to
take their place.
But what the heck! It is a piffling thing compared to the quality of
the product here. Readers of this review should not let this stop them
from buying a DVD that really DELIVERS in a way that’s over and
above the way Eddie’s CDs ever did. Buy at £15 + £1.99
p&p, from Eddie at eddie.walker13@ntlworld.com
Track List (total running time 88 minutes - no
individual timings shown, nor - in view of my above comments -
will I list the sources shown!))
Copyright © 1998-2008 Kevin & Maxine’s Celtic & Folk Music CD Reviews. All rights reserved.
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