Anna Lavigne
Roses For the Ride
Barbaraville Records
Grown-Up Late Night Avant Garde Dinner Jazz Loveliness With a touch of Celtic Charm Too.
Even though I’d met her a couple of times in the preceding twelve months I was totally unprepared for the sheer loveliness and all around quality of Anna Lavigne’s debut album ANGELS IN SANDHOES in 2020; and when she got in touch a couple of weeks ago regarding this release I was genuinely worried that she and Producer Martin G Stephenson could hit those heady heights a second time, in a year.
More fool me!
The couple appear to have created a distinctive ‘sound’ that pulls several genres together, that in lesser hands could be a right mish-mash; but here, turns out to be quite stunning; starting with the delightful Yellowhammer Way, which has an Avant-Garde/singer-songwriter feel to it; and reminds me very much of a young Marianne Faithfull about it; yet tucked away in the shadows is a distinctly Folky fiddle ….. and it works so well.
This is followed by French Honeysuckle Mood which turns things upside down by being a gorgeous Jazz-Lite missive that literally purrs with every note and stanza. Also; it’s the type of song that even someone like me could imagine what the accompanying video ‘should’ look like.
As a long time fan of Martin G Stephenson I can tell that his hands are all over the production here; but Anna’s voice and her songs are unlike anything he’s ever released under his own name.
Even if you’re playing this album as ‘background music’ you will nonchalantly find yourself tapping your foot or hand along with the melodies; which Ms Lavigne is never afraid to use to compliment her smoky late night singing style on the likes of Foolish Heart, Lila or the finale Last Song, which just oozes 60’s grooviness ala Ms Faithfull and/or Sandie Shaw.
While there’s generally a laid back vibe to most of these songs; Anna can go deep when she feels the mood; which is where the dark and doomy This Time comes into the equation; full of garage-guitars and lightly but firmly brushed cymbals too.
I know exactly where this album fits in my collection; but the wider population? I’m less sure; and with no money tree to shake for a marketing budget; the likes of Uncut and The Guardian readers are going to miss out on an album that has the capacity to change their lives; with Nostalgie de la Boue and the gorgeous Foolish heart in particular, which somehow adds a slight reggae lilt to the Dinner Jazz sound that alongside Anna’s enchanting voice to create a song that will stop them right in their tracks at their Saturday night dinner parties; or Sunday mornings drinking strong coffee and reading the papers on the boulevards of Shoreditch and Bearsden.
I’ve already lost count of the times I’ve played this album in the last few days; it just has that effect on you; with two songs that are especially magical yet from opposite ends of Anna Lavigne’s musical spectrum; Old Road is as Folky as this album gets; but with an Americana sensibility too as Anna dips her toes into Nanci Griffith territory; and the harmonica/guitar parts sound absolutely wonderful too; which then leads me to my Favourite Song by a gnat’s hair ….. Mindblown, which again dabbles with 60’s grooviness before Anna comes out of leftfield with a startling and timeless song that will mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people at different stages of their lives; which is quite some achievement.
While Martin is very involved with this project; and many of his fans will be interested simply because of that ….. but be under no illusions; this is very much an Anna Lavigne record and all the better for that; as she has a rare talent that needs to be admired because of its very own quality.
MUSICIANS INVOLVED
Anna Lavigne: Lead & Backing Vocals & Piano
Martin Stephenson: All guitars, Dobro, Harmonica, Keys
Ivan Korop: Gipsy Jazz Guitar track 7
Niles Krieger: Mandolin tracks 1 & 4, and Violin track 1
Bruce Michie: Tenor & Baritone Saxes, Trumpet, Trombone & Clarinet
Al Thomson: Tenor Saxophone tracks 2 & 6
Edmund John Sloggie: Accordion
Chris Mordey: Electric Bass
Graham Anderson: Double Bass
Charlie Smith: Drums & Percussion
Released November 5th 2021
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https://daintees.bandcamp.com/album/roses-for-the-ride
The Rocking Magpie 