I have always been a fan of Gerry Spehar. Well, I say “always”, what I mean is I reviewed his debut record (just the 30 years in the making and its superb follow up.
It’s that follow up, the wonderful “Anger Management” that most resonates here, too. That was a damning excoriation of Trump and the “post-truth” world.
“Lady Liberty” – its no coincidence that it comes out just as the orange liar is clearing his fat ass out of the White House after inciting terrorism and displaying a lack of maturity that would have got my two year old niece a telling off for being silly – could be seen as the companion piece, I suppose, but there is so much to say that it is anything but triumphalist.
“Lady Liberty, Day One” has a sort of laid back California edge (it is co-Produced by Paul Jacques from I See Hawks In LA, and it has that feel) but it’s the acerbic edge to the lyrics, as it partly mourns what has become of the nation, and partly looks forward to a future, that really hit home.
And its those words that make it such a brave record. From its knowing nod to the Stones in the opener, throughout, it is clearly a record that has been poured over and crafted.
“Laura Dean” is beautiful and poignant at the same time. Contrasting the experience of a young ER Dr, who has to turn the life support machines off, with the bellicose words of the bag of crap who lived at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Fragile and heartbreaking, it is superbly played too (there is a cast list of some fine, fine musicians here, not least the fiddle of Gabe Witcher).
He needs a mention too, because of the astonishing work he does on “Barrier Reef”, the first part of the “Immigrant Suite”, a 12 minute, three part epic, full of Latin flavours and dealing with the disparate tales of a trio trying to escape Central America for a better life.
The haunting harmonies of Christine Spehar colour “….Reef”, while the middle section “Boy And The Beast” has a real folk, dirt road, almost Woody Guthrie flavour, which contrasts with the last one, “Meet Me At The Moon”, which is so full of emotion it cannot be resisted.
From the great tradition of singer songwriters who want to chronicle the world around them, Gerry Spehar does more here, across these 20 minutes or so, than many manage in a career.
On the rare occasions I meet Americans (living in the middle of England they don’t often appear) I am always struck by how friendly and open they are, how they contrast with the America you see on the news.
Here’s another of the good guys, doing something magnificent
Rating 9/10
