Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Jon Redfern plants a musical milestone, 16 Jan 2007
It took a little while for Jon Redfern to break into my psyche, but once he did, it was a first class seat that he claimed for himself, right there in front of the fire with his feet up and a glass of something very pleasant and no plans to leave! My first real contact was at the Reveal Records gig for Amnesty International at Derby at the tail end of last year where he and his band struggled against some strange sound system problems for a while, but were nevertheless impressive enough to make me fork out for this CD there and then.
Jon's music is just a pleasure to listen to. If this album had been released in the days when vinyl wasn't just the preserve of enthusiasts and dj mixers, then my copy would already be wearing out fast - very few days have passed without at least one play. Jon is a good writer of both tunes and lyrics, and he takes all the credits for these on "May be some time", as well as joint honours for the string arrangements. The CD opens with "I'm still young" which features no less than ten instruments, including Jon's acoustic guitar. This is a big band and Jon has used it to tremendous effect. It's always tempting to review a CD and say this sounds like a mix of so-and-so and someone else, but in Jon Redfern's case it would be a long, long list, there are so many differing styles here, but let me throw in Nick Drake and John Martyn , laced with a smattering of jazz and a pinch of Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band in this colourful curry.
It's no hodge podge though, the CD flows beautifully, and sometimes even seamlessly, from track to track, the music is mature and very well crafted, with no sign of the current trend for using lots of instruments because we've got them, rather than because they fit in. Jon's lyrics too are memorable, intelligent, snappy, sometimes witty - "Couldn't get rich quick, if you paid me" for instance and "Have you ever been searching, all your life" appealed to me. Track 3 "lost", has a lot of percussion, a bass and two guitars played with both hands up on the neck - mildly distorted vocals which might have been too murky and damp sounding, but the whole thing is brought to life by Patrick Durkan's glockenspiel which sparkles over the top.
Those arranged strings open "All this time 1" on track four which also has the brass section in action again - this is a magnificent piece which builds gently but insistently with the 6/8 beat, a train like rhythm and a swirling guitar over the horns and strings before suddenly fading out like "the dream has gone forever". This is followed by a short but exciting instrumental "Demons I", just Jon's guitar, a snare drum and lots of "orchestral percussion" which has a real firework quality to it, and leads into "Demons II" which continues the musical theme, but also has a delicious sax solo which later turns all a bit Pink Floyd for a minute towards the end.
Lyrically, the whole album has a touch of Peter Gabriel's "Salisbury Hill" to it - "I want to live my life, I don't want to live no other" and also "Got to let go of this feeling" - Jon sounds like a man who has made up his mind where to go and he's on his way - and - well I've been putting off trying to describe Jon's voice because it's just his own really - unique, understated yet powerful, stuffed full of feeling - clear - yearning, certainly never dull - tugging at your emotions all the time, whether up or down.
"Can't take the heat" finds Jon in a Youngish mood with a simple, rhythmic piano part, sung over, beautiful Rockets like violins (Lou Peacock), but with the Redfern touch making it something else altogether - a harmonium unpinning the second half of the track giving it depth and warmth. The harmonium is played by Jon's musical partner - multi instrumentalist Patrick Durkan - and Patrick is also responsible for much of the album's distinctive percussion sound, as well as being the other half of the arrangements team. The band also includes a cellist (Sarah Gill) and assorted brass, bass, piano and a cittern. The single - "I love the sun" is a lovely slow 3/4 instrumental with a short vocal in the middle - a hymn for lost friends perhaps is an absolute delight. This almost merges into the concluding track "Somewhere" with another great beat, more long brass chords and a mournful vocal before the mood suddenly brightens, the pace quickens, the glockenspiel shines again, the tension between the pace of the beat and the long restrained brass holds out to the end when suddenly, as if the clockwork has run out, the brass stops and a slowing rhythm section clatters to a halt and thats it. If you are anything like me, you'll be winding it up and listening again, and again, and again.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A QUIET STORM !, 5 Jan 2007
Jon Redfern is a new songwriter and musician with folk roots but diverse musical influences. Half British, half Chinese, he was born in Brighton, England and lived in North Wales from the age of 12. Jon..s songwriting style stems from the personal and acoustic tradition of John Martyn and Nick Drake and his broad musical influences range from progressive rock to jazz and world music. At the age of 11 Jon became interested in the electric guitar techniques and music of Edddie Van Halen and Jimmy Page. When he was 18 he swapped his electric for an acoustic and moved towards the playing styles of guitarists such as Roy Harper and John Renbourn. At this time he moved to Durham, England to study horticulture and became influenced by North Eastern folk music. Here, he developed his singing and percussion skills (playing tabla, congas and djembe) and at 22 joined the young borders band ..Tarras.., who shortly after signed a record deal with Topic Records. Over the next 5 years ..Tarras.. released 2 albums and toured extensively in Europe and the U.S. The band, which shared songwriting and singing duties, gave Jon a chance to find his own unique voice and to develop his arrangement skills. After ..Tarras.. disbanded, Jon moved between Manchester and the North East where he worked as a croupier. This gave him time to explore his solo songwriting, drawing from personal experience whilst broadening his use of musical influences to include: Steve Reich, Steely Dan, John Coltrane and Pink Floyd. ..May be some time.. was recorded in through 2005 and 2006, produced by ..Realworld.. engineer Ben Findlay. The album distills Jon..s experience and skill as a musician, songwriter, arranger and vocalist. The result is an album of intelligence and emotional depth, which repays repeated listening.
IF YOU ENJOY JOHN MARTYN, NICK DRAKE , JOHN COLTRANE.. THIS BEAUTIFUL ALBUM IS FOR YOU . THE FIRST TRULY GREAT RECORD OF 2007.
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