Shine Eyed Mister Zen

Reading the blurb on the CD I spotted big names - Robert Johnson, Blind Willie Johnson . . . - but the strong impression I got when I put on the disc was of late sixties Soho and not the Missippi Delta.

I first heard Robert Johnson in the mid sixties, being a blues fan, and, in a strange way, the experience diminished my interest in country blues. What Robert Johnson achieved within the genre was so massive and extraordinary that there did not seem to be much for anyone else to do. Listening to the classic recordings was such an exciting experience. Robert Johnson's performance was something like watching a powerful train at full speed approaching a dodgy curve. Would it stay on the tracks? You know that Kelly Joe Phelps' train is never in any danger, however tricky the track becomes.

Loving "Roll Away the Stone", I ordered "Shine Eyed Mr. Zen". This is a superb recording which moves the music on from "Roll Away the Stone". The performance is passionate yet controlled. It has the same restrained power of a Glenn Gould Bach recording. The playing sounds so easy. This is a deceptive impression. Perhaps the word "zen" in the title of this album is a clue. There is some amazing guitar playing going on on this disc. That is not to say that the singing is any less important. In fact the beautiful way that the guitar and voice are blended is one of the glories of this recording. Kelly Joe has moved a long away along from country blues in spite of the superficial similarities of the sound of the slide guitar. Completely unconfined by any one genre, the music ranges through some strange landscapes whilst remaining truthful to the spirit of the material, both traditional and original songs conjuring strong atmospheres that you can almost breathe; a world you could step into peopled by folks whose hands you could grasp and eyes you could peer into if you were feeling brave. In this respect he is ploughing the same furrow as Bob Dylan with his recordings of "folk songs". No violation is done to the spirit of the original but there is something intensely personal in there. In this he is related to Robert Johnson but also other inspired performers of traditional music. Irish fiddler, Tommy Peoples, comes to mind. There is a handful of musicians who find the balance between being submerged in the music and still retaining sufficient air for essentially personal expression and, when this happens, it is very rare and special. The result is stunning as is the case with Kelly Joe Phelps. How do you take on a song like Leadbelly's "Goodnight Irene", which he must have heard a million times, and produce such a totally new and personal piece which is yet still recognisable?

In my mind's eye I could see Kelly Joe hanging out around Soho in the sixties with musicians like Bert Jansch, Davy Graham and John Renbourn. Their explorations of the areas between traditional, blues and jazz seasoned with dashes of baroque and near eastern music were the closest musical correspondences that came to mind. Have a look at Kelly Joe's website. He actually appeared with Bert Jansch in a television documentary last year. I'm feeling pretty smug about that!

Buy this album. It's unique and its totally great. It's brilliant that a record company (congrats Ryko!) is still prepared to promote "real" music; just a guy with a guitar and no technological interventions. With artists like Kelly Joe and Pierce Turner around perhaps we haven't come to the end of civilization as we know it . . . yet!