John Devine – P.L.A.Y. (Own Label)
John’s a founder member of SleepingDogz, the fun acoustic trio in which he plays with Wild Willy Barrett and Mary Holland; and something of the iconoclastic devil-may-care wackiness of that outfit inevitably spills over into this, John’s first solo album. But more than that, its professed raison-d’être is a kind of musical exploration-cum-analysis of John’s lifelong relationship with Irish music and culture (he’s a child of 1950s Irish immigrant parents). John’s given the album an apt title, for it’s genuinely PLAYful, an exercise in imagination running riot, which happens also to be entertaining and interesting to listen to. It’s also a quite heady experience for the listener though: a true cottage-industry product involving quite a lot of multitracking, several guest musicians and a fair amount of incidental messing-about. It has that feel of a talented teenager being let loose in a recording studio and being encouraged to follow his aural fantasies with no holds barred; and this combination of proven musicianship, a keen empathy with the chosen idiom and culture and a slightly crazy (crazed) outlook in the end invariably produces some brilliant music-making.
The catch is that even the more adventurous of listeners are bound to demand a certain kind or level of consistency within the confines of a disc that’s made for repeated play, and while there’s virtue in the unpredictable and unusual the sheer waywardness of parts of P.L.A.Y. is likely to hinder its wider appreciation, at least among traditionalists. But so what, I say! I’m reminded of the early adventures of Frank Zappa, which I guess did much the same in exploring and exposing American culture and its byways in a wild, anarchic fashion that frightened all the horses (the man’s genuine affection and respect for that culture, like the end-product of his music, tended to be seriously misunderstood and unappreciated). Within John’s allotted 39 minutes, there are plenty of accomplished performances of deep-traditional Irish tunes (authentic, core-repertoire reels, jigs, airs, etc), some turning the corner into jazz or experimental fusion or filmscape or else transmuting into passages of cascading, crashing rock-band dissonance, juxtaposed with snippets of session chat, samples and craic or simply interfered with (tongue maybe firmly in cheek, sometimes irritatingly so, as in the case of the song performance that leads off The Butterfly – the underlying social comment is noted, and the “shusher” is amusing first time, to be sure, but less so thereafter).
Perhaps the weirdest part of the disc is track 6, which within the space of nine minutes moves through a bewildering array of musical adventures and atmospheres. The sections of “straight“ playing throughout the disc are scintillating, and the formidable contributions of the various extra session musos (who include Clive Carroll, Alan McLeod, Sam Proctor and three other Devines - presumably part of the clan) chime in perfectly with John’s own expertise (he’s a hell of a musician, notably on the uilleann pipes). And at the disc’s still epicentre, The Parting Glass is an unaffected, intimate (and uninterrupted) rendition by singer Katherine Rogan. Summing up: John has produced an interesting and fascinating disc, one which in presenting his own unique take on Irish music and culture might almost be viewed as open aural psychoanalysis; and it’s a privilege to be able to share in this.

www.johndevinemusic.com

David Kidman

The NAF club, The George, Silsoe, Bedfordshire. 6th April 2010

Just a few words about our April NAF. It was great to have the company of John Devine and his son Joe. Two talented musicians steeped in the Irish Traditional music scene. Not only do you experience the passion of the music but John has a wonderful way of entertaining his audience with the history behind the music and a few amusing anecdotes thrown in for good measure.

We caught John just before he started his UK wide tour with Wild Willy Barrett. If you want to see John in action again he will be playing at the Hitchin Folk Club (The Sun Pub) on the 2nd May. If you didn’t get chance to purchase John’s CD ‘P.L.A.Y.’ then it comes highly recommended. I can best describe it as Irish music meets Pink Floyd and I haven’t stopped playing it. John has invited many top musicians to support him on the CD and the musical arrangements are fantastic, exciting and push a few boundaries here and there with splendid results. It is also very funny with interwoven snippets of colourful conversations in Irish bars. Try John’s web-sites www.johndevinemusic.com or www.itunes.com/johndevine if you want to order a copy or let me know and I will see what I can do.

Ned Lawton, Club organiser