He said it was important to let the song tell the tale when he sang ‘A Voice Over my Shoulder’. He spoke of his travels in the deep American south – starting at New Orleans and on up to Alabama, with the civil rights on one hand and music on the other. He sang songs of traveling, long gone folk with ‘Jackson Greyhound’, of the maturity of experience, lessons learned and hard fought for acceptance. This 70/50 show was a double celebration for Rab as he will be 70 this year and has now been performing for 50 years. It was a mash up of Dylan’s ‘Pity the Poor Immigrant’ and the Scottish song ‘Tramps and Hawkers’.įor his second set Rab started with ‘That Won’t Stop Me’ from his Treatment Tapes CD. A new stand out song was “a Scot’s song nod to Dylan and a Bob Dylan nod to Scot’s song” entitled ‘Tramp and Immigrants’. The ‘Twa Corbies’ was performed with Gaelic singer Kathleen Innes. In ‘Gently Does It’ he expertly played the melody on guitar as he spoke of being inspired by the acclaimed folk singer Alex Campbell a great performer with a gift for building up his set. Rab sang his trademark songs – ‘Together Forever’ (which was covered by the band Lindisfarne back in 1969), ‘Eden’s Flow’ and ‘Clear Day’ (a call and response song). I was impressed by these accomplished musicians. He introduced his band – Innes Watson (fiddle), Una MacGlone (double bass), Stuart Brown (drums), Una McImprov (guitar), Christine Hanson (cello), Lisbee Roo (Banjo), and Jill Jackson (vocals, guitar).
#Clear day rab noakes full#
The Fruitmarket was full of Noakes’ dedicated, appreciative and respectful fans. He kicked off the show with ‘Let The Show Begin’.
Rab looked smart in a black and grey stripped suit. That said, I can’t wait for the forthcoming album from Rab Noakes and indeed to the tour planned with Barbara Dickson, coming your way in April.An evening of song and stories with Rab Noakes.
Picking a favourite part of the night is therefore irrelevant too. I concur with Rab, that having “favourite songs” is not relative, as it changes so often.
Both very different songs, showing the breadth of Rab’s material. The second half also saw a couple of interesting cover versions, firstly I’m Only Happy When It Rains (originally performed by Garbage, from Wisconsin) and a joint performance with Barbara Dickson of Buttons & Bows (from the film The Paleface with Bob Hope and Jane Russell). Dylan was mesmerised and took the ghost of Buddy with him through his career. Talking of visuals, the power of Rab Noakes’ performance also reminded me of Bob Dylan’s description of the night he saw Buddy Holly just days before he died. Not because of the aesthetics of the venue or the performers, but due to the sheer pleasure of the evening and allow my brain to process the music without the visuals. I found myself throughout the night with my eyes closed. Rab’s influences from artists of this time shone through and I was minded throughout of the works of Boudleaux and Felice Bryant (as featured on Rab’s previous release, Just In Case). Emmett performed minstrel shows from the early 1920’s into the 1950’s and is credited with influencing the likes of Hank Williams and Merle Haggard among others. The second half started off with a tribute to Emmett Miller & The Georgia Crackers. Rab calls it 21st Century Skiffle, but we won’t argue. If the first half was Nashville, the second half was Rab n Roll! If the first half was history, then the second half was the future, with Rab showcasing material from his forthcoming, working titled I’m Walking Here. Listening to the songs now, I fail to see why this album, and its singles, weren’t bigger hits at the time. Highlights were As Big As His Size, Sitting in the Corner Blues and of course, Branches and Clear Day. But then again, this was Nashville by Rab Noakes! Listeners to my regular show will know my thoughts on the country music genre, but I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed the first half. In the first half of the evening, Rab and band performed the Red Pump Special album in its entirety, assisted by some fine backing vocalists including Emma Pollock, Jill Jackson, Alice Marra and the wonderful Barbara Dickson. The two singles from the LP, Branch and Clear Day, became turntable hits, but failed to sell in sufficient quantities to make the charts.įast forwarding to Monday 27 January 40 years later, it’s shocking that the songs never made it.įrom Nashville to Muirend was the name of Rab’s appearance at this year’s Celtic Connections Festival, a night of the old and new. RAB Noakes’ third album, Red Pump Special was a high budget, Nashville recorded debut for Warner Brothers in 1974.
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