Allen, A. P. And Homewood, P Foreland Basins

Widespread respect for Earl Hooker, one of the unsung giants of the blues, is long overdue, and his rather limited available discography belies a great original talent. P-Vine Japan has attempted to put this right with Blues Guitar: The Chief and Age Sessions 1959-1963, an intelligent and authoritative collection of Hooker's early-'60s heyday, containing instrumental classics such as "Blue Guitar" and "Blues in D Natural." Both sound quality and packaging supersede all previous reissues of this work and, as such, this release becomes perhaps the cornerstone of any Earl Hooker collection.

English singer-songwriter Jon Allen follows up Dead Man’s Suit and Sweet Defeat with his third album, Deep River. The most immediately arresting thing about Jon Allen is his voice, which we can only imagine he has acquired from a Bluesman after beating him in a game of cards in a bar somewhere in New Orleans. Allen’s haunting voice, which sends shivers down the spine, conveys pathos, pain and wisdom in equal measure. If he sang the phone book it would sound profound. Thankfully, Allen has no recourse to such banality, and he has once again assembled a strong collection of thoughtful and striking songs. Deep River, as even the name suggests, has strong blues roots, and the occasional strains of the harmonica shores up the conjured illusion of a wander across the American south.

The Afrobeat legend Tony Allen died in the spring of 2020 at the age of 79. The year prior, the iconic drummer wrote and produced all of the beats for a newly announced album: There Is No End is out on April 30, the anniversary of Allen’s death, via Blue Note. There Is No End was produced by Allen, Vincent Taeger, and Vincent Taurelle. The 14-track LP features guest vocals from Danny Brown, Sampa the Great, Lava La Rue, and more. Today, Blue Note has released lead single “Cosmosis” (featuring Skepta and Ben Okiri), which is co-produced by Allen, Damon Albarn, and Remi Kabaka.

Where a slow-burning, word of mouth campaign was hugely beneficial to Jon Allen – his debut album, 2009’s Dead Man’s Suit, was given a sizeable leg-up by one track’s use in a Land Rover campaign, while champions included Jo Whiley, Jools Holland and Emmylou Harris – second album Sweet Defeat not only has the task of matching this, but is also burdened with the albatross of assumed instant impact. But it seems as though that’s the last thing Allen is worried about. While his passport may substantiate the on-paper Britishness of this Hampshire-born artist, his yarns and philosophies paint a picture of a grizzled American folk musician, decades of abandon behind him. Sweet Defeat, in this vein, employs good honest rock'n'roll ideals, actioned via a collection of simple, folksy melodies.

Mother Gong's first album Mother was released in 1978 and the band found Gilli Smyth collaborating with many musicians including Harry Williamson and various friends and family including on this album Owl In The Tree from 1990, former partner Daevid Allen. The album is split into two halves and both Allen and Smyth work well within the limitations set out by vinyl bearing in mind that the days of vinyl made for a more convenient division, which is defined, by the individual styles of both Allen and Smyth. The album is a mix of both styles including Allen's blissed out space rocker style and Smyth's more laid back fairy tale recitations and a smattering of typically Gong like instrumental work.

This CD presents the brief but remarkable output of songs by Duparc during his artistic period that was cut short by a nervous affliction. These works are beautifully performed by mezzo-soprano Sarah Walker and baritone Thomas Allen, with sensitive piano accompaniment by Roger Vignoles. The collection opens with Duparc's best known melody, L'invitation au voyage, which is a setting of a text from Baudelaire's Les fleurs du mal. The lovely rolling impressionist piano harmonies are played with exquisite fluidity, as they underscore Walker's velvety and intimate vocals. The Sérénade florentine is an impressionist lullaby to a loved one, delivered with touching emotion by Thomas Allen. Extase, Elégie and Testament show the influence of Wagner, and the Chanson triste is one of Duparc's early, Gounod-style songs. Au pays oú se fait la guerre (1869) is also an early work, but is particularly entrancing with simple modal harmonies and easily perceived song construction. By sensitive use of passing tones in the piano, the harmonies are subtly redefined and the music is extended dramatically toward the end by expressive on-rushes.