Albums

Album Review: John Meed

Album: Powder Of The Stars
Label: Unsigned

Based in Cambridge and Milton Keynes, but originally hailing from Manchester via Rochdale and Leeds, John Meed has, as you can imagine, an interesting accent. He learnt guitar and piano in his teens but only recently got back into writing music after early failures to complete projects. He’s heavily influenced by John Lennon and Ray Davies and it shows in his music which is based on people and events that inspire him. ‘Powder Of The Stars’ was recorded at Kite Recording Studios in Cambridge with several artists chipping in to add different dimensions to the finished product.

From the first track, John Meed winds simple acoustic Knopfler-esque patterns of guitar, mellotron and vocal. Some might think it simplistic bare-boned folk wheedling that smacks of self-indulgence and yet his music, given enough space to breathe, could easily soothe any troubled soul. ‘Le Train De Grande Vitesse’ is a fine example of what John’s lilting, part-spoken vocal and clever lyrics bring to the table, as they take you on a journey through the historical ages, whilst Jim Gosney accompanies adding a second acoustic guitar to the first - one creating a harmonising lead over the other’s soft plucking.

There’s a strange clash of cultures with songs of Rio, Leeds, Andalucia and France. A couple of the tracks have even been carefully translated into French but whether they benefit from the effort is clearly beyond me. There are tracks that feature upbeat moments of almost childlike frivolity whilst others plunge into sad reflection and have a tendency to get lost in themselves.

The addition of rhythmic Latin percussion to ‘Dreaming Of Rio’ makes it my clear favourite. Bossanova and swing combine with an innocent English vocal that makes me long for sun and sand whilst reality finds me staring forlornly at fog and frost. If gentle, easy-listening folk music is your bag then John Meed might well be worth getting to know a little better.

For fans of: John Lennon, Christy Moore, Ray Davies
Band links = John Meed

Tags: album, cd, john meed, powder of the stars, review, folk, ray davies, christy moore, mark knopfler

John’s review also appears in Music-Zine.

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