Highlights: Roadio Rose, Blue Eyed Baby, Maple Street, For The
World
If you happen to know a
few things about Ed Askew prior to listening to this album, you must have spent
some time scraping the bottom of the 60’s barrel. Back in 1968, when everybody
had a record out, Ed had one of his own. It was called Ask The Unicorn and it slipped through the memory holes and the
holes of history like an obscure and not particularly brilliant acid folk
record from 1968 should. Now this man is back.
A has-been who
semi-successfully (I’m being generous) resurrected his career in the new millennium
and then suddenly, in 2013, recorded one of the most beautiful albums of the
year. Everything about For The World is just so tasteful and nice: the cover painting showing the man himself, a song called “Gertrude Stein” (which sounds
like an accomplished sketch) and, most importantly, the actual music.
Which is folk music –
impressionistic, poetic, timeless-sounding. When you begin a 2013 album with an epic ballad that lasts seven and a half minutes – you either
know you are really good or you simply don’t give a damn. Must be a combination
of both for Ed Askew. At first it sounded too fragile and free-floating, but then
you get entangled into this thing, which is basically just an acoustic guitar,
a piano, occasional harmonica and Ed’s frail yet affecting voice. There’s
nothing especially catchy or hard-hitting about these melodies, but in some
strange way they are so bloody good they don’t even need you saying so (if that
makes sense). “Maple Street” breaks my heart and then the ukulele-based
title track (with, inexplicably, Sharon Van Etten) offers a bit of half-upbeat, unassuming optimism.
We do of course realise
that the album is for the world that wouldn’t care. Or notice. But this is
highly recommended to anyone who practices musical taste. And don’t we all love
great albums nobody knows about?..
8/10
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