Martin Barre - Order Of Play

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:10
Size: 151.5 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Year: 2014
Art: Front

[5:15] 1. New Day Yesterday
[3:20] 2. Fatman
[4:17] 3. Watch Your Step
[3:46] 4. Crossroads
[4:36] 5. Minstrel In The Gallery
[4:49] 6. To Cry You A Song
[4:21] 7. Steal Your Heart Away
[8:50] 8. Thick As A Brick
[3:41] 9. Sweet Dream
[3:29] 10. Song For Jeffrey
[4:42] 11. Rock Me Baby
[4:40] 12. Teacher
[4:59] 13. Still Loving You Tonight
[5:19] 14. Locomotive Breath

It may be that with his latest couple of albums Martin Barre is finally exorcising the ghost of Jethro Tull. It can’t be an easy process, distanced from one of rock’s great franchises and ploughing your own furrow. But this is where he is in 2014 and to be frank he’s making the most of it. ‘Order Of Play’ could be seen as the perfect partner to the previous ‘Away With Words’. This time, thankfully, the electric guitar quotient is increased although Barre is still playing in very much a supportive and band context. The addition of Richard Beesley’s sax to old faithfuls like ‘Locomotive Breath’ and ‘Minstrel In The Gallery’ gives them a jazzier feel, and even the cynical will find that – overall – the new arrangements do the songs justice.

This isn’t just an album of Tull covers, though. Martin has seen fit to include ‘Steal Your Heart Away’, ‘Rock Me Baby’, and ‘Crossroads’ to provide balance to what is essentially a superior quality blues rock offering. The album is very well recorded too, also contributing to the fresh feel: it was done live in the studio with no retakes. No doubt all has been carefully road-tested over the past 12 months or so. Dan Crisp doesn’t try to ape the original vocals either, which is also refreshing. This album needs to be assessed, therefore, on its own merits.

Personally, I long for some of the more frenetic/cerebral guitar wig-outs that Barre has played with Tull and also on his earlier solo albums and the word is that his next album will be wholly original. Hopefully it will mark a return to more guitar pyrotechnics and a higher quota of harder rock. For the moment though, it’s time to luxuriate in a super guitarist for whom we have great affection and who is evidently really enjoying his freedom. It speaks volumes that days before the first gigs of his September tour he is rehearsing some new material and – like his albums – the live set-lists are varied and unpredictable. Go and give him your unqualified support. ~David Randall

Order Of Play mc
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