Description
Track List: 1. The Fun of the Chase, Take 1 2. Something on my Mind 3. Drive 4. Breathe Easy 5. Extreme Dreams 6. Happy As Larry 7. The Fun of the Chase, Take 2 8. Circles 9. Adrenalin 10. Remember 11. Moving On Happy as Larry by Andrew Clermont and Parris Macleod (2001)
The Story . . . ‘Happy As Larry’ is a pure Piano & Fiddle CD with flavours of Celtic to New Age styles. The Title track was nominated to the Golden Guitar Awards 2002 includes a couple more instruments from Clermont.
Bio
ANDREW CLERMONT: The borders of music tumble as multi-instrumentalist Clermont challenges the musical moment with his unique ability to be a chameleon on Violin, Viola, Mandolin, Bass, Double bass, Tenor Banjo, Didgeridoo, Dulcimer, or Voice, while also 3 time Australian Bluegrass Guitar Champion!
Jeff Lang literally threw his guitar off at Woodford when their duet performance could go no higher! Seen through the years beside songwriters including – Pat Drummond, Norma O’Hara Murphy, Brent Parlane, Elizabeth Lord, Greg Champion, The Waifs, Beccy Cole, USA’s Tom T. Hall & Kate Campbell, and creating sound-scapes to their stories. He also recalls a cherished duet with Paul Kelly. Or recently with The (infamous) Pigs – then lately in Europe with powerhouse Rob Longstaff.
Amongst a myriad of recordings for others, and solo CDs ‘The Longing’ & Homegrown Vol 2 here , there are also releases with his partner players & bands ‘Parris Macleod’, ‘Totally Gourdgeous’, ‘Fiddlers Festival’, ‘Terra Australis’, ‘The Lawnmowers’, ‘BackBeat’, ‘The Supper Club’ and ‘Dya Singh’.
Andrew Clermont & Parris Macleod – Happy as Larry by Chris Spencer.
Andrew Clermont probably needs no introduction to most of you who attend the major folk festivals around Australia. He’s the tall, lanky fellow carrying a stringed instrument who seems to turn up unannounced to accompany almost anybody who requests some exquisite fi ddle or mandolin embellishment without rehearsal. Parris Macleod is an arranger and multi-instrumentalist [but on this cd I presume from the pictures he mainly plays piano] who operates his own recording studio. At fi rst this duo seems an unlikely combination, as Macleod isn’t known to play folk piano! However they seem to take turns in taking the lead in alternating songs, while the other provides the support. In “The Fun of the Chase” which is over 11 minutes long over 2 different tracks, Clermont appears to have the ascendancy as he soars and dips. “Something on my Mind” and “Drive” sees the piano playing in the foreground and the fi ddle countering in the background. I particularly enjoyed “Breathe Easy” in its more balanced format; “Extreme Dreams” seemed a bit experimental or improvised; the title track is also another highlight – true to it’s title it is a jaunty, upbeat tune featuring mandolin – perhaps a little bluegrass creeping into the arrangement and rhythm. “Circles” is more refl ective, creating a relaxing mood; “Adrenalin” is a piano solo and is an inappropriate title. Another favourite is “Remember” on which Andrew plays some wicked sounding fi ddle over a busy underlay of piano. At one point the fi ddle sounds just like a person groaning. For those readers who like instrumental music that is not traditional in its approach, pairing an unusual duo of instruments, this album could provide much pleasure.
