Neil Adam & Judy Turner – New Dogs Old Tricks

“What is it that makes this CD so instantly engaging?
Perhaps it is the certainty of rhythm that underpins every piece, maybe the shifts of mood
and style from track to track, per-
haps the whimsical song selection, or maybe the sheer sweetness of the singing of Rebecca Rigby.
In the first track, a Tim O’Brien song with the curious opening line: “sosify doh soh la cerie” Rebecca Rigby’s voice on the first chorus line has a clarity and sweetness that emphasises the whimsy of the concept “Climbing up that Music Tree”. She sings again, particularly, the haunting Bird in a Cage – a Kentucky prison song.
While firmly grounded in Australian, American, English and various Celtic music traditions, there are tantalising hints of other exotic flavours. On tracks 4 and 5, Gus Rigby’s alto sax solos add a tang of something Latin. On other tracks, some beautiful flute playing by Winsome Adam compels your
attention and of course, there is the
saw! – Double tracking on “The Music Tree”, slipping into the mix
on other tracks, this is Judy Turner’s virtuosic party trick, an art that secured her a cameo appearance on Rove Live. The track selection is enormously varied through obscure
American traditional songs to an old Bob Dylan number. There are arrangements of Robert Louis Stevenson’s verses and of course a wealth of tunes.
Throughout the CD Neil Adam’s singing and fine guitar playing thread the tracks together into a most satisfying piece of listening. The instrumentation is great and the arrangements bear a very particular stamp.
After you’ve listened to it a couple of times you’ll find whispers of tunes and phrases from songs have fixed themselves into your thought patterns! Welcome them and keep humming!
Review by Therese Virtue