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Angel Air [Release date 09.03.18]
Jim McCarty, of course, is known to rock fans as the long-standing drummer of the Yardbirds. Indeed, he is the only original Yardbird left in the latter-day version of the band and the only member to have appeared on all of the band’s recordings.
McCarty, however, has also had something of a career sideline as a singer-songwriter/guitarist, releasing ‘Out In The Dark’ in 1994 and ‘Sitting On Top Of Time’ in 2009. Now, for 2018, comes a third solo release: ‘Walking In The Wild Land’.
Completely, different from anything you might expect under the Yardbirds name, it’s an album of lovely, mellow, countrified rock in classic singer-songwriter vein.
While “drummer releases solo album” headlines might set alarm bells ringing in certain quarters there is nothing to fear here. There is some quality song-writing and deft musicianship on this album, from the laid-back charms of the title track to the melancholic ‘Changing Times’ to the jauntily upbeat delights of ‘Charmed’.
‘Connected’ meanwhile, with its jaunty piano refrain, put me in mind of a Sunny Afternoon-era Ray Davies.‘Soft In A Hard Place’ has a beautifully fluid guitar solo and on checking the sleeve notes we discover it’s provided by none other than Rush’s Alex Lifeson. In a way that sums up the album as a whole, quietly understated but unselfconsciously delivering something that is both elegant and meaningful.
Away from the Yardbirds drum-stool, ‘Walking In The Wild Land’ demonstrates Jim McCarty’s genuine gift as a singer-songwriter. This is an album well worth checking out – just don’t go expecting ‘For Your Love’ or ‘I’m A Man’. ***1/2
Review by Darren Johnson
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