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Ruf Records [Release date 25.06.21]
‘Life In The Pond’ isn’t quite the defining Roger Chapman solo album, but it’s a real return to form and a lyrical triumph.
With the exception of Bob Dylan, David Crosby and Michael Chapman (no relation), there can’t be too many other songwriters who are still a creative force in the autumn of their careers.
And while the focus has always been on his remarkable voice and wild live performances, lyrics have always been an integral part of what Roger Chapman is all about.
He’s long dabbled in rock, blues, funk, country and most significantly Americana, a genre which he returns to on this album.
‘Life In The Pond’ is his most lyrically driven album since the early Family days. It’s shot through with colourful imagery, dualistic word plays and is always delivered with a sense of humour.
The big difference is he’s traded his raw aggression and bluster for a more refined, contemplative approach. This is in turn facilitated by Poli Palmer’s unobtrusive production that sometimes uses electronic sounds to provide contrast for Chapman’s gutsy vocals.
Chappo’s record company Ruf have just released an accompanying video to the spiky ‘The Playtime Is Over’, on which his gentle vibrato teases out his colourful lyrics over an electro arrangement that could have come from his mid-90’s ‘Kiss My Soul’ album.
At the conclusion of the song he steps out of character to take a towel and stare at the camera with big scowl. And the 11 songs here provide sundry reasons for that scowl.
He opens strongly with ‘Dark Side Of The The Stairs’, a potent combination of esoteric lyrics and angular funk , while the single ‘The Playtime Is Over’ features the first of many word plays: “People say love a beautiful Sin.”
It’s a typical Chappo line, open to interpretation and shot through with the kind of humour that permeates the album as a whole.
There’s a contrasting heavier feel to the rhythmic rail road chant of ‘Nightmare #5′ on which the music evokes the noirish lyrics.
With the exception of ‘Green As Guacamole’ – on which a smooth arrangement and mixed back guitar feels out of place with the lyrical antipathy – the subtle textures always serve the song, while placing the emphasis on an array of Chappo’s vocal nuances.
His catch-all album title falls back on a naturalistic metaphor which links songs like ‘The Playtime Is Over’, ‘Nightmare #5 ‘and the lyrical twist of ‘Rabbit Got The Gun’.
Extending the naturalistic metaphor, the above songs could collectively be grouped under Henry David Thoreau’s notion of justified civil disobedience in an unjust state. In other words, there’s plenty wrong with the world and Chappos’ still angry enough to sing about it.
But just when you think you’ve he’s revealed a salient influence, he changes tack again to dip into Greek mythology on ‘Green as Guacamole’: “The harpies slithered down the tarmac.”
And while some of the songs sound like an extension of 2007’s ‘One More Time For Peace’, the production here is a lot less rootsy.
This extends to the ‘Walking The Cat’ era, electronic percussive feel of ‘Naughty Child’ with The Blue Nile style distant chimes and synth arcs. The song’s subtle funky groove leads Chapman to attack it with just enough grit and vibrato to evoke Family’s time in Lots Road, Chelsea and lead the number into a perfect chorus.
He’s equally good on the more stripped back ‘Lavender Heights’ which is the perfect vehicle for another poetic refrain: “There’s walls between windows and hours between dreams, hearts ever aching to touch the extremes.”
A perfectly weighted arrangement gives him all the space he needs for his weathered vocal to explore every emotional nuance over a languid organ line. Sonorous horns and impressionistic lyrics help fill his cinematic canvas: “Lavender memories, peekaboo nights, times to hold on to on lavender Heights.”
He consistently dives deep for his imagery, while his poetic wordplays perfectly fit his phrasing, and he never wastes an opportunity to sharpen a flinty meaning.
He’s almost celebratory on the zydeco tinged ‘Having Us A Honey Moon’ full of rustic fiddle, country tinged blues harp and a great resolving hook: “ We can take a good book to bedtime, better make it Mills & Boon. We don’t need to have a wedding, to having us a honeymoon.”
He further explores Northern Soul on Oscar Brown Jr’s ‘The Snake’, taking his cue from the Al Wilson version popularised by Tarantino.
‘Collar Turned Up’ is different again, with a piano line straight out of Fearless’s ‘Sat’d’y Barfly’ and a raspy rap with a catchy hook. This helps us overlook the occasionally forced line: “Twas a fortified deal from a man with a gun, wearin’ hair of a dog and skin of a python.”
Ultimately it’s all glued together by a judicious use of horns, an unexpected sax solo and a perfect lyrical resolution that sums up his music perfectly: “Collar turned up, hat pulled down, didn’t get it then….but I get It now.” ****
Review by Pete Feenstra
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
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