Steve Turner – Late Cut
The Tradition Bearers – 7 December 2018
Steve Turner is a cricket lover who understands the merits of a good late cut. It’s a shot that any competitive batsmen, for as long as the game has been played, should have in their armoury. In an ever-changing environment where new innovations arrive thick and fast, the traditional craftsmen still make hay with little or no fanfare. For every doosra and dilscoop making the headlines, there’ll be a well-executed yorker or late cut that achieves the exact same end results. But the late cut is not without its risks; get your basics wrong and you’ll look like a tired player chasing something that’s long since passed you by. Faulty timing could easily get you caught out. However, get it right then peers and spectators alike will bow down to your accomplished capacity. Steve Turner has, with this new album, completed a fine late cut of his own.
In a recording CV that spans more than 40 years, English concertina maestro Steve Turner has slowly evolved into something of an elder statesman of his musical craft. His is a professional life that shows the value in single-mindedness, how passionately following a love of music can enrich a man. He didn’t commence on his journey too speedily either. Early attempts at formal musical training on piano and violin hit a brick wall, so it was actually a chance exposure to a Carolyn Hester vinyl LP that would lead onto the early Folk work of Bob Dylan; suddenly the flame was alight. But those early formative years bore little resemblance to the artist that is presented to us today. In fact, he didn’t even start to learn the concertina until the age of 23, instead hitting the folk clubs with his Dylan-esque sixties folk revival repertoire and then spending seven 1970s years with the band Canny Fettle. By the end of the decade, while other members of the group contemplated their futures away from folk clubs and touring, Steve and concertina were just finding their mojo, so he chose to continue alone. The 1980 release of debut solo LP ‘Out Stack’ on Fellside Recordings marked the beginning of a traditional, song-based exploration that has aged extremely well. ‘Late Cut’ is released this December (today in fact) on The Tradition Bearers label with two re-workings of songs that Steve first interpreted on his debut, in so doing it casts a line across a credible yet pleasingly unostentatious career.
So high is the esteem in which Steve Turner is held amongst peers that the glitterati of the folk world are scattered across the whole album. Sam Carter is heavily present on guitar duties throughout. Martin Simpson appears and is inevitably dexterous on five-string banjo while Eliza Carthy sounds as bright and gleaming as ever on harmony vocals. None of them are out to steal the show though. This is Steve Turner’s album and it’s clear that his high-profile comrades are on board out of sincere respect for the man. This is his moment to be centre stage, so his friends are merely dutifully tending to the backstage settings. But if we’re calling these players an audio version of a stage crew, then we should also say they are the best in the business. This is a West End standard presentation for sure!
The repertoire that Turner plays from here is a broad mixture of traditional, interpretations on work by songwriters that are close to his heart and some new compositions and arrangements by his own hand. One of the songs re-worked from that debut album is the Trad. arrangement of ‘The Two Sisters’. Originally collected by the seeker of Scottish Ballads Anna Gordon (1747-1810), this is the kind of heavily sung work that a concertina can truly prise some emotion out of. The thing for me about an English concertina is that it’s an instrument that becomes as one with the player. If that performer is doing a rendition of this tune, or the beautiful ‘On The Road To Tipperary’ (another superior piece of Steve Turner arranging), then that magical blend simply transforms a piece of music. The concertina can literally breathe and emote every last atom of feeling from the singers very core.
Fans of Nic Jones 1980 Folk classic ‘Penguin Eggs’ will surely have ‘Farewell To The Gold’ playing in the jukebox of their mind at the LPs very mention. Well, the composer of that wonderful song, Paul Metsers, has a credit in the song writing column on this new record too. Turner modestly acknowledges the privilege he felt earlier this year when his old friend presented him with a newly written set of lyrics meditating on the situation in ‘Palestine’ and accepted Steve’s offer to write some accompanying music. The completed piece is a non-political modern folk song that serves the tradition of humanitarian, topical songwriting with great credit.
The whole album is full to the brim of highlights and soon-to-be standard bearers. The closing track is a version of ‘Bide A While’, a song written by Tom Yates who was a friend of Steve’s on the Manchester folk scene in the late 60s, early 70s. This version is especially strong on harmony vocals with the Carthy and Carter contingent also being joined by Bob Hallard. It should be noted that Steve Turner himself is really rather powerful and resonant on the vocal front too. I also keep going back to the energetic ‘Ain’t Gonna Work Tomorrow’, another traditional song that has grown out of the American tune ‘Going To Leave This Country’. Here it is tackled with all the urgency and forthright vigour that such a relentlessly catchy tune demands.
Even though the CD sleevenotes acknowledge how ‘Late Cut’ is a nod to Steve’s love of the sound of leather against willow still, with the longevity of his career in mind, the title is also literal. This is a recording that could only be made by an artist with maturity; an artist who has lived, laughed, loved, lost and survived. Back at the start, having won a talent competition that aimed to uncover would-be stars of the 1980s, Steve sang Bob Dylan’s ‘Is Your Love In Vain’ on his first solo record. But he then put the song away for decades, confessing to underestimating its depth. But at this late stage, he can revisit it and unearth previously ignored layers of bathos in the work. Rather than a late cut, this interpretation is more of a reverse sweep; perfectly timed and played with comfortable assuredness, the ball runs crashing to the boundary.
Finally, it occurs to me when listening again (for this is a piece of work that deserves repeat plays) that were I to listen to this without prior information I would struggle to stamp a date on it. These tracks are neither old nor new sounding. This is music that exists in a timeless realm, as is the case with all great music recorded with love, mastery and sincerity. Steve Turner should raise his bat to the crowd. He remains at the crease and has built a long running innings with immense distinction.
To Order a copy, contact Steve Turner via info@steve-turner.co.uk
http://www.steve-turner.co.uk/
For all of Steve’s upcoming tour dates please visit: http://www.steve-turner.co.uk/gigs.htm