Like an anchored buoy in a sea of change, Alan West is
prepared to stand firm amongst the contemporary new wave attaching itself to UK
country music. Not afraid to mix it with the young pretenders (including
hosting a mid-winter festival featuring
many and playing C2C pop up stages), Alan is acutely in touch with his perception of country music and ALL
THINGS FOR A REASON refuses to budge from a deep passion installed many years
ago.
Alan first crossed my path around half a dozen years ago
when supporting Hal Ketchum in Wolverhampton and although active on the UK
scene for a number of years, this new album is only his third studio release.
However, alongside his long term accomplice Steve Black, Alan has recorded an
album strong on principle and a timely reminder why country music possesses
genre credentials. Questions are often raised about British artists positioning
their mind 4000 miles west when making music, but Alan fully understands the
country music market having some affiliation with the romanticism of American
culture and he refrains yielding from these shared ideals.
For the eleven tracks that add up to the sum of this full length
release, two are borrowed, with the remainder predominately coming from the
trusted pen of Steve Black. The most striking of these solo writes is the quintessential
American storytelling epic ‘Numbers’.
The style and theme may be far from virgin ground but the song is expertly
constructed and delivered with its developing heartfelt sentimentality. While
the themes of many songs are explicitly wrapped in the Star Spangled Banner
such as ‘Come on Home’ and ‘Hillbilly Woodbines’, Alan wisely steers
clear of pseudo accents and thus retains authenticity in being a trusted interpreter of international country
music.
Released on UK independent label NEO Music, ALL THINGS FOR A
REASON had its final stages of fruition come together in a Nashville studio,
often the ‘go to’ destination for the recording of a country album. Nashville
has also played an important role in the career of acclaimed US songwriter Hugh
Moffatt who kindly donated the album’s second track ‘The Way Love Is’. The other borrowed tune is far more familiar and
Alan unashamedly hasn’t dug too deep for it. Admittedly, up tempo versions of ‘Take Me Home Country Roads’ are more
suited to this John Denver classic but this hasn’t deterred Alan going in the
opposite direction leaving the listener to ultimately decide on whether it
works.
Other tracks of noteworthy on the album, although it has to
be said that each one is there on merit, include the Tex-Mex border feel to ‘Maria Delores’ and ‘It Pays To Be’ which takes the award of being the most retro
friendly track, cue a rustle through Hank’s back catalogue to find its
inspiration. Alan’s sleeve notes use the analogy ‘all things for a reason’ to
explain the lengthy gap between releases and follows this by using the album’s
title as the closing track thus preaching the philosophy of never giving up.
The true beneficiaries of this theory are the listeners to
ALL THINGS FOR A REASON and they will be grateful that Alan and Steve persevered
with the making of the record. Engaging and interesting songs supported by
musicianship curated to provide the essential country sound make this an album
worth investing in. It also provides a focal point on the UK scene to ensure
contemporary artists don’t drift too far away from the ideals of country music.
www.alanwestmusic.co.uk
Midwinterfest
