There may have been a vast ocean between their lands of
activity, but while Jackie Leven also departed too soon, he also left a massive
vault of legacy-laden songs which will keep the spark going for many years. The
highly personal link that connects both songwriters is one of the UK’s most
sincere and scholarly practitioners of roots music with a country tinge in
Michael Weston King. Along with multi-instrumentalist Michael Cosgrave, who had
a long association with Jackie, the two have paired up for an initial couple of
nights to share the lyrical and melodic talents of these gigantic influences of
song driven music.
For a combination of reasons, Michael Weston King had a
longer and more productive relationship with Jackie, but there was a sense
during this Kitchen Garden Café show that a shorter liaison with the genius
that is Townes Van Zandt was the greater legacy of this mini, but intense,
recollection of their work. Maybe this observation was heavily biased towards a
far more familiarity from my perspective of the work of Townes and admittedly
the key motivator towards adding this show to a busy itinerary. However two
hours after the two Michael’s left the stage, the awareness of Jackie Leven was
lifted tenfold, while the angle which viewed the work of Townes reminded those
present that there is far more to explore than the usual volley of classics
that merely represent the surface of his work.
The first hour of the show was dedicated to the work of
Jackie with Weston King’s vocals working in divine cohesion with the guitar,
piano and accordion of Cosgrave who chipped in with occasional comment as well.
Having appeared at the venue on numerous occasions before his death in 2011,
there was a sense that this well attended show was frequented by many of Jackie’s
fans and the selection of songs ranged from the popular ‘Main Travelled Roads’ to slightly hidden albums tracks such as ‘Ireland for Losers’. In his usual
slightly dry delivery, Weston King paid many humble personal respects to his
late friend including a stark reference to his style as ‘Celtic soul’. With the
perfect segue, the first half closed with a song Jackie penned for a Townes
tribute album called ‘Townes at the
Borderline’, ironically a project where the invited practice was to cover
one of his songs, but the true song writing maverick had other ideas.
If you want to listen to an intense collection of Townes
tribute classics then Steve Earle’s album of a few years ago simply titled
TOWNES is your port of call, although there is no substitute really for
listening to the man himself. Having supported and worked a little with Townes
in the early 90’s, Michael Weston King steered clear of the obvious path for
this hour long mutually pleasing bout of self-indulgence. The much covered ‘Tecumseh Valley’ and the overtly
energetic ‘White Freight Liner Blues’ were
probably the two most popular songs played as stories of their brief but ever
lasting relationship was punctuated by some of Townes more obscure numbers.
This included two tracks from Townes 1994 final studio album NO DEEPER BLUE
in ‘A Song For’ and ‘Lover’s Lullaby’. The tribute extended
further in the collaborative world between Weston King and Van Zandt with the
song ‘Riding the Range’, written by
Michael but honourably covered by Townes, being featured. Among the many
highlights of this second half stooped in sheer melancholy was the morbidly sad ‘Maria’ representing Townes at his
darkest finest.
Many thanks to Michael Weston King and Michael Cosgrave for
serving up this memorable evening of enlightened music and stories which was an
enthralling experience for us audience members. Apologies for this feature
being a little Townes Van Zandt heavy, but the work of this great song writing
visionary is an integral part of any country music education at whatever point
you acquaint yourself with the genre. Full respect also lies with the body of Jackie
Leven’s work and with this marker down you never know where your personal
musical adventure heads next.
www.michaelwestonking.com