Fairway to Kevin

SOME of you may be aware that, some years ago, I was the guitarist with a little-known but passionately regarded Scottish rock band called The Kevin McDermott Orchestra.

I love Kevin, Jim and Steph forever and thereafter. An unbreakable bond was forged over the course of a career which, as is so often the case with bands aspiring to crack the big time, saw us booted from pillar to post and comprehensively boned by circumstance. This, however, didn't stop us from having an entire blue whale of a time for the most part - seeing the world and getting agreeably drunk in it, playing no end of raucous, pulverising, exultant gigs and recording some albums which I remain fiercely proud of to this day.

Up until now, it has always been difficult for me to write about Kevin because I was too close to the whole shootin' match and there was always a coterie of readers who were quick to cry foul if I appeared to be unfairly blowing my own trumpet, sliding my own trombone or polishing my own oboe.

With the benefit of time and distance, I can finally say what I always wanted to say - which is that I think Kevin is the best Scottish singer/songwriter of his generation, bar none. His songs possess a wisdom and integrity which seem to spring from an ancient, noble and omniscient source, characterised by lucid and painstakingly crafted similies and a wit as dry as the sun-bleached skeleton of a pteranodon.

The protagonists in his lyrics are often bruised but always, always unbowed - and even though he'll probably batter me for saying it, there is a rich vein of romanticism in the offhand, cautious but quietly sincere optimism of his songs which, as long as I've known him, has never deserted him.

Wise To The Fade is Kevin's first album in far too long. For once, I get to hear it as a punter and I can gleefully attest to the fact that it's a generous delight. The term "classic rock" is too often used as a shorthand stick to beat the unwary with, but in this instance I'm using it to suggest genuine old-school songwriting, performance and production values.

In fact, I would say that this is Kevin's most complete, fully-rounded album since 1989's Mother Nature's Kitchen. The sound is panoramic, spacious and thrilling, topped with luscious slide guitar and country-inflected double-stops and stinging arpeggios from brilliant guitarist/co-producer Stuart MacLeod.

The compositions, meanwhile, rank among Kevin's finest. The title track and Safe From Harm are bold, strong affirmations of a clear-eyed worldview which sees right to the far end of the long haul, while Edge Of The World is a lambent, wryly affecting token of undying loyalty:
"I'm trying to reach you
and though the stars would never lie
they tend to argue over
who sits where and why ...
I'll give you all of my keys
so I can hear you jangle through my soul
and you can come and go just as you please..."
Meanwhile, Entertaining Angels, September Songs and Watching Cartoons deliver admonitory slaps to the naysayers, the delusional, those who allow themselves to buckle under and those who see no silver lining in any given cloud (to my shame, guilty as charged on occasion).

September Songs in particular is just gorgeous - as sharply-focused as anything from the John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band album, with an emphatic, inarguable vocal.

Wise To The Fade makes me feel immensely proud of my mates and not a little emotional. It's like the blossom-strewn fruition of years of hard graft, proof positive of a thriving, kaleidoscopic world which exists beneath the media's radar, and a blinding beacon of hope for anyone who may have been on the verge of throwing in any kind of towel.

All that remains is for it to sell by the barrowload and make Kevin the household name and benevolent millionaire he has always deserved to be - so it's over to you chaps.

Wise To The Fade is available from www.nostringsrecords.com, background info can be gleaned from www.kevinmcdermott.co.uk and Kevin's pugnacious, freewheeling and vastly entertaining blogs can be accessed at www.myspace.com/kevinmcdermottmusic