Andrew Gordon – You Don’t Need A Beard To Sing A Folk Song (unsigned)

We don’t usually review CDs that have been kicking about for a while and we don’t usually review completely unknown artists but it’s our site and, well, we’ll do what we like, thanks. A couple of weeks ago at the Perthshire Amber Festival, folkingool was sitting in a bar having an innocent whisky or two when a man walked in. That man was Andrew Gordon, a fairly innocuous looking chap who could have been any old Pitlochry pub regular. But he whipped his bodhrán out and the room fell silent.

Heavily inspired by the Corries, Gordon’s set was peppered with old Corries battle songs and the odd Irish number (Black Velvet Band) and a couple of self-penned tracks. He wasn’t the finest singer or the best guitarist ever but there was something compelling about his set and his passion.

The title, You Don’t Need A Beard To Sing A Folk Song, is inspired by the very same reaction folkingcool had when we saw him. Gordon doesn’t have a beard and he couldn’t look less like a folk singer if he tried. But he sure as hell sounds like one.

And the album (which was released in 2007) is likeable and well produced. It features a few rousing tracks such as Kelty Clippie and Black Velvet Band and the original (irritatingly catchy) Proclaimers-esque title track and it’s these he’s great at.

That’s not to say the others aren’t grand but Gordon’s voice – which is clear and seductively tuneful – is better suited to rollicking numbers. His original Farewell, which is Christy Moore-lite, just doesn’t stand up adequately to the other tunes and does his voice no justice. Storm is better but he’s still not Christy Moore. That said, he’s certainly worth checking out live and worth the repeat listening my CD player is being subjected to.

Hazel Davis

http://www.andrewgordon.co.uk/cds.html