Until about a fortnight ago I’d never heard of Michael Chapman. Browsing a review of Glenn Jones’s The Wanting, and searching for the CD on Amazon, the recommendation engine did it’s usual “People who browsed for this also shopped for” and Michael Chapman’s “Trainsong” caught my eye. Don’t know about you, but I usually ignore this, but for once I thought I’d give it a try.
How glad am I. For this record is a work of huge beauty. Chapman, now 70, has re-recorded 26 of his songs from his long career; just him and an acoustic. No vocals, no overdubs, nothing. And for a man who has belatedly come to love the fingerpicking style of mighty modern troubadours M Ward and Iron And Wine, this is manna from heaven.
Songs vary in style from John Fahey style slide (on the cunningly titled “Fahey’s Flag”), through beautiful meditations on nature (“Caddo’s Lake”), haunted country (“Slowcoach”), flamenco, blues, and even branch into Durutti Column style arpeggios (“Sensimilia”). 26 songs of character and grace, beautifully packaged with notes explaining the song’s origins, and, best of all from a sausaged-fingered galoot like me, the tunings he uses to make such gorgeous music. So a sausage-fingered galoot like me can spend happy hours murdering them to his heart’s content.
You can just picture yourself sitting in a log shack next to a lake, surrounded by forests and mountains, warm summer breeze gently rustling the threadbare curtains, whilst he plays these songs to you, the sound is that immediate. A fantastic record, which I cannot recommend enough. Go buy
Loft And Lost 