Anthony John Clarke at Parkgate Folk Club - 26/1/2006

Anthony John Clarke has been around the local folk scene for many years, has survived a teaching career and major heart surgery and is still going strong. I have only heard him once before, and that was at an outside gig on Fort Perch Rock, New Brighton at last year's "Folk on the Coast" festival here in Wirral, when I noted that he would be worth a second listen.

I still think Anthony John would be worth a further listen, but maybe in a while when he has moved on from his present show. I can see and hear a great song writer and performer in Anthony John, his guitar sound is assured and seemingly effortless despite its oft-time complexity, but yet his set seems somehow locked into a "Saturday night on BBC1 telly light entertainment" kind of mode. It doesn't help either that he is constantly doing himself down to the audience - his opening comments were that "WB Yeats once said that 'a song is never finished, merely abandoned' and that most of his songs should be", but his tone just hinted at an inner feeling of the pride that you would expect a song writer to have in his own work, and that in belittling the songs publicly, he was actually coming over a touch arrogant.

Opening with "Pretty Girl I've got my eyes on you" and then "Between Midnight and Blue" Anthony John showed that he can write great songs, but I have to ask myself why he needs to ruin them by having a synth playing plastic washes alongside him - his guitar playing is plenty good enough, and if he really wants to have a second instrument, why not another guitar? I've nothing against Liz mind - his keyboard player - her vocals harmonise well with Anthony John's and I guess that she could probably front an act herself if she made the leap, but the synth is just that - synthetic and not to my liking at all.

Moving on through a gimmicky "One Night Stand" to "The Only Life Gloria Knows" - we find AJC (I'm fed up of typing his full name in...) in social responsibility mode with this tale of a "Big Issue" seller from Liverpool 18 - sadly this song appears to have become a singalong without a hint of any action in it. "Millionaire Pie" followed and the first half closed with "Never get my Name Right" - which has a really nice guitar part to it.

In part two we were treated to some further of AJC's un-necessary and impertinent comments about his wife and his keyboard player - I don't like it and it has no place in our society - I really thought we'd stopped putting women down like that, and he does himself no favours in my eyes anyway. The songs included "An Acquaintance of Mine"and "The Broken Years" - AJC's best known song concerning the dreadful state of affairs that was Northern Ireland, then "My losing Streak Won't Budge" - more Saturday night TV, but his next song "xxxxx in my Eyes" was much better, with far less synth and some nice guitar playing.

Sadly, this improvement didn't last as we then came to "Blew them away" - a very clever and accomplished song except that it glorifies speeding and guns -hmmmmmmmmm. I honestly considered leaving at that point. Anthony John you can do far better than this.

"Lisa" - sung solo and better for that, but is such a negative song about a couple whose dream baby turns out to by quite severely autistic "and the effects of that on the family" - no mention of poor Lisa's outlook or the joy that she would have brought her parents - a view so typical of anyone looking in at a situation from outside.

The set drew to a close with "Fast Approaching 50" - written by Andy the bassist whose presence was otherwise hardly noticed - a cliche-country-and-western number, then "Will You Sing a Chorus With Me" and finally, "Tuesday Night is always Karaoke" - a potential rip-snorter that might have allowed the performers to let themselves get a little abandoned and let themselves go, but it didn't really -and it was too late anyway.

I wrote in my notebook that it was a "shame to start the year on a downer" - but that's how it is sometimes - as Mal said today, maybe he should go back to being "Clarkie" and then he might free up a little.


Nice things to say though too - this night couldn't pass without honourable mention to Brass Tacks, resident harmony band at Parkgate whose task it was to open the year and face the daunting proposition of telling the audience who hadn't heard of the sudden loss of Mary Gray over Christmas. It was a brave effort and well done for standing up and singing out - some of the songs had been Mary's favourites and "Mirabeau Bridge" (by James Keelaghan) was particularly poignant. Anthony John was also kind enough to dedicate his set to Mary. - Thanks to all.