To quote the press release direct (not a common trait on SonicAbuse) “you wait a whole decade for one Ian Siegal live album – then two arrive in the space of a year.” Not an unprecedented event, perhaps, if you’re Dream Theater and release a live album at every opportunity, but for this talented blues artist ‘one night in Amsterdam’ is not only a wildly different beast to the acoustic ‘Man and guitar’, it also faces a challenge in that its predecessor was widely acclaimed (winning Mojo’s Blues album of the year award in the process) by critics and fans alike. If such things trouble Ian Siegal, it doesn’t show. ‘One night in Amsterdam’ sees Ian backed by Dusty Ciggaar (Lead guitar), Raphael Schwiddessen (drums) and Danny Van’t Hoff (bass) and from the opening bars of the opening track it is clear that Ian is enjoying the opportunity to plug in and unleash a furiously energetic set.
The album, recorded at the North Sea Jazz Club, opens with a storming rendition of ‘I am the train’, which pits a rumbling blues rhythm track against Dusty’s twisted surf guitar and the pounding rhythms section. Ian’s gritty vocal is perfectly matched by the musical backdrop and it’s hard to imagine people sitting still during such a blisteringly energetic song. Like a hot-wired Tom Waits jamming with Dick Dale, it’s a blues with one eye on the whiskey cabinet and it immediately showcases a very different side to Ian from ‘man and guitar’. ‘Brandy balloon’ is a funkier beast, the sort of thing you’d expect to hear Jimmy Vaughan and Buddy Guy jamming on at Crossroads, and the contrast between Ian’s gritty vocal and the nimble guitar work is particularly effective here. With a nicotine rasp and a hefty dose of humour, ‘Kingdom come’ is a clever mix of ‘rollin’ and tumblin’’ and latter-day Bob Dylan (think ‘tempest’), Ian proving to be a particularly dissolute narrator as the band lay down a smoking backdrop. A brief introduction paves the way for the first cover of the evening, ‘writing on the wall’ by Harry Stephenson, which proves to be a slower blues number mixing hard-edged social commentary with Raphael’s springy drum beat and countrified guitars. Another introduction brings us to Ripoff Raskolnikov’s ‘temporary’, a pop-infused blues number that is both graceful and soulful.
We return to Siegal originals with ‘Early Grace’, a gentle, rippling piece of music that leans heavily on vintage Tom Waits and which is greeted by respectful silence from an audience who have been very vocal in their support during the louder numbers. It’s a beautiful moment and perfectly captured by the pristine recording. Another cover appears next in the form of the rhythmic ‘Gallo Del Cielo’ (Tom Russell) which musically recalls Dylan at his most whimsical. One final original song remains, the beautiful, poignant ‘Queen of the junior prom’, the introduction of which is the closest this album comes to the quiet contemplation of ‘man and guitar’ before the song opens up to include the full band an extended solo towards its conclusion. The final two songs are covers. First up is ‘love hurts’ (Bryant), which benefits from a stripped down performance and a guest vocal courtesy of Tess and Gaerthe whilst Joel Gaerthe joins the band for ‘please don’t fail me’, which, with its lush slide guitar and vocal harmonies proves to be the perfect album closer.
Over the course of fifty-odd minutes, Ian Siegal and his band explore various facets of the blues with unerring success. The album touches against Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits and Buddy Guy and you can feel that the night was a special one, the CD perfectly capturing what must have been an electric atmosphere. Whilst this may be Ian Siegal’s second live album in a year, it is his first electric live effort and it forms the perfect counterpart to its acoustic predecessor and there is every chance that Ian Siegal will once again find himself heading the album of the year charts with this mesmerising effort. With a well-chosen selection of covers and original tracks, fans will be delighted with this disc whilst it also provides a perfect introduction for those who have not yet come across this most wonderfully engaging of performers. ‘One night in Amsterdam’ is a genuine treasure and highly recommended to blues fans everywhere.
Photo credit – Will Ireland
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