My feet are tapping. The beat is steady, though changing with every new track. The drums and the bass drive the music along, while the cittern and keyboards add colour and atmosphere, and the melodeon and the saxophones give us the melody lines. The feel changes all the time, from rocky to laid back. Memories of The Committee Band, Edward II and others pop up from time to time.
Fact file: Whapweasel started out as a duo in the mid 1990s. Since then the band has been steadily growing and now they are an octet, after ex-Steeleye member Rick Kemp joined them after producing this album.
Oh, there is a bit that could be the Oyster band. A little bit of Arabic influences on track 3. A touch of jazzy saxophones later on, heavy syncopated. The electric guitar reminds me of some of Simon Nicol's rhythm work. If there ever was a true musical melting pot this could be it. There is even a short elctric guitar solo on track 6. The cloudy keyboard in the background could well be found on a Mike Oldfield album.
Fact file: This is Whapweasel's third album. It has 12 tracks, all of them penned by members of the band. All the tracks are instrumentals.
Finding titles for instrumentals must be difficult, but seriously guys and girls. How did you ever come up with "Stonk", "The Final Last Banana", "Beard Madam" or "The Italian Bell Muffler"? "Sunrise, Sunrise" and "The Ship" sounds more reasonable, as does "The HT Polka". And what does it all mean? I can not seem to find anymore than the weasel part of your name in my dictionaries, and believe me, I have got quite a few of them.
Fact file: The band is made up of Robin Jowett, melodeon, Brian Bell, bass, Mike Coleman, cittern, Rob Wilson, drums, Fiona Littlewood, saxophone, Stuart Finden, likewise, Rick Kemp, guitar, and Heather Bell, keyboards.
Whoops, a bit of reggae comes along. A little Madness (yes, with a capital M, as in the band of that name) for everyone. There is a melodeon bit à la John Kirkpatrick, with a complicated saxophone melody line to go along with it. But after all, Mr Kemp was on a few albums with Mr K. And I must say the stops in the music are effective.
What else can I say? Breathtaking comes to mind, great fun as well. These guys and girls are certainly enjoying themselves, and you cannot help but join the enjoyment. It has been a long time since I played a record this much, and I will not stop just because this review is finished. Thank you Whapweasel for lighting up my grey October days.
