Archived Reviews

Being one of an audience of three at the start of the evening, the dubious honour of reviewer for the first session of 2006 fell to me - so here goes...

Happy New Year. Apologies for any incorrect mention of titles, songwriters or indeed, performers - this is a personal reflection which hopefully captures the atmosphere and 'entente cordiale' of the evening. The lack of audience was due to the fact that most people had forgotten that the club's new year resolution is to start promptly at 8:00 pm! (Maybe it was optimistic to expect anyone to remember anything from the end of the Christmas party.)

Keith was undaunted and the evening got under way rather unusually with the kind of sing-along normally reserved for the end of a night. Dave, John/Hank, Ken and John Redpath sang a medley of songs taking turns at leading the singing, with Mike on the sound desk. By 8:30 pm, with an ever-increasing audience, Keith returned to the more conventional format.

First on were Davey (happy birthday) Page and John/Hank. Dave sang 'All God's Creatures', a request?! John sang 'Uptown Uptempo Woman' and that beautifully melodic Anthony John Clarke song 'Acquaintance Of Mine'. Next up was Mike, announced with his Sunday name. 'The Recruiting Sergeant' was a good chorus song with a well-known tune which the Cramlington choir enjoyed singing. 'The Lock Keeper' was followed by 'When You Were Sweet Sixteen' which is a favourite song of mine and included some additional, less familiar lyrics. John Redpath's set had a railway theme with 'The Train They Call The City Of New Orleans' and Jimmy Rogers 'Waiting for a Train', with 'Hesitation Blues' sandwiched in between. He suffered the usual heckling from his friends(?) in the corner. Next was Ken, still dressed for badminton and, sadly, no new guitar for Christmas. He sang the thoughtful song 'Rhonda Grey', 'Seth Davey', which he dedicated to Davey's wine cellar, and finally 'Carrickfergus' with which all joined in. Finishing the first half jiva started with their own composition 'Dream On', inspired by Val's afternoon snooze. Their new rendition of the Emerson, Lake and Palmer song 'Lucky Man' was well received - particularly by the 'grumpy old men in the corner' - who particularly liked the guitar accompaniment - and the surprise ending! They finished with another of their own songs 'One More Song' which, being familiar, couldn't fail to please the choir.

After a "short break and a raffle" the second half was opened by Alan. Despite a croaky cough, he managed three traditional Scottish songs. 'Come By The Hills' and 'Aye Waukin'-o', well-known to the club had everyone singing, while the impromptu, requested 'Big Aggie' set the tone for the following spots. Jim was introduced as the chap with the 'silver and red shoes and blue guitar' - sounds like a title waiting for a song to me, Jim... Under pressure from his wife being there, he sang two of his own songs 'In Need Of Specs' (I can empathise!) and 'Sun God'. Next was Terry, described by Keith, quoting from the club website, as 'the club favourite'. He sang 'Big Yellow Taxi' with such enthusiasm that his G-string broke! But, being a true professional, he soldiered on with a borrowed guitar to sing the Loudon Wainwright song 'He Said, She Said' and 'Ain't No Sunshine'. Following on, Esther sang two ballads 'Ae Fond Kiss' and 'Bernadette' in those dulcet tones we have come to expect of her. Dave Anderson sang 'Northumberland' - an original composition, once sung in the council chambers at County Hall and destined to become in time a traditional Northumbrian song, followed by another own composition 'The Storyteller' which Dave told me he had written about two years ago.

John and Dave returned to finish the night with a couple of songs. John took the lead on 'Lady Take Your Time'. John Redpath 'guested' on the guitar. I particularly liked his accompaniment to 'Back Home Again' which really added something to an old favourite, well sung by the Cramlington choir.

Keith ended the night by thanking all those who had perfomed and those working the sound - and yet another reminder that we will be starting at 8:00 pm in future. A varied evening, with all in good voice after the Christmas break, got the year's programme off to a good start.

Jane