Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
If Ian Siegal doesn’t know how he does it then what hope is there for the rest of us? Then to be fair, as long as Ian Siegal can do it then all we have to do is sit back and enjoy the gravel toned singing Bluesman as he continues to thrill fans and live audiences.
The biggest disappointment for any music fan is not being able to catch their heroes and inspirations in their live guise, the step away from the studio in which mistakes can be erased and ruled over with an irritated iron fist if someone isn’t happy. Live can be a bonus, it can also be a trip into the unknown if you have never had the fortunate to catch the artist live; you just don’t know what is going to happen for nothing prepares you. Ian Siegal’s recording by the B.B.C. at the Royal Albert Hall in 2013 for his live album Man & Guitar is that happy mixture between both, the space in which few albums can sit comfortably at without straying into the realms of Jonny Cash most famous live recording.
Man & Guitar is apt, it plays with the fascination of the night out, staring at a single person on stage who can delve into your emotions and tucks them into their overflowing back pocket. The energy between audience and artist can intensify in such a way that only the odd relevant humorous story can puncture the strengthening bond between them. You want to be close to the artist, the songs when played live are a different animal, they have the appearance of being magical, serenity driven and ultimately perhaps exaggerate the way you feel about the notes and the words, the big night out is captured better for that reason.
Yet you don’t want to completely taken in, the artist needs to keep a small distance between them and the public who may have spent hundreds in travel cost and hotel bills just to listen to them perform. The energy of a live recording needs to be natural and not enhanced by the sound of a 20,000 fans screaming their head off. You still need to be able to believe you are in a room with people drinking in the performance not baying like some wounded animal. In that Man & Guitar is a splendid album in which to have as addition the live culture caught for eternity.
With 13 great tracks on offer by the musician, including the excellent Mortal Coil Shuffle, I Am The Train, Falling On Down Again and a tremendous medley of songs which included Preachin’ Blues, So God Can Use You and You Got To Move, Man & Guitar is an album that requires your full attention and generous applause.
Arguably jealousy is an emotion that is a wasted, it only leads to some sort of inner destruction, yet you cannot help but feel some sort of desirousness to make sure the next time Ian Siegal tours, you are there front and centre and lapping up the words of a man who can light up a room with a single gruff tone.
Ian D. Hall