Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Ian Prowse has set aside drawing on his own prolific output to introduce the listener to some of the songwriters he has encountered over the years. “Troubadours”, as he describes them, whose songs have been “lost, trodden down in the mud, or were kicked sideways into the ditch by an unforgiving music industry.” It’s a magnanimous gesture and one that will reward all concerned in the album Compañeros.
Ian Prowse credits Kevin Jamieson (Town and Country Blues) for inspiring him to imbue his music with the Celtic Soul that had “entered his being like a musical Toronto Blessing.” It’s a Latinate/country romp during which Ian Prowse seems to have discovered a new vocal style, almost a growl.
Alun Parry has been dubbed ‘Liverpool’s Woody Guthrie’. Luckily, he bears it well. My Name Is Dessie Warren tells of how Ricky Tomlinson’s partner in the Shrewsbury Two was incarcerated and subjected to water torture. This injustice led him to contract Parkinson’s Disease, which finally killed him. Alun Parry’s song has Warren holding on to his identity by asserting his name throughout and Ian Prowse sings it with due conviction.
Mississippi Beat was written by former Amsterdam keyboard player Jez Wing and is a beautiful duet featuring County Kerry’s Pauline Scanlon.
Eoin Glackin’s What Am I To You pinpoints the insecurities that can be felt during a relationship.
Damien Dempsey’s Saint Patrick’s Brave Brigade is one of four Irish songs to be found on the album and is a folk ballad in the in the classic tradition. A Bell tolls as the evocative Morricone-esque into draws us in to the tale of Francis O’ Connor’s tragic plight whilst fighting the good fight in Mexico. It is possible to imagine the feel of wind blowing across the spaghetti western plain.
Phil Jones, of Liverpool’s Afraid Of Mice and Up And Running will be no stranger to music fans in the city, but sadly, is largely unknown outside it. His Johnny and Marie is a cry of defiance, as Marie exhorts her husband to show the world his worth.
The one Ian Prowse song to be found is a live reworking of a song that first saw the light of day on Pele’s 1993 second album Sport Of Kings. A favourite at gigs, Name and Number 2016 is a perfect example of how his Celtic Soul manifests itself in the music. It develops into a jigtastic showcase for accordion, penny whistle and fiddle.
If there is a theme running throughout Compañeros, it is one of human struggle against oppression, injustice and personal demons. Ian Prowse has assembled a collection of songs that rail against life’s inequalities and demands the writers be brought to our attention.
John D. Hodgkinson