Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Is He Joking?, regardless of whether Chris Tavener is or isn’t, whether this musician who reminds so much of the great Billy Connolly in his appreciation of raising a smile, and does much to promote the beautiful sound of innocent laughter during a gig, has in him the temperament and class to withstand comparisons to such luminaries of the circuit is beyond a joke, it shouldn’t even be brought up, for in Chris Tavener, the only conclusion you should arguably reach, is that he is a genius.

It is in the art of satire that he is lauded, but also in the gentle act of self-deprecation that he rises to the occasion. In his studio recordings the music comes out as king, the combative wit is a joy as he holds the songs up as an example to just what can be achieved when you turn the lyrics into a pursuit of the most valuable of truths, the ability to make people laugh.

Is He Joking? (Live) sees Chris Tavener take this approach, the great songs, the inner angst, and the inner monologue out on the road and take over the proceedings of Manchester’s Three Minute Theatre and give a tremendous account of his work, his music and the sheer comedy class that he exudes and that he places before the audience with honesty and aplomb.

Across songs such as Let’s All Go To A Festival, the exuberant but direct Faking Cool, Postcard Home, I Got The Cliche Blues, The superb The Crisis In Northwich and Modern Romance (She’s So Drunk), Chris Tavener’s humour is so well placed that it is the audience who benefits most keenly from this sharp-eyed observation, the ability to make people see where the humour lays, even if it is at the door of the story-teller themselves, is a poetic art that many aspire to, but so few can carry off, especially when done with music at the very heart of the observer’s conversation.

Chris Tavener’s Is He Joking? (Live) is a insightful, laugh out loud, music stronghold, a fort of humour to which can be accessed freely, there is nobody to stop you from being entertained and enjoying this wonderful teller of music derived laughter.

Ian D. Hall