Short Reviews [The Gardening Club - 2022 - "Bridge of Spirits"]

If one takes the time to look at Martin’s discography, one will find a few albums dotted here and there, right up until 1983’s ‘The Gardening Club’ was reissued by Gonzo Multimedia in 2017. I and many others fell in love with it the very first time we heard it, and since then Martin has been inspired and has been releasing a lot of music with different line-ups, all imbued with his wonderful songwriting and vocals. This album brings together two of his different projects, an EP recorded with what he terms Gardening Club West and his long-term musical partner Norm Macpherson, and another with Gardening Club East which includes Kevin Laliberte. A special mention must also be made of the appearance of violinist Sari Alesh, whose contribution is delightful and I urge people to check out the improvised performance which is available on YouTube where he accompanied Martin at a solo gig. These two EPs, ‘The Time Trilogy’ and ‘The Owl’, have now been combined with some additional tracks so one can hear the more orchestral side of Martin’s approach alongside music which has more Latin and Eastern influences. Martin’s music has always been highly influenced by the likes of Camel while I always hear something of Roy Harper in his vocals, and his use of different musicians to assist him in bringing his visions to life are inspired. The styles are different, yet brought together in a way that makes them feel part of an extended canon as opposed to being distinctly different and like different bands. “The Owl” is here in its full long-form version, more than 17 minutes in length, containing some glorious orchestral passages, nicely spaced drums and delicate bass alongside some wonderfully phased Gilmour-style solos and of course Martin’s vocals. Contrast that to the likes of “Forever Leaving Home” and its fretless bass combined with staccato acoustic and percussion which could be straight from the souks, alongside a plaintive violin. The albums ends with one of my favourite songs, “Strange Kingdom”, which is wonderfully layered and is almost lounge jazz in nature with a sound which is close and compact, compressed yet with space. This is a great album which stand up well, even though the majority is comprised of two different recording sessions with different line-ups, and if you have yet to come across the progressive singer songwriter style of a musician who is happy in multiple elements, then this is a great place to start. Needless to say, the CD booklet is a masterpiece of wonderful artwork combined with the lyrics and who played on what.