Rab Noakes: From Nashville To Muirend

Mitchell Library, Glasgow

4 Stars

Besuited and bespectacled, Rab Noakes bounds onto the stage to warm applause from an audience that had obviously been listening to his songs most of his career.

He doesn't disappoint them.

Split neatly into two halves, the first is a complete run-through of the iconic Red Pump Special album, first produced in Nashville by Harvest producer Elliot Mazer. Now 40 years old, Noakes has rereleased an anniversary edition to mark this milestone.

The songs sound as fresh now as when they were written, with the singles from the original album Branch and Clear Day still the stand out tracks.

Noakes is helped by a surrounding galaxy of talent from Alice Marra to singers Emma Pollock and Barbara Dickson.

While the sound balance does them no favours, Noakes is well served by his backing band led by Hilary Brooks and supplemented by the ubiquitous Celtic Connections musician Roddy Hart.

In addition to this anniversary reissue, the busy Mister Noakes has also been putting together an album of brand new songs recorded in Glasgow's Muirend, and these are showcased in the second half.

While they don't have the familiarity of the earlier set, they resonate with the imagination and experience Noakes has, in particular the rock'n' roll Out Of The Blue and the Alan Hull tribute Your Clear White Light.

The standout though is the title track of the new album I'm Walkin' Here, due for release in a few months time. Named after the famous line from Midnight Cowboy, it's supplemented by the Scottish singer Jill Jackson who shares Noakes's folk/country/rock pedigree and has a grittiness that somehow defines much of the new songs on offer.

All in all, it's a concert giving a real lease of life for a long-standing talent who has more than paid his dues and he clearly enjoyed it. So did we.

Chris Bartter

Red Pump Special is available at www.rabnoakes.bandcamp.com.