I had an opportunity to listen to John Illsley's new album, Testing the Water several times through at a friend's place this weekend. I took some notes, while quaffing 3 pints of my favourite ale of course, then sat down today to write this review. I initially posted it for the folks at the Mark Knopfler/Dire Straits forum, Silvertown Blues, and then thought I'd pop in here and post it as well.
I hope some of you enjoy, or find it useful..... (and please accept my apology in advance for any errors or oversights).
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Testing the Water - John Illsley
-- a 3Pints review --
There is definitely a theme running through John Illsley's latest album, Testing the Water. In an interview just prior to the album's release, John said, "The last few years have been so turbulent politically, militarily and personally and I wanted to try and create some songs that reflected these strange times and perhaps were worthy of sharing with others."
So it's not surprising then that some of the lyrics in these songs express at various times, angst, despair, confusion, and frustration. John's weathered voice suits these themes well and that, along with his sometimes overly earnest sounding delivery on these songs will for many I suspect, successfully disguise the fact that his lyrics are often rather hackneyed and clich
