MK is still excelling at what he does best - writing beautiful songs and performing them!
I used to love his work. Could listen to his music day in day out. Oh wait - I did!
But as far as I'm concerned, he's way past his best, which was probably somewhere around OES tour and his Chet Atkins collaboration and Notting Hillbillies. Up until that time he was doing great things with his guitar playing and it's not all just some solos or even "neverending solos". It was filling all this space around his lyrics, answering his voice with his guitar. Just brilliant. And I always loved how his songs evolved and they were only getting better with each tour. They were certainly never played twice the same. He could pull in pedal steel guitar, sax, pipes, you name it, and it all had a place somewhere in those complex but never really crowded arrangements. Albums were already great, but live was better.
After that I believe it was downhill only. You might not all agree with me and it's fine but that's how I see it. Of course he's getting older and it's to be expected that one just gets slower with age. But I don't think getting slower is the problem here. All those things that I loved were slowly dropped and now it's his folkies and his guitar strumming over some lyrics. It just doesn't work for me no matter how brilliant his lyrics might be.
Last time I saw him live was when touring with Bob. It was a shorter set obviously but I drove a long way to that concert and none of the songs worked for me. I was thinking OK, next one will surely be worth it and then suddenly they started waving goodbye! Luckily they did So Far Away then before they left and that song is not exactly something to write home about to start with is it? If you ask me which songs they played that night - honestly I have absolutely no idea. They were all too "boring" to take notice.
Not that I don't like folk songs or folk instruments. Far from it. But what he's doing now just doesn't work for me. I bought all his albums but the number of songs I listened from these solo projects (or to be more precise - the number of songs I'd consider listening again - because I don't actually) was reduced with each next album he made. And with the last one it's pretty much down to one.
So, with that off my chest
I still come here, I'm still interested in him, but I'm not expecting anything from his next project. I'll buy that CD, just to support him and keep my collection complete, but I will really really be incredibly surprised if he comes up with something I'd again start listening to more regularly.
As for attending another concert. I would. Gladly. But it will likely be nowhere near me and his playing recently lets just say I'm not overly enthusiastic about even if he does an old one. Which he doesn't. And it's perhaps even better that way. If he can't do his signature guitar playing anymore that he just needs to do if he does an old song - he just better skip it. So no reason to attend I suppose. Sad but true.
Was that too much moaning?
Somebody mentioned You And Your Friend and how it would probably go well with his recent work. I'd love another live version of this. It's a great song in my mind but it was hardly ever played live. Probably only on OES tour and not even sure it was there every night. But is he up to the task even if he wanted to do it? He better not do a whistle and accordion duel over some of his strumming I tell you!
Wow, I don't think I was planning to talk so much!
