Songs in a Carrier Bag by Steve Daggett
Apologies Steve, and fellow band members, but till two days ago I've never heard any of your music before, and I rejected the option of "googling" you.. And preferred just to listen to the CD with open virgin ears...
So, "Songs in a Carrier bag", with a style and sound between the Levellers and Tom Petty it starts with a "Harrods bag" of a track, and the best track, "The Ballad of Jimmy Forsyth", a foot thumping superb classic, perfectly balanced with a great chorus and guitars twangs aplenty, left me wanting more...But "Pretty Useless" followed, I wanted to embrace it but just
couldn't , as with "Heatwave"..God, Steve, if you're talking heatwave, cheer up mate!
But that said the rest of the CD is a pure delight, and there are many gems to find buried within these twelve tracks, the Lennonesque vocals and sound of "Sleep Now", a truly well crafted song, as with the excellent "Tremble"..
"Devils Causeway" lifts the tempo just at the right time, and perhaps this CD is lacking a couple of these lively songs, but the other songs more than make up for these minor moans, as with "In your own time", "Hometown", and the short but perfectly formed title track..
And the music matures with every listen, so please do take in this collection of fine songs, and even though the "Harrods" bag of an opener isn't matched, it certainly reaches the level of the classy "Waitrose" bag, not a "Lidl's" in sight...
Well worth a listen 7/10
Neil Emery
www.folking.com
netrhythms.co.uk
Songs in a Carrier Bag reviewed
The title of Steve Daggett's new album sums up the delight and the dilemma which surrounds a singer/songwriter who is one of the foundations on which north east music is built.Songs is an accurate, if slightly emotionless start but then up leaps the self-deprecating In A Carrier Bag suggesting a humbleness which is misplaced.
There are some with a tenth of Daggett's talent who shout twice as loud about it. If the category exists then Steve Daggett is the singer songwriter's singer songwriter. His passionate performance of The Ballad Of Jimmy Forsyth, accurately mirrors the passion of the writing.It is also a typical Steve Daggett song, deviod of pretension it is plain speaking and beautifully visual. Daggett's spare but emotive use of lyrics is onl;y one of his many strengths.Daggett at times plays down the depths his songs reach but Pretty Useless is a biting and compassionate, confessional love song. It could easily be any one of us looking in the mirror at that particular track.
Folk artists, because that is what he undoubtedly is, are sometimes thought of as unnecessarily intense and introspective but Daggett is the exception there is an openness and robustness about his music. He has a big talent and a big heart both of which are on display on Songs In A Carrier Bag, it's just that title.
Michael Mee
www.netrhythms.co.uk
CJ Holley
Songs in a Carrier Bag reviewed
'Steve Daggett launches into his new album with 'The Ballad of Jimmy Forsyth'. Jimmy was the Glaswegian photographer who recorded the detail of Newcastle life back in the 1950s with great aplomb. I'm sure Jimmy, who is still around by the way, would enjoy this musical journey through his past as Steve has been performing the song live for the past couple of years and has certainly found its groove.
It's not downhill from his opening foray either as Daggett's deft songwriting once again prevails. 'Pretty Useless (Revisited)', we all feel that way sometimes, the gentle, dreamy 'In Your Own Time' and the Celtic-ish 'Hometown' all reflect different facets of the man's varied songwriting skills. There's 'Tremble', 'Immunity' and 'Heatwave' (not that one) where his leftfield leanings come to the fore and the folky 'Toffeeman' which has real grit and edge, all are outstanding tracks on a extremely well crafted album.
Rachel Rhoades (violin, accordion) and Michael Bailey (bass), Steve's regular partners in his 'Acoustic Trio', are on hand to deliver with skill and sensitivity. Phil Armstrong delivers his usual seamless lead electric guitar, Tony Davis is on keyboards and Stephen Robson helps out on drums. The rest is written, sung, played and produced by Steve himself.
Good work sir and thanks for the Lennon-esque hidden track!'
CJ Holley
Holley's COMET : sept 2003
thud, thwack and twang reviewed
Steve Daggett has enough experience and maturity to put together any kind of band he wants and make it sound credible. With his acoustic trio he seems to have discovered the perfect vehicle for his song writing talents. Daggett is a wordsmith of no mean aptitude and the songs here bear witness to that.
The title song Thud, Thwack and Twang was a number he wasn't so sure about when written but it has in a way rectified his way of thinking and helped him find a vehicle, with the help of Rachael Rhoades (violin) and Michael Bailey (bass), both ex-members of Morgan Le Fay, which he finds comfortable.
The 4-track 'Thud Thwack and Twang' is Steve at his best with all four songs,'Thud.., 'Hardcore TLC', 'If Only I could Make You Talk' and 'Pretty Useless' illustrating his prowess as a writer, singer, arranger and producer. All songs have a rough country edge with Steve's gritty voice tempered by Rachael's delicious violin and Michael's understated bass. To fill the sound out here Steve has added Phil Armstrong on electric guitar and Jeff Armstrong on drums.
In any other world Steve and the band would really be making waves, and that's not for the want of him trying. If he had flown in from Austin then we would all be raving. With the help of some good advertising and promotion 'Thud Thwack and Twang' could lift Steve Rachael and Michael to higher places. From what I know of the man and his music he deserves it. Don't dismiss him because he's "Steve from down the road", that has been the fate of too many singer/songwriters from this region.
LITTLE NEMO
thud, thwack and twang
Behind the Lear-like title and gentle lolloping country rhythm of the opening title track THUD,THWACK AND TWANG the listener is afforded a privileged position - the view of a show through the eyes of Daggett himself.
The optimism of 'a lot of magic in the songs they sang tonight, they got the sound just right' gives way to 'the girls they sway but the guys they swagger, dancing around like a drunk Mick Jagger summed up as the more they drink the less they listen.
HARDCORE TLC is a dark 'soap opera' styled tale and IF ONLY I COULD MAKE YOU TALK is so personal and raw that he struggles to finish, exhausted by the effort. His lyrics are graphically detailed, so much so that you can almost smell, see and hear the characters and situations he sings about.
It would be insulting to call Daggett a 'tortured soul'. How could I know? But he is a sensitive man and performer. You want to be entertained? Steve Daggett will entertain you. That's what he is as much as what he does. His original songs will have you asking, "Who wrote that" and the cover versions will surprise you with their refreshing new arrangements.
The final take PRETTY USELESS will make you shift in your seat, it will make you go quiet, most importantly it will make you care. Live or recorded, what you get is not a man singing for his supper but for his life and that, my friend, is the definition of a true troubadour.
Reviewed by Michael Mee (Blues Matters, Get Rhythm, Southern Reporter)
www.netrhythms.co.uk
troubadour territory reviewed
Steve has been around in the music industry for many years, working with the likes of Stiletto, Ronnie Lane, The Fabulous Poodles, and latterly Lindisfarne. It was with the North Eastern combo that he developed a fast friendship with the late, great Alan Hull, and on this, his first solo album the influence is clear.
The arrangements are generally sparce, with mandoline and acoustic much to the fore, accenting Steves' gravelly vocals, something of a cross between Dylan, Tom Petty and suchlike.
But it is the songs themselves that make this on of the best singer/songwriter collections that I have heard in a long while. Highlights are 'Mandolin Moon' - a tribute to Alan Hull - the lyrics containing the titles of some of Alan's songs, 'Just to see You Smile' - very reminsicent of Petty's 'Don't Come Around Here No More', but individual nevertheless. 'Rise' is a heartfelt exhortation for better things to come, 'Love Song (part one)' is simply beautiful - the track of the album.
''Live Your Life Your Own Way' has a wonderful dulcimer and border pipe arrangement, 'Have a drink' is a bit of Geordie fun. 'Always on my Mind' reminds me of early Neil Young, with some nice harmonica and lyrics of longing. 'Evening World' gently rounds of this most impressive release. Cracking album!
JON HALL
troubadour territory : steve daggett
REVOLUTIONSUK.COM 19-03-01
If pop stardom in this day and age depended upon great tunes and urgent, passionate delivery rather than synthetically enhanced voices (and more!) and demographic calculations of appeal then Steve Daggett would already be a huge star. Sadly for his bank manager - but luckily for us - Daggett is one of the many musicians out there producing heartfelt, hugely enjoyable music that lovers of good sounds will find if they take the trouble to look.
He can take the classic ingredients of a love song and produce in Just To See You Smile a melodic slice of heaven that will certainly have you smiling and basking in its warmth, this generated in equal part by the lyrics and Jim Hornsby's tremolo guitar. Like Roy Harper, Daggett despairs at the increasing isolation and inhumanity of those who see computers not as a handy tool but as a way of life and an alternative to human interaction. Hence the wonderful Cybercafe: "Your icons aren't icons, they're nothing at all" and "Dreams are digitally conceived and rendered/ Time passes by unremembered."
The title track takes us into Neil Young territory as much as that of troubadours, a lingering, mournful harmonica creeping into what could serve as a statement of identity for many a songwriter. Identity is at the heart of New Skin, a suitably unsettling number with a killer mandolin hook that's bound to get under your skin, as will the drum loop and growled lyrics of the following song, This Time Of Year.
I was a big fan of Gabrielle's Dylan adaptation of last year, Rise, and Daggett's top-notch song of that name - this time without ol' Bob's assistance - is similarly gentle and but uplifting. (I'm just glad Daggett didn't have to go through as much as Gabrielle did to inspire it!) He also gives good advice in a very tuneful way, as with the gritty, exhilarating Have A Drink, although, to be honest, the Revolutions crew already need no encouragement. I would encourage picking up this album however, and that's something I'll drink to!
DM
live at the 12 bar club
Denmark street london
Steve Daggett is here at the 12 bar tonight to play some songs from his new cd Troubadour Territory which has created much interest in his native North East and has already won some excellent reviews. His set opens with NEW SKIN with softly spoken verses over a dampened acoustic guitar, opening up on the choruses and ending with a vocal crescendo that wins deserved appreciation from the audience. The harmonica of ALWAYS ON MY MIND reverberates around the room with echoes of Neil Young's HARVEST era. COUNTRY JUNKIE is finger-picking fragile and hushes the crowd as does LIVE YOUR LIFE YOUR OWN WAY. If there is any justice this song would be covered by some major artist in the future. CYBER CAFÉ is preceded by an amusing story around the conception of the lyric. ….you're freaks, go get some paint and a canvas…..you're geeks searching your engines for answers…… set to a lilting 6/8 guitar rhythm.
Daggett's departure from his latest release comes in the shape of an anecdote about his days on the road with folk rockers Lindisfarne, tales of excess and as Daggett puts it" Alan Hull's pursuit of the perfect pint!" The opening chords sounds strangely familiar, could it be ?… yes it is...LADY ELEANOR, Hull's gothic anthem that made it from Tyneside to Top of The Pops in the early '70's. It's a faithful interpretation of the quality performance Hull would have given. JANUARY SONG follows and Daggett toasts Hull's memory with a bottle of Newcastle Brown held aloft. He launches straight back into his own material with THIS TIME OF YEAR, played as if he has some kind of funky band in his head, beating the guitar body whilst narrating the lyric. Closing with another original MANDOLIN MOON, Daggett jovially crashes the cymbals of the Hank Dogs' drum kit with the guitar head stock during a raucous finish.
Daggett is a performing song-writer who defies categorisation. His influences obviously lie in '60's song writing tradition but adds his own blend of irony and wit. As a fellow Geordie I appreciate his relaxed intimate delivery and thoroughly enjoyed his live performance.
Douglas Gray (review taken from ONLINETV website April 2001
the crack : april 2001
troubadour territory reviewed
This is the debut album from the producer and side man of Lindisfarne and it contains 13 self penned songs of rare passion and warmth. The first track Mandolin Moon is a tribute to long time collaborator, the late Alan Hull, and is a rousing foot stomper with Steve's soulful vocals adding the necessary bite. It's one of the stand out tracks here but it's amongst good company with the likes of Live Your Life Your Own Way (complete with bamboo flutes and border pipes) and Have A Drink (a more stripped down acoustic track) showcasing Steve's evident ability. Well worth seeking out.
get rhythm : april 2001
troubadour territory reviewed
Steve Daggett was Lindisfarne's producer, and a member of the band at one time so we should have high expectations of a songwriter of such quality. He opens the album with the up tempo love song 'Mandolin Moon', complete with Mandolin, high strung and 12 string guitars to make the whole track ring as it rocks along. With 'Troubadour Territory' he sings about writing a song, slower and more meaningful but 'Cybercafe' seems a lot more interesting prospect. Having listened to quite a few attempted internet songs I can say that this number comes as a great relief "...hooded apprentices facing the wall, all visored up while coffee cups surf silicon falls…". There's a Dylan inflection on 'Just To See You Smile', again excellent lyrics strung around a lazy band sound and the flowing melody. The mandolin of 'New Skin' recalls the Lindisfarne sound and is another tale of lost love. The track that really looks forward is 'This Time Of Year', its drum loop, staccato guitar and crazy background noises pointing towards a more alt. Country influenced sound. More of this please Mr. Daggett. Maybe its 'Country Junkie' another track that slides to the left.
Steve Daggett has made an album that has strong material, well performed--some of it with an unusual slant which adds a spark to a couple of tracks and is well produced. I like him as a musician and as a person so let's hope he finds a good home for an album that deserves to be listened to. There are too many good singer-songwriters in the UK who don't get the recognition they deserve. If this guy were American we'd be falling all over him, that's the tragedy.
CJH
a real music man stakes his claim
troubadour territory reviewed
Some bright spark labelled Northumbria's tourist initiative the 'Hidden Kingdom', well with this new album of songs, singer-songwriter Steve Daggett will only enhance a growing reputation gained on the north-east live circuit and will surely become one of the region's discovered musical treasures.
The ability of a writer to see things in a unique way and then put that into words is a talent in itself but to add music and then perform it is the reason singer/songwriters are cherished and Daggett proves here beyond a shadow of a doubt that he possesses that unique skill.
Troubadour Territory begins with perhaps the most personal and certainly the most evocative song Mandolin Moon about his friend, the late Alan Hull. This is no mawkish, over-sentimental tribute but an upbeat song in honour of the Lindisfarne singer. Anyone with an idea of the history of popular music will both understand, and share, its sentiments.
What follows is the work of an incisive observer. Cybercafé exposes graphically the soulless ness of today's internet age and laments the passing of simple human contact. Troubadour Territory is no political treatise on today's ills, Just To See You Smile is a love song as gentle and romantic as Love Song (part one) is cutting. A song about love looked at from the cynic's angle.
Troubadour Territory captures the essence of Daggett's live performance without slavishly aping it. This Time of Year, musically staccato, yet intricate, with a strange effect playing around his voice as the track evolves into perhaps the most overtly 'rock' song on the album. Along with the laconic Country Junkie, they demonstrate that he is as adept in the studio as he is on stage.
Daggett has traveled far and wide for influences on the album, Border pipes combine perfectly with Dulcimer on Live Your Life Your Own Way and perhaps it is fitting that Troubadour Territory finishes with the closest we come to a traditional 'folk' song, the stark Evening World.
Troubadour Territory will give those who enjoy his live performances time to discover something that may get overlooked during the evening. There are powerful sentiments expressed in each song. He is not a man who deals in great abstract themes or tortured analogies, he says what he wants to say, honestly.
His voice is defiant and throaty, very reminiscent of Frankie Miller on the title track and the multi-layered Have A Drink, superficially a song of male celebration, but deeper a cautionary tale. In turn, softer on ballads like New Skin, he wraps it round each song in a perfect fit.
For those who enjoy music from the roots, our roots, then Troubadour Territory is for you, the affected and the pseudo may have to look elsewhere.
Michael Mee - Tweeddale Press Group
troubadour territory - a great place to be
Local musician Steve Daggett, I think we can claim him for our own, is well-known on the live circuit throughout the region appearing regularly at The Salmon in Belford, the Hen and Chickens, The Cat, Barrels as well as the Maltings and venues of the North East. Now that he has released Troubadour Territory an understanding of just how good he is sure to follow.
There is an in-built drawback in being local, whilst familiarity may not breed actual contempt, it does engender a sense of 'Oh yes, Steve, pretty good, comes from around here' as if the only good music has to come in by car or train.
With the release of the album Steve blows that particular myth right out of the North Sea. He may be familiar but he's also very talented, and whatever else is said remember one central fact the songs are equally as good. I'm not a great believer in environment breeding certain styles of musicians. It was certainly true once but with mass media Bob Geldof's 'global jukebox' is now fact. However the north-east likes its own to have a hard seam running through them, and Steve Daggett maintains that tradition. Cyber Café shines a harsh light on the death of simple human interaction, in doing so it brings folk music into the eye of the information super-highway storm.
Daggett's talents first surfaced in the late 70s and his new wave band of the time Stiletto recorded on the famous Mercury label releasing two singles and touring constantly before the split came. Then with co-front person Bren Laidler he formed experimental electronic duo It Hz.
It was in 1983 after giving up live work that the seminal moment in his career took place. The meeting with Lindisfarne's Alan Hull it led to him joining the band, producing three group albums and a solo one for Hull.
It is the nature of this friendship which forms the background to perhaps the most personal and evocative song on the album Mandolin Moon. Songs in tribute of a friend are a minefield if done badly or with shallowness they become a tawdry exercise in simply saying the right things. Done with the obvious sincerity of Mandolin Moon they become an open window for us all to examine relationships. One of Daggett's great qualities is to make a personal experience universal.
Anyone who has heard him could ever accuse him of being a saccharine folk-singer, wrapping himself in some unrecognisable warm-beer Britain he has a powerful voice and he uses it. Troubadour Territory is at times an uncomfortable reminder that not everyone's life comes up roses all the time. Have A Drink could easily be construed as some Northumbrian folk song but in reality it has much darker, deeper subtext.
Love songs permeate the album Daggett-style, Just To See You Smile and the spookily titled Love Song (Part One) are all twisted with his eye for the off-kilter lyric, allied to his rasping, brutally honest singing and playing they have an undercurrent of passion and determination, the listener is never allowed to feel completely relaxed.
Troubadour Territory is a rare album in that it is the equal of his live performance. Given time and space Troubadour Territory opens up a whole new aspect on Steve Daggett as a performer. Whenever I read about him, and I'm as guilty as anyone, he is billed as ex-Lindisfarne as if it were some new forename, he has now earned the right to be known as Steve Daggett, musician.
BERWICK ADVERTISER
steve daggett electric band
Smugglers, Roker, Sunderland, 17/11/2001
Arriving later than planned I was surprised to find such a packed Smugglers. For a cold November Saturday this was a hell of a crowd. Whilst Steve Daggett is a regular acoustic solo act in the area, his first electric gig in 17 years has been a long time coming. They were all here tonight to see Daggett rocking in Roker and fronting his own band again.
Steve opened in typical style with 4 acoustic songs, 3 from his CD 'Troubadour Territory' and one new song 'Pretty Useless' which quietened the ever-growing audience. His band then joined him for 2 rousing versions of album tracks 'New skin' and 'This time of year' followed by the laid back Dylanish 'Just to see you smile'. The punters quickly got behind the new line-up of Phil Armstrong on guitar, Steve Martin on fretless bass and Jeff Armstrong on drums. Daggett told us the band had only a couple of rehearsals - but we wouldn't have guessed. They were tight and together and it was obvious they were enjoying themselves tonight. Still more people arrived, squeezing into the already packed bar while Daggett grabbed the gig by the scruff of the neck and gave it his all, belting out a good mix of old and new material. A cover of Waylon Jennings' 'Are you sure Hank done it this way?' finished the first set, by which time the band were really rocking and the sweat, enthusiasm and beer flowed.
After a short break Daggett gave us 3 Alan Hull songs followed by his own 'Mandolin Moon'. Six years to the day since Hull's death, the song really does justice to both songwriters. Then we were back with what they had all come to see - Daggett swapping his acoustic for a stratocaster and letting his hair down, literally. They finished with a great version of Neil Young's epic 'Cowgirl in the sand' to huge applause and appreciation.
Well this rare event was a treat. A great pub, a great atmosphere, a great crowd and a great band. It's a shame we had to wait so long to see Daggett front a band again. Here's hoping we don't have to wait another 17 years for the next Steve Daggett Band.
Elephant Man
cellar full of song
stout fiddler, newcastle
These nights in the basement go under the banner of A Cellar Full Of Song and that was certainly true of this evening. There was a fair turn out when Nev Clay and his 12 string guitar kicked off just before 9pm. Nev has a real laid back approach and his humorous monologues about songs ranging from tattoo removals to beggars in Metro stations enlighten the audience.
More upfront is Steve Daggett playing material from his album Troubadour Territory. Steve's song-writing territory lies somewhere between the England of Ray Davies (Cybercafe), America of Gram Parsons (Always on my mind) and the Celtic folk-roots of Mike Scott (Mandolin Moon). I've heard the album and it's a diverse but charming collection of songs (well worth checking out CRACK review, MAY) and the live performance tonight equalled it. Steve really knows how to work a room and seems to be playing gigs in the area a lot lately so try and get to see him.
A short interval, background music courtesy of Ron Sexsmith and a very welcome hot buffet supper arrives (great idea) before Bex Mather takes to the 'stage'. Accompanied by acoustic guitarist Dan and trumpeter Graham, they ran rapidly through a short set of original songs. Bex has some voice and used it to great effect, particularly on the number 'Breathe'. She released a slow, gentle note that sustained for what seemed like bars and bars of delicate acoustic guitar phrases. Bex is quite capable of taking the Kathryn Williams route to success and most of the songs tonight will surely make it on to her debut album that she is currently recording.
A great evening of original songs, played in a rather small but interesting venue of which I'll make a point of visiting again.
Elephant Man
get rhythm - aug 99
Prelude, Live Theatre 07/07/1999
A rare set by producer Steve Daggett, simply on acoustic, opened up the evening for the return of Prelude to prominence and a show celebrating the release of 'Good for You', the album reviewed in last month's GR. Daggett wasn't to be phased by the occasion and treated a full-house to a set of original material, which under the circumstances was a brave move. Steve has a repertoire of hundreds of songs and could have taken the road marked 'easy' but instead gave the audience a well balanced set of acoustic/rock material, still awaiting release, which has a commercial edge and is 'user friendly'.
berwick advertiser - 11 nov 99
….The Maltings provided the facility for not one but two top class acts….However I came not to bury Prelude and Steve Daggett but to praise them, for praise they most certainly deserve. In an atmosphere that must have felt little better than a rehearsal room they did what professionals do, they ignored it, put on a cracking show and entertained we happy few. For that fact alone they deserve to be applauded.
Sometime Lindisfarne man Steve Daggett opened the show. I hate the word support and in an acoustic set made up of largely his own songs, he gave an example of the best of the passionate singer-songwriter. He covered the range of experiences and emotions and, as the best of them do did it with personal stories.
There were two moments during the evening that sent a shiver up my spine, one was Prelude's rendition of 'After The Goldrush'. The other was Daggett's tribute to the late Alan Hull, when he sang 'January Skies', (!?) a song I was privileged to hear sung at the City Hall more than 20 years ago, for a moment The Maltings was filled with musical ghosts and we were young again.
get rhythm - dec 99 - barrels alehouse
First up is Steve Daggett, perhaps better known for his studio production skills, but tonight he is here to play some of his own songs…..Daggett bares his soul on the beautiful and haunting tribute 'Mandolin Moon'…. Another that grabs the attention is the humorous, yet poignant 'Cybercafé' with it's sharp lyric.….Steve's in fine Gibson thrashing form and what he may lack in guitar acrobatics he more than makes up for in his delivery of the song. This is a raw performance by an honest and passionate songwriter.