Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
To feel the sun on your face after an excruciating period of time where you have shut yourself away in the dark, is perhaps, aside from the rush of water flowing down your throat as you drink from the River of Dreams, the greatest gift you can offer yourself.
Time is in flux because we had the temerity to believe we could build dams with impunity across the river, that we syphon off the excess water and create false streams of information which are neither useful, nor positive. Human activity has stifled the course of the river it has been on, creating sediments that have built up and clogged the arteries, and it is only with the creativity and force of will managed by artists such as Johnny Coppin that we are still able to access the tributary and gather much needed solace as we float down stream towards the final seas and the lands that lay beyond.
In a river of dreams there must always be the shelter of banks and jetties in which to pull alongside and weave tales with others, for how else do the narratives and pleasures survive when they reach the far-off shores, and for Johnny Coppin and his superbly arranged new album, River Of Dreams, such a course of winding and gentle pleasure is enhanced by the company kept, the song that floats alongside the companions as they make their way to the shore to refill and replenish, and the notes taken, the dreams of hopes of those upstream as they continue to dream of one day joining the flotilla.
Joining Mr. Coppin as he pushes the boat of time past reeds, storms and the silt of others who see the river as a dumping ground and not as a natural beauty to be preserved, is a veritable display of accomplishment and oarsmanship which includes Paul Burges, Dik Cadbury, Geoff Marsh, John Broomhall, Mick Candler, Gareth Sampson, and Ben Church. It is to the well timed strokes of each musician’s oars that tracks such as the informative and entertaining tale of The Bisley Boy, Songs Of The Severn, Long Summer, theRosanne Cash, John Leventhal and Rodney Crowell written When The Master Calls The Roll, A Thousand Miles Away, In The Heart Of War, and First Light, come to be places in which the tide swells underneath them and raises them up to be undoubted treasures caught on the crest of a sparkling, diamond like, wave.
It is perhaps fitting though that Johnny Coppin’s adaption of his friend, the writer and poet Laurie Lee’s poem Long Summer, leaves its lasting mark on the listener as they feel the serenade of music catch their ears as they sit on the shallow banks, the water nibbling at their toes, and the urge to dive in headfirst and join life on the River Of Dreams.
An exceptional piece of art, Johnny Coppin has navigated the river with a sense of impeccable navigation, one to whom should be commended for the command undertaken. River Of Dreams is a vision of thoughts and tales caught in the wake of a tide of appreciation.
Johnny Coppin releases River Of Dreams on February 25th via Red Sky Records.
Ian D. Hall