Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Under Milkwood is undeniably one of the great moments in literature, not just in the 20th Century, but across all the centuries in which the English language has played a part in delivering adaptions, translations, and unique voices to the passionate hearts of the nations and islands that make up ‘the sceptred isle”.
To capture its soul in any form of artistic endeavour is to come close to the beating heart of Dylan Thomas, and to feel the soul of humanity in its infancy, in the six other ages of a human life. Many have come close, but none quite hit the mark; you only have to listen to say Genesis’ The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, read the biography of Tony Hancock by Cliff Goodwin (When The Wind Changed: The Life And Death Of Tony Hancock) or even stand outside with your ears open and your mouth closed as you truly understand what makes the world move, the emotional pull of conversation, of memory, of the pinnacles of expression, laughter, sadness, fierce damnation, beauty; and then you find it all fits neatly in the hands of those who welcome the Muse.
John Jenkins’ new album, Tuebrook is in that realm, it is a piece of art that moves the listener, cajoles it, defends the right of the listener to feel the crush of overwhelming humanity, and then lifts with hope in such a way that you feel every torse quiver, every muscle ache in trepidation and style…this is an album for the age, and to hear it is to love it.
The album brings together songs and moments that gel so completely you can almost hear the playwriter’s influence, certainly the poet is in attendance, and like many that utilise the freedom of human interaction, of the segway into another’s mind, Tuebrook is a place on a map, like Dylan Thomas’ famous town, but which is steeped in the real and the earthly.
In the world of Tuebrook, songs are framed as kings, and as tracks such as Christopher Roberts, Passing Time, and Lost In The Storm (A Sadness Far Too Heavy), John Jenkins releases a moment starched out perfectly, this is the sum of patience and beauty merged, a sound heard on the streets as the creative truly finds the voice of the surrounding area across all its time.
To be in the presence of everything is to be blessed, is to understand the significance of your place in the scheme of all things; in Tuebrook’s streets, to stand in the doorways, and pound the pavements, the search for human companionship is drawn to its zenith.
Ian D. Hall