James's voice is like a seventh string on his guitar, it's uncanny how well the two intermingle with each other and the effect is captivating.

14 MP3 Songs
FOLK: Modern Folk, ROCK: Acoustic



Details:
Alive in 2005 is the culmination of the hundreds of live gigs that James has played since releasing his last live album, 40 Minutes of Peace. Recorded one Saturday night in June 2005 far from the electricity grid in a marquee erected in the middle of the Forest of Dean, England, it features both old and new material as well as some stunning guitar improvisations. The CD reflects the special atmosphere of the night and the spontaneity that has come to characterise James' live performance.

âThis album shows James for the accomplished acoustic artist that he is." - www.bristolrock.co.uk

"He's an excellent and frenetic fingerpicker reminiscent of John Fahey - www.acousticmusic.com

Liner notes:

Recorded on 18 June 2005 at Marek's Dome, Noxon, Forest of Dean, England.

Thanks to everyone who was there (no, really!) Matt and Lisa, Marek, Steve, Rachel, Jade, Pete, Wils, Jude, Lisa, Lay and the Man with the Hat, Jon the DJ, Lynn, Lynn, Jess, Pete, Dan, Clare and Fin, Suleela, Big Matt, (who helped peel the stage-invader away from my new microphone... Highly amusing actually, in retrospect) and everyone else who was there.

Of course, thanks to Pete for fetching the water; Matt for all the beer I drank; Jade, Matt and someone else for the generators and Ashaman for the Sand-Dance riff (even though I never quite remembered it properly...).

Honourable mention to Pink Floyd and Metallica, whose songs inspired the final improvisation. However, I didn't include the actual tracks on this CD, so hope I'll get away without being sued for breach of copyright.

This collection of songs was recorded after a period of two or three solid years of constant gigging. Some of the songs were old 'favourites' and some were written only days before the performance. Some were improvisations that even I'd never heard before.

While mixing this album, I realised how different the performances from those on '40 Minutes of Peace', which had far more 'space'. Comments I'd had from people urging me to play faster and more furiously left their mark. Perhaps as a result, my style has acquired a more frenetic energy. This has its place, but if I do another live album after another similar interval, say in 2007, I may just about have got it right by then!

Talk about making hard work for yourself.

Anyway, it was an excellent night all round, I'm one of the few who actually remember it, I guess. At one point the speaker stack to stage-left fell over. This was while Rachel was singing accompanied by a guitarist sat on the side of the stage (I call it a stage, but it was really 3/4â ply-boards arranged on some hay-bales).

I was sitting cross-legged near the entrance to the dome about 20' from and directly opposite the 'stage'. So it happened that I was privileged to witness the slow arc that the stack traversed, even as I pointed, seemingly in slow motion, with my finger and inarticulately shouted âWooohhh...!â the speakers struck the amplifiers, someone's beer and the DJ equipment. Everyone else saw it in varying degrees of blurred haze.

Not that I'm implying anyone had been drinking. At a party? No way. But fate decreed that Jon's laptop collided with the speaker stack through no fault of its own, and was flipped several feet to a new resting place on a plywood-covered hay-bale. And it was still working.

In fact, the scene of apparent disaster had but two casualties: a couple of cable adaptors. Oh, and a beer. Some would say that this was the real disaster, but I assure them that there was beer a-plenty.

It was a charmed night. Even the disasters seemed simply to be there for entertainment value. So, the speakers fell over, the PA was silent, but the important thing was that the music went on and Rachel finished her song.

I'd like to say that this is a metaphor for our times, but of course, nobody would listen.

Peace and Love, James 15/12/05.