Compelling remembrance
Recorded and released last year in the States "Spark" is Alain Johannes first solo record and commemorates his sadly departed wife Natasha Shneider. Johannes, thus far in his career has been the eternal sideman recognised for his performances with such modern luminaries as Queens of the Stone Age and Chris Cornell as well as the likes of John Paul Jones rather than as a musician in his own right. On "Spark" Johannes brings forth all his creativity employing a wide variety of instruments and moods reminding those outside the music fraternity what a talent he is.
"Spark" doesn't fit in with the music of these big rock icons being a mostly low key and electricity free affair. Spanning middle-eastern raga and the freakier end of Americana across its eight tracks it is a subtle and beguiling listen. Opener Endless Eyes sounds like what the Beach Boys would have recorded if they'd upped sticks and took to the Silk Road to record 'Pet Sounds'. It takes you straight into Johannes' head-space, "It's killing me that I must go on living/Just to fill this cup of promise/It's tearing me apart we're so connected/It's the you in me/Each day I'm resurrected". Whereas 'Return to You' opens with a light ukulele strum before taking a Mercury Rev circa Deserter's Songs twist and incorporating the first "bum, bum-bum" vocal line I've heard since 'The Frog Chorus'.
'Make God Jealous' is a song that should be of immediate delight to fans of guitarists such as Davy Graham and John Fahey or anyone who has lost themselves in an early seventies rendition of 'White Summer' by Jimmy Page. The oscillating guitar drones and chimes around with the constant companion of the tabla and Alain's unexpectedly rich voice. 'The Bleeding Whole' is forthright and naked, "I feel it all/Emptiness fills the bleeding whole" a truly eerie and haunting three and a half minutes. However, following this is 'Gentle Ghosts' a more uplifting track evoking a more joyful spiritual existence before Johannes sings to his wife "Oh you were not afraid of letting go/So I am not afraid of letting go".
Despite the album's short running time there is much to lose yourself in on "Spark". In fact, it demands repeated listens to fully capture its lyrical and musical reflections and refractions. For an indication of the way "Spark" feels listen to Johannes on 'Speechless' as he describes the content better than I "The resonating drone/Lost in a maze". A wondrous tribute.