Fraser Anderson & Paul Tiernan

It rarely happens but it happened: last Saturday I foresaked my mountain, accompanied by part of my offspring, and hit the road to a lost abbey, somewhere in the piedmont region, near Aurignac.

No, it’s not my piety that forced me into visiting this magnificent place. Why spread the gospel around in the plains when altitude tends to make you more audible?

Yes, it’s my passion for Fraser Anderson’s music. After a winter of shoveling snow, bringing down trees and chopping wood, this was a well-deserved break from this isolated spot. I admit, they make me laugh at times, those songwriters that lock themselves up in a cabin lodge for six months to find the muse. I live here throughout the year and I don’t have any time to spare on writing songs. Jealous, Me? I sing out loud, bawdy songs, while splitting wood which has a double merit to it ; keeping the bear away and warming up my throat. But I digress…

And what a surprise! I was supposed to witness a one man show. Not only did the evening promise to be one of the best in this place full of history, when the presenter announced to the hundred or so audience that two folk magicians would take turns to offer us a memorable evening: Fraser Anderson and Paul Tiernan! Yes!
For almost a year I constantly have been missing out on the inevitable ‘Private Folk Sessions’ offered by this Pyrenean neighbour (Mr Anderson and his family chose to settle in Ariège)… and here we were, getting double compensation by two doses of excellent whiskey’s: Irish and Scottish!

Nearly 2 metres tall -or is it my admiration that made him look gigantic?- the Scotsman opens the first set under a scattered applause by a timorous crowd. The voice is there, even more spellbinding than on his first 2 albums. It’s undoubtedly the most important istrument of this storyteller. It takes us so high. What a delectation! But not without taking into account his dexterity on the chords. Rhythmic as well as melodic, he handles his guitar with virtuosity, which offers his words a magnificent support anchored in the pure folk tradition, but allowing himself some dazzling forays tending to the blues and jazz. 45 minutes and a fistful of songs later,  just as the audience was getting warmed up, the set of this tall bearded man was already completed.

A set of such intensity and variety that to this day it leaves me speechless, still enchanted by the magic. A mere two tracks of his previous albums were played, so the evening was dedicated to his forthcoming album, that should be released in the Autumn. What a density, what an anthology of dazzling tracks. This album will be a monument and I will take a bet on it, a masterpiece even. I’m not minimizing the quality of his first two, merely enunciating. It’s simply realizing what a huge talent this is!

A 15 minute break offered us the chance to congratulate the artist, whose kindness and availability undoubtedly surpass his ability to handle Voltaire’s language. I just had to put down a negative point of critique! Thereafter we rejoined the public for the second set, the one of Paul Tiernan.

It’s my friend Colby Stead that, nearly 4 years ago, made me discover the album ‘Belle‘ by this enchanting Irishman.  To those who are not familiar with the music of Paul Tiernan, I dare to make a comparison with Paul McCartney’s melody talent enhanced by a real ability to carry us away. To charm us, Paul chooses to open up with the ballad ‘Breakfast in Bed’, also the first track on his latest album ‘Earthquakes start with little cracks’. Soft notes perfumed by the Mediterranean, vocally accompanied by Fraser Anderson… magic time! Follows ‘Cracks in the pavement’ and ‘Skinny’. Even if the accents are more electric than the ones by Anderson, Tiernan offers us a magical trip into the very heart of his emotions. Once again, way too short, even when considering the encore.

I can’t but truly advise you to discover or listen again to these two phenomena, and to offer you the space to enjoy one of these fabulous voyages.

Artists : Fraser Anderson / Paul Tiernan
Where to buy ? cdbaby.com : Anderson / Tiernan
More appetizers ? Anderson / Tiernan