Late calling.
Spike Flynn is an Australian live veteran of well over fifty. Still, it is only now that he releases his self-released debut containing nine original songs.
He starts surprisingly with the almost nine minutes long title song, an evocative ballad full of restrained melancholy about comfort in a derelict town. The jazzy influence is strong because of Micky Young’s long lines on sax, just like in Silver Nitrate Serenade. In that song Flynn sings how a love was lost because she clung to her ideals and he only clung to his guitar, accompanied atmospherically by drummer Ian Heffernan and bass player Brian O’Rourke amongst others.
Flynn plays five of this kind of narrative, bluesy songs, but he also convinces in a gallopping country song, two country ballads and a folk ballad.
Strangely enough, these good songs almost all stem from 1980, but Flynn’s second CD is bound to arrive sooner: fortunately, he would be planning that in the meantime.
***1/2