Alan Blackshaw - Maybe This Year

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In the end, there was really no alternative to what was inevitable, and the ‘maybe’ in ‘Maybe this year’ became ‘definitely’ for Alan Blackshaw. ‘Maybe this year’ was released in 2008, and is a collection of songs that represents a broad personal sweep of Alan’s life, times and philosophy; a kind of musical blog.

As I listen to the CD, three words that immediately spring to my mind: unpretentious, uncomplicated and honest. A fusion of country and folk, these are songs that come straight from the heart, and are genuinely Australian in outlook and feel; as Australian as “The Streets of Forbes”. My impression is that they come from a kind-hearted battler who has experienced a fair swag of life, but who has found an inner contentment that allows him to look upon the world around with a keen observer’s eye.

The songs cover nearly thirty years of writing. The oldest (‘White Feathers’) was written in 1980, and portrays the consequences of conscientious objection to a war. This track, and others such as “Kalkadoon”, “The Rebel Song” (possibly an allusion to Ned Kelly), and “We just pass these people by” (which looks at isolation in contemporary society) are philosophical in nature. “Lover’s Waltz” and “Heart Next to Mine” are gentle love songs. We see a different perspective of Changi in the song of that name, then jump to the more mundane task of buying a house in “Talking About Houses”. Through all these songs emanates a love of life and the land. There are no gimmicks on this CD, other than some technological tricks on the vocals on a couple of tracks (for example, the vocal doubling on “Lover’s Waltz” and “One is Left”) which were probably unnecessary. Mostly Alan accompanies himself on guitar, but occasionally adds his own bass and extra guitar, and thus there is a pleasant simplicity to this album, which he recorded himself.

On his website, he refers to his interests and influences including “performers like Johnny Cash, Neil Young, Bruce Cockburn, Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, The Strawbs, The Carter Family and Pat Drummond”, but I’m pleased that Alan has managed to develop and retain his own style. review by Mike Raine 2009

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