LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

Track list: O For Summer / You Were Meant For Me / Lament For Shelley / Sands Of Time / Breizh / Broken Dreams / Paris / Linden Lea / Dans la Campagne / Big City Blues / Baby sing The Blues / Embraceable You
"All Roads Lead To Land" marks the welcome return to the recording arena for the inimitable Clive Palmer, one of the UK's most prized musicians and composers. A startling piece of work from the Incredible String Band legend, All Roads Lead To Land is a collection of self-penned songs each delivered in Palmer's characteristic laconic vocal style imbued with open-ended charm and forthright honesty. To the fore is Palmer's virtuostic banjo playing that once again pierces directly through the heart and leaves an instant impression on the senses. From the sublime reflections of love lost on"You Were Meant For Me," to the dark, eerie poignancy of"Sands Of Time," for most of the album this is a remarkable musician stripped down to the bare bones, a deeply affecting yet strangely welcoming experience. It's not long before you will be drawn into Palmer's world of lore and tale. With the majority of the album being solo there are a couple of remarkable exceptions. Re-united with his Famous Jug Band colleagues Jill Johnson, Pete Berryman, and Henry Bartlett on the album's opener, the traditional"O For Summer," Palmer is again reunited with an old friend and ISB compatriot, Robin Williamson, who provides the fiddle on the reflective"Paris." From his early days of explorative folk hipness with The Incredible String, through the folk club circuit and heady heights of Clive's Original Band, onto his work with the likes of Jansch and McTell, Palmer has become a musical inspiration for artists as diverse as Johnny Marr, Devendra Banhart, and even Billy Connolly who stated recently on Radio 2,"He was my banjo hero." All Roads Lead To Land will once again cement the reputation of Palmer as one of the great musical minds of the last 40 years.A UK tour is planned for later in the year. Full press from Del Day of Ark PR.