Various Artists - Bluesfest 2009 : 20th Anniversary Edition (Album)
For 20 years the East Coast Blues and Roots Festival has consistently proven to be one of Australia’s premier festivals. Year after year, providing amazing line-ups spread over 5 days in Byron bay. Rain or shine (and more often than not rain) the event to many, is simply a religious experience. That said, it comes with no surprise that now, after concluding it’s 20th anniversary, a soundtrack to 20 years of Bluesfest is released – seemingly a trend with many annual festivals, an accompanying compilation album seems to be in order; Big Day Out has them, WOMAdelaide & Parklife also. It’s a good marketing move for any festival. It provides a good way for attendees to familiarise themselves with many of the lesser known acts, as is it a great souvenir to take home and reminisce on the year that was, plus it’s a non-insulting way for the festival to make a little more on the side – frankly; it works for everyone.
With all that in mind though, it must be said, there are two very different stances to be taken with the credibility of this particular release.
Taking the positive point of view first, this release combines a collection Bluesfest’s 09 artists with a smaller mix of previous festival favourites. Not a bad thing at all really, as the collection is a cohesive cross-section of tracks and artists alike. Structurally, Everyone Deserves Music by Michael Franti & Spearhead, followed byJames Brown’s It’s a Man’s World, John Butler Trio’s Zebra and Ben Harper & Relentless7 ‘s Why Must You Always Dress in Black is a combination made in heaven, which not only compliments each other, but proves that whoever compiled the track list (assumably festival organiser; Peter Noble) really knows how to put together a great compilation album (and festival line-up alike). It excites, and cohesively works as a whole.
Collecting well known songs such as Sinead O’Connor’s No Man’s Woman, and matching them alongside lesser known tracks such as Cubanismo’s Petit Mambo is a perfect way for the uninitiated to learn end explore sounds and music they may not otherwise come across in a fresh and exciting way. Additional honourable mentions must be paid to the truly great Terrnace Simien with his track The Pianist; a stunning track which only scrapes the surface of what this great artist has to offer, and Buddy Guy’s fitting album closer; Damn Right I’ve Got the Blues. In Peter Noble’s own words regarding the album; “This is just a serious slab served up hot ‘n spicy of Bluesfest. I love every song on this release. I would seriously ask you to consider letting it be the soundtrack to your life for a little while”. And to be perfectly honest, he’s quite right in every sense.
Well, sort of… onto the negative point of view…
For a “Serious slab” of Bluesfest, I think back to, and consider each year’s double cd consisting of 35-40 tracks that are put out to correspond with the festival. A great way get into the festival’s artists before it happens and a perfect way to re-live and enjoy the particular year that was, after the rain’s stopped and it’s all just a memory. It seems though, with this release, it’s kind of insulting and misleading that after a full 20 years, with seriously impressive artists consistently involved, that the “20th Anniversary Edition” release is limited to a focus on mainly the 09 line-up with only a few reoccurring from previous years, this all without even giving a nod to the many of the greats featured throughout the past line-ups, AND it’s released as a single disc with a mere eighteen tracks – that’s not even one artist from each year! Peter Noble says he loves “every track on this release” well good for him, so do I, but call this CD “Peter Noble’s Best of Bluesfest wet-dream album”, and you may get an idea what this album is all about.
There’s nothing wrong with Mr. Noble having his favourite artists and tracks and focussing on them year in and year out, but in that (and that alone), this release seems a little too misleading, and rather under-whelming. I’m a great believer in doing something right, or not doing it at all, and sadly this release fits into what should be the latter. A great compilation sure, but not a great representation of a marvellous festival after it’s 20th year.
So with that all said and done, weighing up the positives and negatives, and considering that if one was to let the album “be the soundtrack for your life for a while”, it wouldn’t be such a bad move, but the question needs to be asked; who’d be interested in this release? There are those who attend the festival each year, and for those who like the idea of buying an album for the festival, they would benefit much more from the mentioned Annual Double Album with the focus on the respective year.
There’s much more versatility and a larger cross section in that format and much more music for your money. So this release isn’t really for them – there really just isn’t the scope here to represent the festival as a whole fully. Then there’s those who are casual observers who just enjoy damn good music, be that fans of the festival or not, and that is where this release shines. If Peter Noble knows how to do one thing well, it’s line up and combine, not just good music, but truly brilliant music, into one big (or in this case; slightly shy of “big”) brilliant aural pleasure. Despite the fact that this release is puzzling in its format and release structure, it IS truly a brilliant aural pleasure when it’s all weighed up.
