"On
the face of it, another album of solo guitar doodling by a total unknown. But
you don't need to listen any further than a few bars to realise that young Clive
(not yet 25!) is a very special talent indeed.
Born in Essex, played banjo, got into classical guitar, then the formidable
academic achievement. But there's no hint of academic coldness on this CD, which
contains some of the most refreshing guitar playing I've heard in ages.
His technique, though formidable, is softly challenging rather than intimidating.
It's not difficult listening; neither is it "easy listening", though it is easy
to listen to, curiously relaxing as well as fresh and lively.With its breathtaking
yet gentle control, Clive's guitar style convincingly (and wholly naturally)
straddles that often uneasy divide between folk and classical, while retaining
a strong contemporary edge.
Clive acknowledges Nick Drake as a major influence; but this comes across more
in the overall feel of his compositions, whereas their structural tightness
seems more a legacy of his study of the music of Benjamin Britten (I was reminded
of the 'Nocturnal' written in the early 60s for Julian Bream, with its dreamlike
recomposition and reinterpretation of elements of lute, classical Spanish and
oriental musics).
But then there's that slightly disturbed and disturbing quality found in both
Britten and Nick Drake, a restless energy, partly stemming from an inventive
use of chromaticism. The other main element in Clive's style is the flavour
of Irish traditional music; more in the sensibility and the vitality of the
picking rather than in any direct quotation of traditional tunes.
Individual highlights? 'Lost Innocence' is a miracle of economy of expression,
with its appealing, chiming harmonics and seemingly fragmented simplicity. The
complex, intricate ripples of 'Right-hand Man'. And 'Snake Bite Boogie', which
effortlessly transcends expected genre limitations.
Despite fleeting glimpses of Renbourn, Chapman, Fahey and Hedges, Clive's playing's
pretty much individual. He's also blessed with the aptest possible producer
for his debut CD; Chris Newman, who faithfully captures the guitar's true resonances
while bringing out the beauty and delicacy of Clive's playing.
This CD fully earns its glowing cover endorsement from John Renbourn, and I'm
convinced it will be highly regarded for a long time to come, not so much as
a triumph of technique, but as a triumph of musicality."
David Kidman - Rock'n'Reel
Sixth
Sense Reviews
CDs and DVD now available
online!
"The
1960s had Edinburgh's Bert Jansch and Kingston's John Renbourn; this generation
can claim Belfast's Colin Reid and now Londoner Clive Carroll as young and supremely
gifted carriers of the 'British fingerstyle' flag.
Reid and Carroll may or may not come to record together as their illustrious
predecessors did, but it is singularly intriguing that Reid's eponymous debut
in late '98 came with an endorsement from Jansch, while Carroll's arrives a
year later with a glowing sleevenote from Renbourn.
We'll leave the comparative studies for another day: suffice to say that the
British Isles guitar tradition could have no safer, or more complementary, quartet
of hands.
Compositionally assured, with a breathtaking mastery of techniques and antecedents
from Benjamin Britten to Nick Drake (both specifically acknowledged with Michael
Hedges) and from Renbourn himself through Gordon Giltrap to Pat Metheny, this
is stunning and eminently listenable stuff."
Colin Harper -MOJO Magazine
"Still
in his mid-20s, Clive Carroll looks marked for greatness. Until recently, he
was content to simply wander into his local pub and astound the regulars with
his technique. But the twist (worthy of the film that shares the album's name)
is that Clive, while happy to perform in such humble surroundings, has won a
string of awards for composition and performance and holds a first-class honours
degree from London's Trinity College of Music.
This album (described by John Renbourn as 'a milestone on the journey of the
steel string guitar') is one of startling composition and glorious technique.
Anyone with an interest in acoustic music should listen to this;
Clive spans the fields of traditional, classical and jazz, and his blistering
technique comes to the fore in tracks like Aerial Discoveries. We'll have an
interview and advice on composition from Clive in the very near future."
Matt Swaine - Guitarist Magazine
"From
the unfathomably fleet run that introduces the poignant Secrets to the ethereal
two hand tapping of Aerial Discoveries to the eclectically folky Castle Combe/The
Rude Reel/ The Fly Reel, the 25-year-old Essex native paints with a broad palette
in colours that strike straight to the soul on his debut LP.
Equally significantly, Carroll manages to couch the seemingly slight-of-hand
technical abilities of a Legg or an Akkerman in a musical context that's always
passionate, warm, richly organic and consistently welcoming, and in tones that
are far more wooden than piezofied - thereby remaining many times over more
appealing than a sorrowfully large number of his whizz-kid predecessors.
You play the guitar right? So buy this! It's amazing."
Guitar Magazine
"Prior
to this, his debut CD, Clive Carroll would simply pick up his guitar, saunter
down to his local pub and play for the regulars. Not much new or exiting there
you might think. However, the man has an awesome technique to sit along side
his degree in composition from Trinity College, London.
His style is a composite of disparate influences with classical and contemporary
strands woven together into a distinctive sound that will prick up the most
stoical listener. He has a metronomic right-hand reminiscent of the best classical
players but he also draws from many of the Anglo-American finger pickers of
the last thirty-odd years. For example, on "Clonlara" he invokes a Martin Simpson
feel without any hint of copying.
He pays due tribute to others - Michael Hedges on "Aerial Discoveries" and Nick
Drake on "Southbound" and "Promise of Spring" - but the tunes will impress on
their own merit even if the listener is unfamiliar with any of the names above.
I remember the downbeat magazine used to run a regular feature where they would
invite some star musician to listen to a handful of records and guess the identity
of the performers. If Clive Carroll happened to be one of the mystery artists
I wouls defy anyone to venture the opinion that this was a debut recording!
Such is the level of compositional skill and technique that he sounds like a
veteran of the scene.
On the evidence of this CD, this man is a world-class player who cannot be allowed
to languish in his local pub or on the periphery of the music business. This
really is a major talent with the unfortunate handicap (like others before him)
of not having a convenient "file under pop" label to attract the public at large.
The fact that the CD is endorsed by two of the UK's finest exponents of finger-style
guitar - John Renbourn and Chris Newman (who also does a great production job)
- is no sop. Carroll is a richly talented player and composer who should be
applauded for his eclecticism as much as his virtuosity.
If you have the remotest interest in the guitar and you are not knocked out
by this man I am happy to exhibit my nether regions in the proximity of Fenwick's
frontage!"
Alan Nichol - 'Get Rhythm' Magazine
LIVE
REVIEW 27th March, 2000 'Carroll proves guitar is live and well' Whoever says
guitar music is dead obviously hasn't listened to Clive Carroll.
I caught up with the Essex-Irishman at the Fourth Bolivar Guitar Festival last
week, a three-week celebration of up-and-coming guitarists from around the world
sponsored by the Venezuelan Embassy.
A graduate of Trinity College, London, Carroll has attracted the attention of
Maire Ni Chathasaigh, Chris Newman and John Renbourn who wrote the sleeve notes
to Carroll's debut album, Sixth Sense, which was released last year to acclaim.
After the one-hour show, another guitar legend in the form of John Williams
emerged from the audience to offer Carroll his congratulations.
So what about the music? Technically excellent, Carroll seamlessly moves from
south American numbers to Irish Traditional airs. This melting pot approach
works brilliantly when he's accompanied by fiddler Molly Mulready on one song,
Loch na gCaor."
John Crowley - Irish Post
A SIXTH SENSE FOR SIX STRINGS Clive Carroll is probably the best and most original
young acoustic guitar player and composer in Britain. The 23-year-old, quiet
spoken young man gets on well with his parents, dresses sensibly, drives within
the speed limit, and has no desire to be a star, but you're likely to be hearing
a great deal more of him in the future.
He just released his first album, Sixth Sense, which significantly extends the
frontiers of Celtic music and showcases dazzling instrumental and compositional
skills that have already won Carroll several major prizes, including an award
from Ivor Mairants, the Gladys Puttick Memorial Prize for Extemporisation, and
the John Halford Prize for Composition.
Carroll has been immersed in music since birth. His mother, Jean, born in Clonlara
in County Clare, Ireland, plays button accordian; his sister, Becky, plays the
guitar and sings; and his father, Mike, also of Irish descent, makes and repairs
musical instruments and plays banjo and bodhran.
When Carroll was just 18 months old, his father made him a banjo, and by the
time he was ten Clive was a member of the Jean Carroll family band. "I started
out playing Bluegrass on banjo," he recalls. "I wasn't allowed to watch TV until
I'd practised. It was a great incentive! Then, when I was 12, I started playing
guitar.
By 14 he was touring Europe with the Essex Guitar Orchestra. "I went through
an electric guitar phase but settled on acoustic," Carroll recalls. "I also
started to think about what I wanted to do in the long term and decided I'd
like to get into composition." He studied classical guitar and composition at
Trinity College of Music in London and graduated last year with a first-class-honours
degree.
He now teaches guitar and composition. While studying, Carroll played in Back
to Basics with his sister Becky on guitar and vocals and Jasper "Pob" Salmon
on violin. "Secrets," the fifth cut on Sixth Sense, dates from this time.
Back to Basics did promotional work for Guinness and played in Ireland before
disbanding. Becky went on to record her own solo album, while Clive studied
and played gigs in his spare time. Carroll met guitarist Chris Newman at a gig
in London's Hammersmith Irish Centre, and Newman invited him to record for his
Old Bridge record label (PO Box 7, Ilkley, W. Yorkshire, LS29 9RY, England;
phone/fax [44] 1943-602203; obm@compuserve.com
).
All the tracks on Sixth Sense are originals. Carroll's composition 'Aerial Discoveries'
is an homage to Michael Hedges. "With his use of two-handed tapping, Michael
broke down musical barriers." Carroll says, "allowing a refreshing new range
of homophonic and polyphonic textures to evolve."
'Southbound' is dedicated to Nick Drake, another of Carroll's heroes. "I first
encountered Nick's music on a trip to Edinburgh in 1996 and wrote this on the
train back to London," He says.
Most of Carroll's compositions are in standard tuning. "Snake Bite Boogie,"
which he wrote for one of his students, Roger Noddings, is particularly tricky.
"Roger's got this extraordinary ability to learn everything I give him from
memory by the next lesson," Carroll says. "So one week, feeling a bit evil,
I gave him this and said, 'Right then Roger, see you next week!'"
