Walker arrives on stage for tonight’s solo performance in effervescent mood, basking in the positive affirmation that a sold out show brings, picks up his acoustic guitar which he coaxes into life with a series of raked harmonics and before long we’re off into a set comprising songs from new album, Primose Green, as well as some deftly delivered cover versions.
It’s instantly clear to see and hear that Walker is a masterful guitar player in the folk sense, his finger picking is both graceful and dynamic, alternating between powerful thumb pick bass work to butterfly light top end arpeggios, initially delivered on glassy sounding 12 string. This coupled with his dedication to open tunings and taste for jazzy chord inversions puts me in mind of the folk playing of Bert Jansch and 'Judy' era John Renbourn. This is a great thing, a pleasure to listen to and be transported by as it never becomes overly fussy or showy and therefore steers well clear of the wankery of many modern day guitar virtuosos.
If this was all that was on display this evening I’m sure Walker would still attract a crowd. However, what sets this 25 year old apart from the numerous other guitar whizz kids becomes apparent when he opens his mouth and releases a voice that is quite simply one of the greatest noises I’ve ever heard in this venue.
It is a voice of rich timbre and astounding power that traverses octaves on a whim and in turn conjures jazz-like phrases repeated in mantra fashion until he decides to let you down easy and begin on a new trajectory. It is a voice that searches, yearns and yelps and it is capable of magic. It is also impossible for me not to draw a comparison to a certain alluded to 60’s icon as there are times tonight when Walker moves his voice into the upper registers of his range and the closeness to Tim Buckley becomes undeniable.
Clearly having fun, Walker plays and sings his songs with abandon fuelled by the ‘Brighton hospitality’ and admitting that he is ‘on top of the world’ during one of his many mid guitar tuning anecdotes.
The two cover versions that Walker includes this evening are unsurprising in their respective authors’ influence on his own sound: John Martyn’s Over the Hill and Van Morrison’s Fair Play. Both of which are faithfully reproduced, with Fair Play particularly suiting the soulful nature of Walker’s voice.
It’s listening to these cover versions that leads me to think that Walker’s often lavish and extended guitar landscapes in his own material, though impressive in their own right, do sometimes detract from the emotional impact of the song. Both these covers are delivered with a more frugal musical touch and subsequently allow space for his vocal to breathe.
A minor quibble that I’m sure is rendered redundant when said playing is placed within the jazzier ensemble context of his recorded works.
I leave tonight’s gig feeling inspired, Ryley Walker is an undeniable talent and I look forward to delving further into his back catalogue, excited to see how his artistry develops.