Gin and tonic

Press, 24 April 1986, Page 10

Gin and tonic

MARTIN CURTIS “Back From The Hills” (Cityfolk CFROI2) The old saying you can't always tell a book by its cover also applies to records as this one shows. The cover of “Back From The Hills” is not exceptionally eyecatching, a typical New Zealand country scene, a man on his horse (no dog) with mountains in the background. After the magnificent "Gin And Raspberry” album by Martin Curtis, the Wanaka folksinger, I would have preferred a much better cover as a good selling point. But it is between the sleeve that counts, and again Curtis has done exceptionally well. He has shifted from concentrating on the goldfields of Central Otago to the farming country of the McKenzie Basin, at least at first. But on side two he moves back to Cardrona and the gold, and finally to two sealing songs, and the neat divisions gives the work a consistent feel. Another great point is that Curtis has been prepared to take a back seat on the LP, incorporating this time a female vocalist, Chris Penman, plus assorted other folk musicians from the South Island, all of which adds up to a fine musical album — and not necessarily one that dedicated folkies should seek out either. The point is made in the second track on side one — “Back From The Hills.” This is the central part of the sheepfarming section, and Chris Penman takes the lead as a woman waiting for her man to come back from mustering when the weather turns bad. He does, but later goes off to fight overseas with his mates, and does not return. Written by Curtis in 1 1985, it is a tremendous song, sung plaintively by Penman. The song is a neat contrast to a song about McKenzie, the shepherd, who ran foul of the law

last century, and “Back From The Hills” also fits in with “No Man’s Land,” by Eric Bogle, about the futility of war. Another, Curtis original, “Kakapo,” is about the near extinction of another species, and again ,it shows that the Cardrona composer has a fine pen and an ear for a song. Side two opens on a different vein, in one of those songs that folkies like to sing, filled with humour and the doubleentendre. "Service,” composed anonymously (which is suprising), fits in with other kiwi standards such as “She’ll Be Right, Mate” and "Taumarunui,” as “service” is used in the mating sense and then referred to how politicians are "serving” the country!

Curtis heads back to the goldfields of Cardrona on “Bill Charlie’s Secret,” a song about a pirate, who first tried his hand at mining at Ballarat, in Australia, before running foul of the law and headed to New Zealand and the fields of Central Otago. Composed in conjunction with Ann Clifford in 1983, it fits in with Curtis’s last album, but sits well here too with its fascinating history. Curtis shows a certain empathy with the pioneer women, and writes a second song, “Sarah McPhee,” from the female point of view. A delicate song, backed by a second guitar from Eric McEachen, of Christchurch, well known in “concentric folk circles,” who features on most of the tracks. “Back To The Hills,” ends on a traditional folk note, two sealing songs, including "Davy Lowston,” which is done unaccompanied, except for a piano accordion late in the piece. “Back To The Hills” presents another alternative to the alternative music of New Zealand — music that is unlikely to get any airplay on commercial radio stations and yet deserves it. —NEVIN TOPP