Drumbo - City of Refuge (Proper) Each time an enterprising new act attempts a leftfield take on delta blues, the cry of ‘influenced by Captain Beefheart’ immediately goes out from the mouths and pens of ignorant and idle critics. Two wrongs rarely make a right and it’s with some reticence that I resort to the universal generalisation that, in point of fact, no musician or group of musicians has ever even so much as touched the rarefied cloth from which Trout Mask Replica was cut, but the man itself. John French apart. Drumbo is of course uniquely placed to pick up and carry the torch laid down by probably the only true creative genius to have worked in the field of contemporary popular music. Having not only acted as musical cipher on Beefheart’s most important albums, French also enjoyed the visual vantage point behind the drums from which he could study his performance, night after night. This apprenticeship made his leadership of the reformed Magic Band in 2002 entirely appropriate, and his assumption of the front man role both natural and highly successful. For those who witnessed their performances then, the music went way beyond tribute or celebration of their absent founder. Lone among all attempts of the last twenty years to capture some of Beefheart’s spirit and share it with an audience, the team of French, Boston, Lucas and Whalley pulled it off with such aplomb (and here I kid you not), grown men were reduced to tears of joy. Shame then on those philistine promoters who drew the resurrection to a premature end by branding the project a copy act and declining to back it. If this release of entirely self-penned songs is French’s riposte to their sneering demands for new material, then it couldn't be stronger, since City of Refuge scores on every level. A version of the Magic Band appears throughout, different to the touring outfit in the significant sense that the estimable guitar pairing of Gary Lucas and Denny Whalley gives way to none other than the legendary Bill (Zoot Horn Rollo) Harckleroad and Greg (Ella Guru) Davidson. As a result stunning playing underpins a set of magnificent compositions topped off by French’s forceful, passionate and rasping vocals. The heart and soul of Beefheart is there in spades, as the makers will have intended, but many would reasonably have doubted they could deliver. While titles, writing, lyrics, singing and musical styles alike carry the unmistakable Van Vliet hallmarks, right from the opening bars of “Bogeyman” through “Get So Mean”, “The Wicked Witch of War” and more, slavish emulation and parody is skilfully avoided. To this end the brilliant “The Shirt off My Back” and the stunning title track in particular have a contemporary feel that moves the overall sound into a realm of its own. For Beefheart purists of course nothing short of a lost masterpiece linking Decals to The Spotlight Kid will satisfy, and for those who think they can hear the great man in The Coral’s pop tunes, there’s probably no point bothering at all. But for the many more who loved Beefheart and The Magic Band on their own terms, who genuinely get it as something precious to listen not pose to, and who have thirsted for more since getting their hands on Ice Cream for Crow over twenty five years ago, this will come as an inspiration and a delight. www.myspace.com/drumbojohnfrench Neil B. Next