Ralph McTell – Not Till Tomorrow

This album reached No. 36 in the U.K. chart for a week in November 1972. A Tony Visconti production! Expect superb arrangements, great separation and a dynamic sound stage. Danny Thompson on string bass. For these reasons, I picked a shaggy £1-bin copy up. Ralph McTell; a melodic songwriter that plays fingerpicked guitar with a prewar blues flavour in places. A fine picker that I completely dismissed when acoustic guitar was my bread and butter. Why? Likely, McTell is no maverick Davy Graham/Bert Jansch figure, and the songs are unashamedly melodic. There’s no eastern influences, no Monk-meets-baroque ornateness, no stamp of idiosyncratic character. Simply good songs, well structured, presented with a sure footed ease and an occasionally bluesy swagger. The picture of McTell on the back with his dog and denim jacket perfectly reflect the mood here. Warm, personable. His manager had apparently being playing him Neil Young (they shared a label for this album, Reprise) and this prompted McTell to go for a sparer sound here. It works well. (Visconti would say some 50 years later that he loved the ‘lo-fi sound’ of the album. Whilst modest in scope, it is rich in detail. And, it simply sounds good.) Loads of highlights, to my ears. Opener Zimmerman Blues has a gorgeous vocal melody. First Song is unapologetically lovely. Another Rain - McTell’s superb guitar technique matched with a gorgeous vocal line and superb, minimal production flourishes from Visconti. You could loop the minor-key discordant introduction to Gypsy and you would have a fairly convincing Fahey composition circa Days Have Gone By. This is another laid back, rolling and enjoyable record that is being spun to death in our house. Unreservedly recommend.