Label: earMusic/Edel 2019
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom
The pipes, the pipes are calling!!! It's the true Scottish sound by a highlander from Nazareth? It's the whole she-bang really and that's including the bagpipes, the haggies, the deep-fried mars-bars, as well as the accordion? It's actually quite the laid-back affair where Dan McCafferty take a step back from the hard rock arrangements and find himself at the singer/songwriter department?
Indeed. Don't go thinking Nazareth 2.0. since you'd be dead wrong. Last Testament stroll down the avenue of folk-rock and it's mostly about the interaction between Dan's ragged voice, the piano, the accordion, and the mix of acoustic and electric guitars. McCafferty met some musicians from the Czech Republic and got a lot of inspiration. Co-wrote all the song with Karel Marik, whose an internationally renowned accordion player, also responsible for production, piano, percussion, organ, and glockenspiel.
It's overall music in the vein of Joe Cocker (RIP), Rod Stewart/Faces, The Pogues, Lou Reed (RIP), and merely a couple or three uptempo hardrocking tunes inbetween the laid-back material (Home Is Where The Heart Is, My Baby, Bring It On Back). The accordion, very much present throughout the album and on all the tracks, giving 'Last Testament' a South-European feel and sound. However. The opening song-and-dance number, "You And Me", should have an fellow Scottish singer and Celtic-legend grinning while giving the thumbs up (that's Rod Stewart in case you got lost along the way). The transformation from Lou Reed to Rod on the opening verse is truly fascinating.
"Why", the heartfelt melody and lyrics that speak of being lonely and lost again. Marvelously raspy vocals by Dan and you sort of expect Marianne Faithfull to turn up for the duet? That would have been great actually, but sadly, no. "Tell Me" display all the mistakes and fault of McCafferty and speak of the damage and sorrow that he's caused in the past. It's sort of Dan's Johnny Cash moment and it's a very sad (but great) little tune to be honest. Nazareth fans might appreciate the piano remake of "Sunshine" from the year of 1974. Pete Agnew on back-up vocals. Final verdict: Quite different to be honest and not at all what we expected. This time, different is good. You probably need to enjoy the laid-back stuff to truly appreciate Last Testament. Recommended.
www.dan-mccafferty.com
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