JOHN ILLSLEY (Dire Straits) – Long Shadows (2016)

Former Dire Straits bassist and multiple Brit & Grammy award winner JOHN ILLSEY is set to release his sixth solo studio album “Long Shadows” on May 20th 2016. The album follows his celebrated – and recommended by this blog – 2014 studio release Testing The Water and a last year’s live album.
Illsley jokes: ‘I have been working on these songs for 18 months – no point in rushing!’ But in reality, he has been in highly productive form in recent years: he made his first two solo records while Dire Straits were at their ’80s peak, but the new release will be his fourth studio project in just eight years.

Illsley sings lead vocals, plays bass and acoustic guitar on all of the album’s tracks, and recorded “Long Shadows” at his former bandmate and close friend Mark Knopfler’s British Grove Studios, as well as at Room With A View and A Bay Studios. There are guest appearances by another longtime Dire Straits and Knopfler collaborator, Guy Fletcher, who co-produced the album with John.
Although Illsley has never been one to comment extensively on the meaning behind his lyrical inspirations (preferring to leave interpretation to the listener), some tracks on “Long Shadows” do have a defined and contemporary relevance.
‘In The Darkness’ for example, is a take on the internet and how it seduces us all in some ways, but particularly those young people who get influenced to join radical religious groups.

Opening with the solemn instrumental ‘Morning’, the album swells and dips with each musical movement. Energetic numbers like the aforementioned ‘In The Darkness’ and title track ‘Long Shadow’ are indicative of Illsley’s rock and blues background, demonstrating his ability as a seasoned musician and composer who can move with the times.
The track ‘Long Shadow’ combines many of the salient elements in his musical armoury to provide the album with a notable lift. He draws on an old school, album formatted musical vision to explore an essential flow and lever the listener into some deep grooves, nuanced guitar parts and subtle chord changes, that somehow feel an essential part of the song.
Both songs as well, have a strong Dire Straits vibe. Illsley had a major role in creating the sound and the success of Dire Straits – he and Mark Knopfler were the only original members to remain with the band from its beginnings in 1977 right through to 1995 when it folded.

Illsey is happiest when sculpting the bottom end of a groove and then adding his whispered vocal to evocative lyrics. Not everything works in the same way though, as the atmospheric ‘There’s Something About You’ is the triumph of feel and presence over lyrical substance, while the J.J. Cale style shuffle ‘Lay Me Down’ is all subtle brush strokes, Robbie McIntosh’s delicate slide and feels like an audio equivalent of Illsley’s other passion of layered paint strokes.
The album ebbs and flows with a laid back, late night vibe full of aching vocals, crisps tic-toc rhythms and ethereal guitar tones that have a reassuring familiar feel.
By the time he signs off with ‘Close To the Edge’, he’s back in that dreamy Straits feel over which gently mugs us with a classic line: “You can’t get angry with the angels, ‘cos they’re so difficult to find, there’s a cloud we call heaven, watch your credit cards declined”.

“Long Shadows” reaffirms John Illsley’s role as an observational lyricist and story teller, whose subtle arrangements and expressive vocals help shape an enjoyable and very accessible album.
Additionally, Illsley is doing here what Dire Straits fans want to hear, and Mark Knopfler has been refusing to compose / record for more than 20 years.
Something different from the usual bombastic stuff featured on this blog, and something different (and good) for the soul.

1 – Morning
2 – In The Darkness
3 – Comes Around Again
4 – There’s Something About You
5 – Ship Of Fools
6 – Lay Me Down
7 – Long Shadow
8 – Close To The Edge

John Illsley – Lead vocals, bass, guitar
Phil Palmer – Electric lead guitar
Simon Johnson – Mandolin, guitars
Paul Beavis – Drums and percussion
Robbie MacIntosh – Slide guitar
Steve Smith – Keyboards, Taurus bass pedals
Jess Greenfield, Jess Illsley & Dee Dee Illsley – backing vocals
Everton Nelson, Ian Humphries, Bruce White, Caroline Dale – Strings
Guy Fletcher – Hammond organ, synths, backing vocals, co-producer

PRE ORDER:
www.amazon.co.uk/Long-Shadows-John-Illsley/dp/B01CZ7OK4C
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