Twinkled of eye and starry of smile, Jerry Fish is what one might call a real charmer. Ever the convivial host, it’s damn little wonder that he was collared from a pen of eager artists to front Other Voices: Songs From A Room. Like a kind of modern day Midas, everything he touches turns into a party. And when that happens in the legendary Spiegeltent, that’s a helluva party indeed.
Overall, this live album, recorded during Dublin’s Fringe Festival, is a wondrous, heady clash of strings, horns calypso jazz-pop and sexed up cabaret. To borrow a completely knackered cliché, there wasn’t much of a dry seat in the house.
If this recording is anything to go by, Jerry Fish has very much grown into himself as an artist since his days with An Emotional Fish. Exuding self-assurance from every thread of his bespoke suit, the gravel-voiced one and his Mudbug Club cohorts effortlessly deliver a seamless set of accomplished easy listening, blues and soul. ‘Ladies And Gentlemen’ is a snake-hipped Copacabana-inspired delight, while ‘Upside Down’ is a similarly slinky, sun-drenched wonder.
As far as live albums go, Live At The Spiegeltent is lavish, wonderfully-textured, and richly evocative of what must have been a rather fine night of wine and song. It’s music for grown-ups, there’s little doubting that; though it certainly helps if you’re still blessed with a hell of a lust for life.