TRACK LISTING:

One Time Thing Looking For Charlie In Nogales It Ain't So Sensimilia One Time Thing Sometimes The Mallard Ponchatoulah Medley of 3 Instrumentals: Sweet Little Friend From Georgia Dust Devils Theme From The Movie Of The Same Name Postcards Of Scarborough Memphis In Winter Anniversary Shuffleboat River Farewell After All This Time Rabbit Hills Bon Ton Roolay Fahey's Flag Kodak Ghosts

Michael Chapman - Journeyman Live On The Tweed (Secret Films)
****If there was any justice in the world, a 'live' DVD from a man who famously once played an entire whisky fuelled set with his back to the audience,should promise a bit of an event. But in true Chapmanesque fashion -an the ol' boys one of the last great acoustic rebels - weirdness no longer forms part of his territory. So here he is filmed in whats obviously a favourite Berwick boozer, showing off his peerless guitar wizardry and singing songs from a back catalogue that'll put the frighteners on current young strummers. Although in the past Michael's had his chances - he cut albums with Mick Ronson and was a mate of the late John Fahey, and was once even John Peel's Radio One favourite - his profile has remained sadly low. However when it all comes down to it he has crafted some of the most beautiful acoustic soundscapes and on this showing is still on top of his game.

Julian Piper The Guitarist June 2004

Michael Chapman - Journeyman Live On The Tweed (Secret Films)

A no-frills straight-upfront film of the man with the criminally low profile in his ideal milieu and doing exactly what he does best - performing live in a small room (a Berwick-on-Tweed bar) - in August last year. This 105-minute film is a permanent record of what amounts to a highly typical Chapman live gig, which exemplifies Michael's reliable consistency and total artistry. Quite simply, he lives and breathes the music, and so do you when you're hooked in by his intimate and natural presentation. You just can't go away from this film without realising that the man's got more talent in his fingers than many of today's overtly flashier players (it's not just that Michael's strumming has soul) and that the man's penned more than a few classic songs over the years! The repertoire performed at this gig mixes pieces from all through the span of Michael's 20 albums and more than 35 years in the biz, from early material (One Time Thing, Postcards Of Scarborough, Rabbit Hills and Kodak Ghosts), steaming on through Navigation's The Mallard and then bringing it all up to date with stuff like Dust Devils and Looking For Charlie In Nogales from the most recent instrumental album Americana 2. This continuing gallery of vocal and instrumental snapshots from "time past and time passing" is interspersed in true Chapman fashion with dry, bluff anecdotes recounted in typically relaxed fashion with his trademark delicious humour. Happily, the man never lets up - and in doing so never lets down. Basically, this fine DVD gives as complete a picture of a present-day Michael Chapman performance as you'll get - without actually being there of course. And if you're not yet a convert, I feel sure you'll be in the queue for tickets for the next Chapman gig within striking distance after watching this. Sound quality's superb (and I mean superb), with absolute faithfulness to the tonal blend of the instrument and a credible (and wholly satisfying) balance between guitar and vocal, while the camerawork's welcomingly straightforward - unobtrusive, steady and allowing for plenty of study of the self-confessed journeyman's fretboard wonders (freeze those frames and marvel anew!) through a sympathetic use of gentle zooming in to close-up at key moments.

(Only one tiny quibble - the track menu on the box misleadingly titles item 1 as One Time Thing, whereas it's actually just a brief snatch of instrumental excerpt from that song shown as backdrop to scene-setting for the venue location.)

David Kidman netrythms Magazine 2004