It`s an old music business axiom that the true test of a song`s worth is how it sounds stripped down to its bare essentials. That was exactly the approach taken by Midge Ure, Chip Taylor, Rosie Flores, Don Henry and Darden Smith on Saturday at the China Club, in a show entitled, ”In Their Own Words (A Bunch of Songwriters Sittin` Around Singing).”
Sitting in a row on wooden chairs, each took a turn singing as the others backed them up on acoustic guitar, percussion and vocal harmonies. Coming from wide-ranging musical backgrounds, that the five found common ground was a testament to both the power of a good song and the mutual respect among the musicians.
The ”In Their Own Words” series originated at New York`s Bottom Line 2 years ago, with the China Club lineup being the first to take to the road.
Best known for his stint with the British techno-pop group Ultravox, on paper Midge Ure seemed like the odd man out. Though acknowledging that he`s most associated with synthesizer-laden hits, he turned in a surprisingly effective rendition of Ultravox`s ”One Small Day.”
About 180 degrees away from Ure musically was Don Henry, winner of a 1991 ”Best Country Song” Grammy for co-writing the Kathy Mattea hit,
”Where`ve You Been?” His wry social commentaries poked fun at suburbia
(”The Company Car”) and at traditional gender roles (”Breadwinner Man”).
In terms of credits, Chip Taylor`s are indeed impressive, having written such diverse songs as ”Wild Thing” for the Troggs and ”Angel Of the Morning,” a hit for both Merilee Rush and Juice Newton. And though probably the weakest performer of the bunch, he got across on pure songcraft, singing
”Papa Come Quick,” which appears on Bonnie Raitt`s latest album.
The lone female performer was Rosie Flores who, along with Ure, contributed some strong lead guitar work to the others` performances. In a strong and clear voice she sang material from her new ”After the Farm”
album, including a driving version of ”Blue Highway.”
Darden Smith of Austin, Texas, is one of those ”bubbling under” talents whose commercial success has yet to match his critical acclaim. The best of his songs was the tale of star-crossed lovers ”Frankie & Sue.”
The show was not without its problems, though. Most irritating was the constant buzz of conversation that at times threatened to drown out the performances.
But if you could tune out the distractions, this peek into the songwriter`s art made for a fascinating evening.
