(Electric Ragtime)

www.myspace.com/fullyqualifiedsurvivor

Singer/guitarist Michael Chapman has always been one of folk music most irrepressible eccentrics. While his English contemporaries - Richard Thompson, Al Stewart, John Martyn etc.-- indulged their traditional whims within the strains of late ‘60s/early ‘70s populist rock ‘n' roll, Chapman made little concession to commerciality, demonstrating an arcane style that juxtaposed exotic instrumental motifs with a tendency towards arched pontification. 

Ultimately, Chapman was fated to remain only a peripheral presence at best; while his early and best known album Fully Qualified Survivor earned him critical distinction, subsequent efforts were ignored by all but a small cult of dedicated devotees.  So fast forward nearly forty years to the release of Chapman's latest offering, an articulate, expressive example of vibrant acoustic guitar-play evoking pastoral bliss sketched from a blissful and ethereal perspective.  No longer the cockeyed commentator and irascible observer of old, Chapman has adapted the guise of a seasoned troubadour whose wizened visage and weathered, whiskey-glazed vocals find the perfect bond with his evocative exposition. That's evident in the darker, Dylanesque phrasing of "In the Valley," the adept slide work of "Fahey's Flag" (a nod to the late guitar great John Fahey) and the jaunty fretwork of "Memphis in Winter," all of which imbue nuance and intrigue.  What's more, there's no shortage of caressing melodies - "A Stranger's Map of Texas/The Twisted Road," "Dewsbury Road/That Time of Night" and "Caddo Lake," being among them.

 All total, they leave a serene, burnished afterglow, and with it, the sense that Chapman's aged gracefully and that however belatedly, he's earned his measure of reverence and respect in the process.

Standout tracks: "A Stranger's Map of Texas/The Twisted Road," "Dewsbury Road/That Time of Night," "Caddo Lake" LEE ZIMMERMAN