Written by Michael Hunter, Green Man Review, October 5 2008
Until more recent times, the thought of Alistair Hulett as part of a band would lead inevitably to his time in Roaring Jack and their wonderfully thrashy folk rock. However, his latter-day musical history has seen him perform solo and as part of various duos (with Dave Swarbrick and David Rovics, for example) in acoustic mode. So now that he is part of a band again, the question inevitably arises as to how The Malkies fits into the rest of his musical oeuvre, and indeed if the group can be seen as more than just the "Alistair Hulett Band".
To take the second point first, a quick glance on the bio section of their Web site shows that all other members - Phil Snell (mandolin, fiddle, lap steel), Hugh Bradley (double bass, harmony vocal) and Hugh Whitaker (drums, percussion) - have each had long and diverse musical careers taking in bands such as the Whisky Priests and Bayou Gumbo. So there is plenty of experience and individuality within the group to give it its own flavour.
A couple of guests also provide extra vocals on various tracks - Gavin Livingstone's melodic tones provide backing vocals in various places, while Rachel Goodwin sings co-lead on a number of songs. Both singers help to add a different texture to the vocal line and, in common with the general arrangements, equal prominence is given to each voice and instrument so the overall effect is that of a band, not a collection of musicians each vying for the front spot.
With regard to how the album fits into Hulett's own history, there is a possible double-edged sword, at least in these early days of The Malkies. For many people, he will be the main attraction and, since this CD largely features his own writing - often songs that he has recorded previously in his earlier career - there is the possibility that the "band" nature of the arrangements and performance can be overlooked, or compared too easily to what has been before, rather than stand on its own obvious merits. I imagine that if this is an issue at all, it will be a short lived one as new material enters the repertoire, written and/or arranged to be specifically their own.
So if we leave such pondering and possible over-analysis to one side and concentrate on Suited & Booted itself, it's easy to appreciate the album as its own work, and a thoroughly enjoyable debut recording.
Even if around half the tracks are familiar in one way, the new arrangements are usually so different as to render them practically new songs. The rest are arrangements of traditional pieces and works by Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie; these are similarly treated in an individual style - and the chosen songwriters should give a clue regarding the not unexpected political nature of much of the material.
Older Roaring Jack songs include the opener 'Buy Us A Drink' which began life as a typically breakneck folk rock song but it now has a gentle sway which, in common with other tracks here, does tend to make the understanding of the lyrics easier to some degree. The arrangement may be subtler but the playing is tight, with all instruments and vocals on a similar sound level. Likewise, 'Playing For The Traffic' is now more easy-flowing and it is noticeable that the language has been somewhat toned down as well! 'Are There Honky Tonks In Heaven' is now almost straight country with a not overly serious lyrical side, and some excellent acoustic guitar and mandolin work by multi-instrumentalist Phil Snell.
'Out In The Danger Zone', another reworking, is a very catchy midpaced song of social justice, again featuring some fine lead mandolin work.
As mentioned previously, a few traditional pieces are featured - these include well-known songs such as 'High Germany' and 'The Wife Of Usher's Well'. The latter is a mysterious, supernatural song with an appropriate arrangement. Hulett sings like he really feels it, with expressive vocals leading to a captivating track overall.
I've heard 'The Overgate' performed by other artists using the name 'The Beef Can Close'. It is one of the overtly Scottish tracks on the CD, though as a collection the album doesn't really fit into one particular geographical location. Likewise, 'The Road To Dundee' is both trad and Scots but is given a country styled arrangement here. It is one of the many story songs that fill the album - one of the usual definitions of folk music of course, though The Malkies try to steer clear of even such an obvious description of their sound.
'Quite Early Morning', the Pete Seeger track, is a kind of country blues and another duet between Hulett and Goodwin. It is also a good example of how his voice can hold its own on slower numbers as well as rockers - as he has amply shown in recent years anyway!
'Pastures Of Plenty' is another well-known song, of course, but the version here is great, with brushed drums and a steady rhythm - Phil Snell provides subtle fiddle within the arrangement, proving he is a handy man to have around the place.
The final track is the standard 'The Internationale', previously recorded by Hulett and many others. Here it is a fitting end to the album and perhaps a summary of its ethos; the version here still has a particular "rallying" effect to the lyrics without the listener feeling they're being browbeaten while listening!
So the first Malkies album can easily be taken on its own merits as an enjoyable and well-programmed collection of songs, with nothing else to consider. In the slightly bigger picture, when the collective sound that clearly applies to the playing is applied equally to the songwriting - or if a few new Hulett songs are kept exclusively for this band - they will perhaps be seen more easily as their own group, assuming that's the way they want to go.