Review: Steve Tallis’ Memory Ghost
Steve Tallis
Memory Ghost
Zombi Music
These days residing and performing in Paris, Perth singer-songwriter Steve Tallis remains a blues enigma. The descriptors of shaman and griot have followed him for decades, and he has let them so, but for all the mysticism that is evoked by his words and music, Tallis is also a gritty realist and a man who remains true to his individual paths and beliefs.
As such, his new album, Memory Ghost, is enigmatic in itself. For many other artists, this three-CD release could act as a career compendium, but for Tallis, this is simply his new album. That he could have had a new LP out each year over three has been overlooked, and his flood of hard work and ideas is presented in one package (1,000 limited edition physical copies at that).
Disc 1 is a 15-track collection of works in collaboration with respected WA percussionist Gary Ridge (Manteca, Helen Matthews – A Slight Diversion, Nova Dreams, Holy Ghosts). It’s a Paris x Perth connection, with Tallis sending tracks to Ridge for him to lend his global percussion skills to. Despite the remote international arrangement, the pair inhabit the same room sonically and ambiently, and the directness and intimacy are moving and occasionally unsettling.
After the stirring clapping intro of Le chant des cigales à Montpellier, Jezebel Is On The Prowlsets the scene with a sting in its tale of scarlet romance gone wrong. Two Sides of Every Storytells of hard-earned wisdom—‘keep your fame and glory,’ intones Tallis, a man who has opened for the likes of Bob Dylan and Mick Jagger in his long career.
Speaking of Stones, the percussive spoken word track Charlie Watts is a tribute to the many attributes of the rhythm master (and indeed a long RIP list in the liner notes lists many of those that have passed whom Tallis has greatly admired). Traditionals such as True Religion, You Gotta Move, and The Devil’s On The Mainline nestle in quite exquisitely with songs such as How Many Miles To Babylon? (theme summary—think for yourself) and Tenderness. Meanwhile, there are two discs to go…
Disc 2 finds Tallis ensconced with The Snakes of Desire, his long-time band of compadres who grace the stage with him when in Perth. Featuring guitarist Phil Bradley, Yugon Chubanoff on drums, and Hans Aage Deberitz on bass, they bring a ton of experience to complement Tallis’ own. When this line-up performs, they do so without rehearsal, such is Tallis’ love of organic musical connection.
It Never Entered My Mind is a chordant, Keith Richards-rhythm-heavy blast. My Mama Told Me (My Lips Would Get Me Into Trouble) is the sound of defiance—how Tallis lives in the face of societal instruction writ on a musical bed. Skeletons In My Closet and No Rest For The Wickedare each a slow-burn tour de force, and She Makes Me Shiver is a calypso vibe done the Tallis way.
Meanwhile, songs from the first disc, such as How Many Miles To Babylon?, Two Sides To Every Story, Jezebel Is On The Prowl, and Tenderness, are reprised and corralled by the band and sound equally as good in a different pair of shoes.
Disc 3 is Tallis in solo mode—a state of being he is also more than at home with. His trademark intensity is all there on his lonesome—I Beg Your Pardon, Trouble Rides a Fast Horse, Mind Your Own Business, and Sometimes I Have to Laugh are all stinging and revelatory at turns. Mixed with acoustic imaginings of John Lee Hooker’s I’m Mad Again, Willie Dixon’s Same Thing, and the Stones’ Spider And The Fly, it’s a different kind of feast yet again.
Of key interest to WA fans is that across the three discs, the names Rob Grant (Poons Head), Alan Dawson (Witzend Studios), and Erin Devenish (Ripple Room) have—among others—captured the sounds and essence of Steve Tallis. They know him well and have recorded him with a respect that speaks volumes.
The title track, The Memory Ghost, captures the notion of a “memory so strong it’s left an invisible mark that can never be forgotten.” Much like these recordings, essentially.
Another great chapter (or three).
BOB GORDON