{"id":26138,"date":"2023-10-11T05:30:04","date_gmt":"2023-10-11T09:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=26138"},"modified":"2023-10-11T09:10:41","modified_gmt":"2023-10-11T13:10:41","slug":"kim-lee-part-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2023\/10\/11\/kim-lee-part-two\/","title":{"rendered":"Kim & Lee, Part Two"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Picking up where I left off with yesterday\u2019s backgrounder<\/a>, here\u2019s a quick rundown on 11 albums from Kimberley Rew and\/or very close associates. All titles credited to Rew unless otherwise indicated.<\/p>\n

Strawberry Fa<\/i>i<\/i>r<\/i> (2011)<\/b>
\nThe standout track on this irresistibly likable collection is \u201cI\u2019m Missing You.\u201d Though it sports a familiar I-IV-V melody, Rew\u2019s winning and approachable vocal and his lean, sinewy blues leads are a delight. Players include familiar names: Cave-Berry on bass and bgvox, Morris Windsor on drums. Overall, imagine a less quirky Soft Boys, more guitar showcases than Katrina and the Waves and you\u2019ll be on track.<\/p>\n

Technically Closer than Tooting<\/i> (2012)<\/b>
\nSonically of a piece with its predecessor, Tooting<\/em> rocks a bit harder here and there, but never in an overpowering manner. Rew\u2019s disarming character and emphasis on songcraft wedded to peerless yet uncluttered musicianship makes this a treat. Variety is a hallmark here; \u201cBirthday Girl\u201d is a distant cousin of \u201cFeelin\u2019 Alright,\u201d but the albums goes lots of other places: \u201cCan\u2019t Believe We\u2019re Still Here\u201d is vintage music hall fun (with kazoos!).<\/p>\n

Healing Broadway<\/i> (2013)<\/b>
\nRew\u2019s once-a-year music salvos are seemingly unstoppable. He has the moxie to open this album with an instrumental, the riffy \u201cBexhill Blues.\u201d But he shifts gears completely with the lovely \u201cPurple Pyjamas.\u201d If you didn\u2019t know better (or read the credits) you\u2019d likely think that there were several distinctive guitarists providing the fretwork here. Nope: it\u2019s the wonderfully versatile Kimberley Rew. His lyrics seem drawn from real life (e.g. \u201cMy Wife Has Abandoned the Starter,\u201d \u201cBundle of Boy\u201d).<\/p>\n

The Next Big Adventure<\/i> (2014)<\/b>
\nRew demonstrates a dazzling facility in most any style he chooses. The Next Big Adventure<\/i> opens with a go-go\/surf-styled tune, \u201cMy Work Here is Done, I Must Return to My Planet.\u201d It\u2019s a thrill, and his sparring with saxophonist Terry Edwards is a great deal of fun. \u201cNever Gonna Leave You\u201d is from the \u201cWillie and the Hand Jive\u201d school of songwriting. Most artists this prolific demonstrate a tendency to write the same song over and over. Kimberley Rew does not suffer any such affliction; variety is a defining quality of his work.<\/p>\n

Are we there yet Daddy?<\/i> (2015)<\/b>
\nThe quality never flags. \u201cThe Cat is the Boss\u201d is a good sampler of this set, featuring some effortless vocal harmonies from Kim and Lee. The plaintive \u201cNow We are 63\u201d is alluring, full of references to A.A. Milne\u2019s work. (Rew was just a bit older than 63 when this album came out; perhaps he wrote it a few years before.) Showcasing that particularly British take on American style c&w (see also: Brinsley Schwarz) is \u201cLoving a Lady Like You.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Miles of Smiles<\/i> (2016)<\/b>
\nThe cover may sport a kitty pic, but the spotlight track of this set is \u201cThe Dog Song.\u201d It\u2019s a Chuck Berry styled rocker with some funny, charming lyrics. Some judicious use of accordion works well on the jaunty \u201cGrantchester.\u201d Lee\u2019s vocal harmonies and Kimberley\u2019s assured leads are predictably superb throughout, but the whole thing is a delight.<\/p>\n

Tribute to the Troggs<\/i> by Kimberley Rew and Lee Cave-Berry (2015)<\/b>
\nBy its nature, this record is harder-edged than most of the other titles covered here. The Troggs are legendary, and Kimberley and Lee make their songs their own while remembering what\u2019s special about the originals. \u201cWith a Girl Like You\u201d and the harmony lead vocal of \u201cLove is All Around\u201d are among the best here, and the couple wisely avoids \u201cWild Thing,\u201d which we didn\u2019t really need anyway.<\/p>\n

Spring Forward<\/i> by Lee Cave-Berry (remastered 2018)<\/b>
\nEven though Lee is very much her own artist, if you like Kimberley\u2019s stuff, you\u2019re sure to enjoy Lee\u2019s as well. Hubby is all over these tracks on guitar, and there\u2019s a nice Stonesy, gritty vibe to the entire proceedings. You\u2019ll find a bit more acoustic texture on this disc than on most of the others discussed here, and it\u2019s spirited and well-executed. Lee\u2019s fetching voice is put to good effect here, less in the context of harmony and more as the lead. Special notice goes to Deni Bonet for her mesmerizing violin work on \u201cFire Dance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Enjoy the rest of your day<\/i> by Kimberley Rew and Lee Cave-Berry (2018)<\/b>
\nEven though both Kim and Lee are featured on most of these albums, it’s here in which the music sounds the closest to what I witnessed at the Cavern Pub and Club. The couple swings Louis and Keely style on \u201cFlat Cat,\u201d a delightful slice of jump blues\/swing\/early rock\/what-have-you. \u201cAll the Colours\u201d is wonderfully quirky. \u201cSad Case\u201d isn\u2019t sad at all; it\u2019s reminiscent of Nick Lowe at his best. The homespun \u201cAngel on Earth\u201d is a reminder of the stylistic breadth of this musical power couple. A triumph.<\/p>\n

Sweet to Me<\/i> by Jack (2020)<\/b>
\nLocal pub band Jack launched some years ago, and Lee Cave-Berry joined in 2000. Kimberley joined in 2004. Their 2020 album features a set list heavier on classics, done in the band\u2019s own style. \u201cWalking the Dog\u201d is a good sample of their approach; their cover of \u201cSomething Else\u201d splits the difference between the original and Sid Vicious\u2019 cover. Lee takes the lead vocal for \u201cRoadhouse Blues.\u201d This set is nice enough, and it likely gives a sense of what Jack is like in the pubs. Fans of Lee and\/or Kim will definitely want to hear it, but it\u2019s inevitably not the best entry point into their material.<\/p>\n

Purple Kittens<\/i> by Kimberley Rew and Lee Cave-Berry (2021)<\/b>
\nOn Purple Kittens<\/i>, Kim & Lee mix it up: they write together, on their own, and they even cover a song by Robyn Hitchcock(!) in a rousing reading of the Soft Boys classic \u201cKingdom of Love.\u201d Spotlight track is \u201cPenny the Ragman,\u201d one of Kimberley\u2019s. But the couple are on equal footing here, and we\u2019re all better for it.<\/p>\n

The prodigious output continues apace; 2023\u2019s The Krelb<\/i> is the latest from Kim & Lee. Find out more (and order it!) here<\/a>. And\/or here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Picking up where I left off with yesterday\u2019s backgrounder, here\u2019s a quick rundown on 11 albums from Kimberley Rew and\/or very close associates. All titles credited to Rew unless otherwise […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26141,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,65],"tags":[5247,5248],"class_list":["post-26138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rawk","category-review","tag-kimberley-rew","tag-lee-cave-berry","cat-62-id","cat-65-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26138"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26138\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26207,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26138\/revisions\/26207"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}