Lawson, Davie
Rags
Davie Lawson is under-exposed and therefore very underrated. Quite possibly his own fault. Around the time of the release of this, his 3rd album, people were starting to take notice and he was invited to the prestigious Eurosonic music festival. He turned it down because he "didnt want to come all the way to Europe from Ireland for that". His lack of interest in doing the career advancement polka is refreshingly rebellious and, like his music, truly goes against the grain in an industry where getting exposure often takes precedence over artistic quality. Lawsons contempt for ambition is easily compensated by the poetic focus of his work. Recorded to tape in Dublin in with a live band, it has some great spontaneous playing on it and carries a Dylanesque sense of urgency reminiscent of the Basement Tapes. Its rough around the edges but Davie Lawson is a great emotive songwriter, quintessentially English and steeped in tradition of classic British folk writing. This is a must for any fans of the singer-songwriter genre who are tired of pretty-faced mediocre rubbish.