One of the first UK rock musicians to demonstrate how crowd-funding could really be successful in the non-mainstream world with his phenomenally successful 555% (Pledge Music) campaign, in 2014 Ginger Wildheart embarked on the G*A*S*S (Ginger Associated Secret Society) project. Fans signed up, and in return, received three exclusive tracks a month and opportunities for a whole host of goodies. At the end of the process, a ten-track release of the most popular tracks, Year Of The Fanclub, was made available to the general public. G*A*S*S Mark II (Round Records) is the Directors Cut… Ginger’s own preferred curation of his favourite tracks from the experiment.
Interestingly, only one of the singer/songwriter’s own choices featured on Year Of The Fanclub, the nine-minute tour-de-force ‘Don’t Lose Your Tail, Girl’, a track that doesn’t just showcase many of the aspects of Ginger’s arsenal, but revels in them. Hooks, power, change-on-a-sixpence multiple directions, a brainstorm splatter of ideas, light, dark, melodies, discordance, riffs, catchy vocals, insightful lyrics, all wonderfully connected so smoothly that George Clooney is taking notes.
From the euphoric Molotov cocktail of opener, ‘Friends of Bill’, with its punky bass, crashing chords, ‘Caffeine Bomb’ feel, grin-on-your-chops-within-a-minute-of-the-album-starting-as-the-gang-“Woah’s”-kick-in, to closing with the Rock n’ Roll Status Quo joyride of ‘I’ll Have Another’, G*A*S*S Mark II is an hour-long celebration of great songwriting and punked up Rock n’ Roll. It honours the heritage of guitar music with lashings of fifties hooks, sixties melodies, seventies song-structures and nineties lyrics and crank. ‘A Nasty Habit You’ve Got There’ with its joyous melody and honest, down-to-earth lyrics, ‘Caer Urfa’, all old-style storytelling rocked up English Folk shanty tune, telling its tale of a yesterday and a struggling small hometown, and the hyperactive ‘Bloody Knees’ are representative of the peaks (there are no troughs) and styles on offer.
To those of us who have grown up with Ginger’s penchant for hooks, light and shade, and taking songs of into wild tangents, lyrical intelligence and genuine social and human commentary, every moment of G*A*S*S Mark II is a glorious stride through a fantastic playbook that is undeniably “Ginger”, while also being a great stepping on point for those of you lucky enough to be finding this grand master songwriter for the first time and having a whole twenty-five plus year career to indulge yourself in.
On second track, ‘King Rat’, Ginger croons “You give me hope that when I am gone, my songs will mean this much to someone”. Mate, we’re all living on a land-mine, and your songs absolutely, completely do. Not just to me, but to thousands. And if these things go as these things should (but, sadly, often don’t), G*A*S*S Mark II should mean thousands more get to experience songs that matter.
8.5 / 10
STEVE TOVEY