“This tradition is in good hands… Reg Meuross doesn’t regard himself as any sort of traddie – and yet he can command a front cover and an interview in a magazine like this. Perhaps, as he hints in that recent article, he has been building a tradition of his own. After all, the idea of crafting your own songs and taking them on the road is one that goes a long way back. That, in a nutshell, is what Meuross does; he is one of those artistes who has always been there… doing what he does.”
FULL REVIEW: Reg Meuross doesn’t regard himself as any sort of traddie – and yet he can command a front cover and an interview in a magazine like this. Perhaps, as he hints in that recent article, he has been building a tradition of his own. After all, the idea of crafting your own songs and taking them on the road is one that goes a long way back. That, in a nutshell, is what Meuross does; he is one of those artistes who has always been there, on the fringes of the scene, doing what he does.
This, as seems to be the current fashion, is a stripped-down production; just him, his guitar and the occasional trill of Dylanesque harmonica. The guitar is particularly well-recorded; mind you, it must help when it’s a 1944 Martin.
His songs are deceptively simple and, despite the onset of middle-age, are largely preoccupied with the years of growth and discovery, and his digging a little deeper in his personal life history. There is a ration of poignancy and regret, and which song gets through to you the most clearly will inevitably depend on your own experience. I don’t know how many votes Smarter Than Me will get as a favourite track, but it hits the mark for me with the aid of hindsight. Of course they were, all the girls I loved, smarter than me.
Others will find their own highlights and insights and plenty to reflect upon. It matters little that his rather ethereal voice has the occasional scrap of sandpaper in it now. This tradition is in good hands.
Dave Hadfield
www.regmeuross.com
