ADRIAN NATION – new album: Live At Crossroads

Adrian NationGuitarist, singer, writer of songs, are just some of things that go to make up the man Adrian Nation. Guitar builder, rugby player, carpenter, martial artist, climber, the list goes on and is reflected in his musical catalogue. Here is an artist who can’t sit at home waiting for imagination to create the songs, rather he goes and finds the places in life where songs can be found. 2014 will see Adrian release his first ever live recording and after a special night in the Netherlands opening the Crossroads Sessions it was decided to release this superb album. Who better to describe how the album came about than Adrian himself.

“I’ve have had it in mind for a long time to record a live album as much as anything because I wanted an album that truly represented what I do as a musician day in day out, i.e. live and solo. My previous two albums, both of the studio variety, capture the song-writing but not the performance in the way people who come to my concerts see and hear. The few recordings I had heard taken from live shows never satisfied me and I was beginning to wonder how I was ever going to pull it off without recording an entire tour with a sound guy and a lot of editing! Anyway, October 2013 saw me touring in the Netherlands for the second time. I love playing in Holland, people are so passionate about roots music over there and the welcome you receive is so special. So 13 days into a 14 date tour I arrived at the Vestzaktheater in Bergen Op Zoom where I was booked to open the Crossroads Sessions.

These sessions are a live show which is recorded for Crossroads Radio and later broadcast as a complete concert. I’d heard lots of good things about this gig and was really looking forward to playing it. It didn’t take long to realise it was going to be a special night. The sound-check sounded great and I have to say I think the sound on stage during this concert was the best I’ve heard anywhere. Good onstage sound has such an amazing effect on me and I’m sure all artists feel the same. When you can hear all the detail of your playing it gives you confidence to play every note the way you want to and sing with confidence. It was a lovely gig and I hoped that maybe there would be a few songs on the recording that I might be able to use as a demo or even an EP. It was a couple of weeks before I heard the recordings and when I did I was amazed by the quality and depth of sound.

I listened intently, waiting for a mistake! But it didn’t come! Well that’s not quite true, there is one wrong note in the Richard Thompson cover, but one note in a 50 minute concert?! I’ll settle for that. So here, quite unexpectedly I had a whole live album on my hands and it didn’t take much thinking about to realise it was the album I’d been waiting for. I decided to record one more song back in England to add as a bonus track which was again recorded live in one take so as to keep it as close as possible in feel to the other recordings. The album has eight original songs including two not previously recorded as well as a cover for the first
time on one of my albums. I so often get asked “Which album is Vincent Black Lightning on?” that I am happy I can finally answer that question. That’s how the album came about, no planning, no stress, no fuss, a delightful surprise. It has been recorded and mastered in the Netherlands and I’m really looking forward to taking it back there and of course to touring it around the UK.” So there you have it, I really hope you feel the same as I do about this live recording, one of the finest live albums I’ve heard, just sit back and enjoy.

“Adrian includes a solo guitar instrumental ‘Five Finger Rapids’ to show how good a player he is – something you might forget while admiring his songwriting” R2 Magazine

“If there was any doubt as to whether Adrian Nation could better his debut, here’s the proof” Northern Sky

“Easy on the ear, it should have Whispering Bob salivating superlatives.” Get Ready To Rock