HOME ON THE HILL

JANE GERMAIN & IAN SIMPSON

INDEPENDENT

Banjo playing sometimes gets a bad rap. But if you were ever in any doubt about the magic that can be woven by a couple of banjos (and a couple of amazingly talented players), you need go no further than this album. Together, Jane and Ian have crafted a gorgeous, fascinating tapestry of old and original new music, evoking laughter, tears and plenty of toe-tapping along the way.

Amongst the album’s many highlights, the heartfelt Grandson of a Sailor stand out, as do Home on the Hill and I’ll Meet You on the Outskirts of Town, along with Too Much is Not Enough. All Aboard the Maglev is a killer instrumental inspired by a real trip, and for lovers of traditional music, Big-Eyed Rabbit and Sleepy Eyed John/Cripple Creek are shining examples of the craft. Other highlights include the wonderful gospel tune The Wrath of God and The Girl from Daisy Dell.

This album is full of amazing playing and singing, and simply exudes the joy of music. It’s a wonderful musical journey.

MGM/SQUEAKYWHEEL003

SUSAN JARVIS - CAPITAL NEWS - JUNE 2017

 


 

HOME ON THE HILL

JANE GERMAIN & IAN SIMPSON

INDEPENDENT

Widely regarded as one of Australia’s best banjo players, Ian Simpson teams with fellow banjo devotee and singer and songwriter Jane Germain for their fourth recording together.

Adhering to traditional country and blues formats, the duo brings home grown character to traditionals like ‘Sleepy-Eyed John/Cripple Creek’, ‘Big-Eyed Rabbit’, ‘Cluck Old Hen’ and the Delmore Brothers’ ‘The Wrath of God’, sometimes with nothing more than banjos and voices, sometimes with Simpson adding guitars, double bass and percussion.

Their original compositions slide in perfectly alongside old-time fare, stories like ‘The Girl from Daisy Dell’ and ‘Grandson of a Sailor’ echoing into the distant past.

There’s a pure joy and lack of pretension here that is disarming throughout.

MGM/SQUEAKYWHEEL003

MARTIN JONES – RHYTHMS – MAY/JUNE 2017  


 

HOME ON THE HILL

JANE GERMAIN & IAN SIMPSON

INDEPENDENT

If too much banjo is not nearly enough for you, then today’s “Commute to Work” album is for you. Actually, I have to confess – this album has been my commute to and from work soundtrack on a number of occasions now, and it continues to delight every time I listen to it.

“Home on the Hill” by Jane Germain and Ian Simpson proudly features them both slinging banjos on the front cover, and on the inside sleeve, as well as a pair of banjos nestling together down at the woodshed on the back cover, neatly framing the track listing!!

However, if banjo is not quite your thing, don’t be alarmed. There’s much more than just banjos on offer in this gorgeous album from two icons of Australian folk, country and bluegrass music. Not only is Ian Simpson an award-winning and superb banjo picker (folks may remember him as “Kid” Simpson, the banjo-wielding, bluegrass lynchpin of latter iterations of the legendary Sensitive New Age Cowpersons) – but he’s also a superb flatpicking and slide guitarist and plays a mean double bass and stomp box. And by the way, he sings great backup harmonies – a perfect foil for Jane’s sweet and high country/bluegrass lead vocals. Jane, like Ian, hails from Fremantle, WA (although originally from Sydney) but these days, having dealt with a serious health challenge, now lives in Bicheno, a charming coastal town in eastern Tasmania. Jane has released a number of acclaimed solo albums as well as two previous duo albums with Ian.

Recorded in just two days at Revolver Studios, Perth (with one track recorded at The Green Room, Hobart), Jane and Ian followed a (modified) Gillian Welch/Dave Rawlings recording template, in that all the basic tracks were recorded in one day, face to face, then the overdubs were completed on the second day. You gotta love an efficient use of (expensive) studio time!! Jane provides lead and harmony vocals, as well as acoustic guitar and clawhammer banjo, Ian provides great harmony vocals, as well as banjo, dobro, double bass and stomp box. There are some evocative and tasty harmonica contributions from Norm Leslie, and on ‘Little Red Bird’, the only track recorded in Hobart, Jane is joined by Pete Cornelius on slide guitar and stompbox, and Simon Holmes on double bass.

And so to the songs – there’s a mix of country, bluegrass, country blues, string band and gospel genres, anchored by Jane’s gorgeous vocals and Ian’s deft instrumental contributions on banjo, slide guitar and double bass. The move to Tasmania has brought an outpouring of original material from Jane, including some co-writes with Ian. I was particularly taken by Jane’s paean to love (and lust), ‘Too Much Is Not Enough’, the backwoods ghost tale in ‘The Girl From Daisy Dell’ and the title track, ‘Home on the Hill’, which draws so clearly on Jane’s new experiences of life in picturesque coastal Tasmania. Jane and Ian cover some terrific traditional banjo-based songs, including ‘Big-Eyed Rabbit’, ‘Cluck Old Hen’, Sleepy-Eyed John/Cripple Creek’ and ‘Lulu Girl’. Their reading of the Delmore Brothers gospel song, ‘The Wrath of God’ is a tuneful and harmony-rich warning to all you wayward sinners out there. I particularly fell in love, I have to confess, with the only instrumental track on the album - featuring Ian’s virtuoso banjo picking on his original bluegrass tune, ‘All Aboard the Maglev’, inspired by the duo’s trip on a Chinese magnetic levitation train. Clear proof, if needed, that too much banjo is really not even close to enough, for sure!!

This is a superb album, melding terrific songwriting, with great covers of traditional and ‘in the tradition’ material, underpinned by gorgeous vocals and superb musicianship, and presented in an impressive package, with exquisite artwork, as well as song lyrics and credits that an obsessive, like me, gets great joy from, in poring through the minute details of the CD booklet. Congratulations, Jane and Ian, you done good!! You can buy the album via Jane’s website at www.janegermain.com, and it is also distributed through MGM Distribution.

IAN DEARDEN

MGM/SQUEAKYWHEEL003  


 

NO FUN ALLOWED

JANE GERMAIN & IAN SIMPSON

MGM/SQUEAKYWHEEL002

Ian Simpson will be known to many bluegrass fans as one of the best instrumentalists around. His roles in Paul Kelly’s touring bands, particularly the Stormwater Boys bluegrass project, have been impressive, to say the least.

Simpson first teamed up with singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Jane Germain on her Chinese Whispers album. No Fun Allowed is their second album as a duo and it’s an ingenuous, spirited treat. There are no airs of snobbish traditionalism, nor any flagrant attempts to conjure some “ingenious” new subgenre. Just a couple of highly talented and passionate musicians playing to their strengths and loves. And clearly, despite the title, having a ball in the process.

The pair plays virtually all the instrumentation on this album, swinging between old-timey era versions of the folk forms, country, blues and bluegrass with a distinctly Australian swagger. Germain plays acoustic guitar and handles most of the lead vocals, but is also handy on the banjo. Simpson plays bass, guitars, banjo, percussion, dobro and harmony vocals. Adam Gare steps in with a little fiddle and mandolin when required.

In addition to a handful of co-written original songs, all vocal numbers, the duo pays tribute to a few of their favourites, including Chet Atkins (‘How’s The World Treating You’), the Louvin Brothers (‘Don’t Laugh’), and the Delmore Brothers (‘Mississippi Shore’).

MARTIN JONES - RHYTHMS - April 2012


 

NO FUN ALLOWED

JANE GERMAIN & IAN SIMPSON

INDEPENDENT

It’s clear that JANE GERMAIN and IAN SIMPSON are having the time of their lives playing music together. And they do it so well, bringing their ample talents to bear on everything from traditional bluegrass and some gorgeous vocal harmonies to contemporary bluegrass. Throughout, that wicked twinkle in both their eyes is conveyed through their music, which is fresh, warm and wonderful.

I absolutely loved the cheeky Why Do You Hate Me So Much? and the first track, Listen To What You Know is a standout. Other fine original songs include the evocative I Can’t Hear You Now and No Fun Allowed. There are two excellent instrumentals, Climbing The Munro and the cute Bantams Out The Back; the musicianship is superb. The pair also pays tribute to vocal duos on tracks like How’s The World Treating You, Don’t Laugh and Mississippi Shore.

This is a charming, quirky and completely delightful album – Jane and Ian are a country music secret that definitely needs to be discovered!

SUSAN JARVIS - COUNTRY MUSIC CAPITAL NEWS - February 2012


 

LONESOME ROAD

JANE GERMAIN & IAN SIMPSON

INDEPENDENT

The musical chemistry between Jane Germain and Ian Simpson is very much in evidence on this diverse and very appealing album. The pair set out to recreate the sound and style of their live shows together, and they’ve achieved that brilliantly with a huge dollop of warmth and energy. The album’s sound leans towards bluegrass, with some blues classics and a number of other gems.

Highlights include Jane’s exquisite vocals on the beautiful Darling Brown Eyes and one of her signature songs, Living On The Edge. Her voice is like an instrument – it can be sweet and pure for a ballad, or it can take on a completely different tone for blues and bluegrass.

There are two instrumentals on the album, Dance Of The Fountain and a reprise of Lonesome Road Blues – both, naturally, are imbued with Ian Simpson’s magical touch.

This album, Lonesome Road, is wonderful – organic, dynamic and full of great tunes done superbly. Watch out for it!

SUSAN JARVIS - COUNTRY MUSIC CAPITAL NEWS - May 2010


CHINESE WHISPERS

JANE GERMAIN

INDEPENDENT

If you thought you’d heard it all, then an album by an Australian born singer songwriter with Chinese heritage may change your mind.

On Chinese Whispers Jane Germain attempts to combine cultures and takes a bunch of West Coast based acoustic/electric musicians along for the ride, including some familiar names in Ian Simpson, Adam Gare, Dave Brewer and The Waifs Ben Franz.

Despite the line-up of potential musical virtuosity the accent is on the languid rhythms and vocals of the artist who possesses a smoky voice and does not seem anxious to tie her songs up in neat little bundles. The Oriental fusion seeps in with the track What Have I Got To Lose name checking Chinese cities much like an old Chuck Berry song would the USA. The title track features a traditional Chinese two string violin while the final, Model Young Man a Mongolian singer in a near “throat music” style.

Well Willie Nelson recorded with Tuvan master Kongar-Ool Onda so anything is possible. Country and Eastern anyone?

KEITH GLASS – CAPITAL NEWS - September 2007


 

CHINESE WHISPERS

JANE GERMAIN

INDEPENDENT

The title of this CD, Chinese Whispers, alludes to Jane Germain’s heritage (her great grandmother was a Manchurian, married to an English missionary), her recent residence in Beijing, and the Chinese musicians playing on various of the tracks on this album.

The title track is dedicated to her great grandmother and speaks poignantly of her choices and conflicts. “Model Young Man” is a response to a documentary on a young Manchurian man trying to protect his heritage, and features singing and playing from Hanggai, a Mongolian folk band Jane met and played with in Beijing.

The balance of this delightful nine track album (all originals) features Jane’s songs performed by a range of Western Australia’s finest musicians, including two ex-Cowpersons (Ian Simpson and John Reed), a Waif (Ben Franz) and delicious electric guitar playing from Dave Brewer. Heartfelt songs,beautifully sung and played, with Jazz style somewhere between folk, Jazz and country, and a chinese element thrown into the mix for good measure.

This is a fabulous listen !

IAN DEARDEN - TRAD AND NOW - 2010