‘Off
The Track’ is the first album by UK duo foolproof.
It offers a set of rarely heard songs from the finest American and
UK songwriters, alongside three foolproof originals. The quality
of the songs is central to foolproof’s offering. Each
one is carefully chosen to offer a direct – or maybe sideways
– view of life, a place, an experience.
The
final choice of songs for the album had to be whittled down from over
40 contenders in the duo’s repertoire that ranges from the Carter
Family and the Louvin Brothers, through Hank Williams and Chuck Berry,
to Guy Clark and Lucinda Williams. “It was a tough decision,
but in the end, the selection had to work together as a whole, said
Sue, “– and at least we’re left with material
for at least two more albums!”. Making the final cut were
songs by prominent American writers Steve Earle, John Prine, Mary
Chapin-Carpenter, Butch Hancock and Tom Waits as well as gems from
the lesser-known talents of Roly Salley, Darden Smith, Kristian Bush
and Cheryl Wheeler – with the addition of a nugget from UK great
Elvis Costello.
Two of foolproof’s originals come from the pen of Sue Hudson:
Perfect Stranger is a subtle but stark reminder that fear
of the unfamiliar can blind us to new possibilities; What
Did You Think is a more direct retaliation to the serial cheater.
The album’s title track is the duo’s joint composition:
Off the Track expresses the frustration and dreams of escape
which haunt those of us who’ve been caught up in the rat race.
The
album ‘Off The Track’ was recorded live at Rafting Dog
Studio, Canterbury by Oysterband musician and arranger Alan Prosser,
and mixed and mastered by Alan with John Firman and Cliff Baylis.
The vocals are placed confidently to the fore in the mix, to
connect closely with the listener and draw them into the humanity
of the song. The arrangements
are deliberately sparse, allowing space for each element to be clearly
heard. Four tracks feature additional contributions from harmonica
virtuoso Eddie Armer, frontman with The Lonnigans, who has performed
or recorded with Pete Seeger and Odetta amongst others.
”…bright mandolin dancing playfully about on the water…
beautifully sensitive vocals… Americana with a bit of frontier
risk from two confident performers.” - Folk In Kent
The album ‘Off the Track’ is now out on CD, Artcentric
Recordings catalogue no ART0809, available online from www.foolproofduo.co.uk
