‘Compañeros’ isn’t just another covers album: it’s Ian Prowse’s very personal selection of songs by artists he has encountered along the way during his lengthy career, The songs chosen are songs he admires, and which he considers to have been unjustly neglected. So, you won’t find any well-worn standards here; instead, it’s an album about the lost gems
The uptempo folk-rock of ‘Town and Country Blues’ (originally a near miss for short-lived UK indie band Jim Jiminee) kicks things off to a lively, enthusiastic start and shows that Prowse, for his years, still has passion and energy, and this carries through many of the tracks on this album. In fact, it’s fair to say Prowse can rock out good and proper when the mood takes, with the folk song ‘Derry Gaol’ given a roustabout stadium treatment worthy of Springsteen. ‘Mississippi Beat’ is the first of the songs that sees Prowse step into the sage, elder statesman with a more sedate and thoughtful approach: it’s also lusciously but subtly orchestrated, and in contrast, ‘What Am I To You’ is simple, direct and light.
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Indeed, that Prowse has produced an album of quality, but importantly an album of range. While showcasing his skills as a performer and his ability as an artist to interpret and convey material subtly and considerately, it’s also an admirably magnanimous work, an homage of the most sincere and genuine sort which is at times truly touching.
Ian Prowse & Amsterdam Online
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