Tarka

Album Review

Tarka was a difficult delivery. Guitarist/keyboardist Harry Williamson's father is Henry Williamson, author of the novel Tarka the Otter. The idea to write an orchestral cycle around the book was planted in 1975 when musician and ex-Genesis member Anthony Phillips lived for a while in the geographical space described in the tale. From that point, the music was written, submitted for a movie soundtrack, half-recorded, dropped, requested for another project, augmented, finished recorded, released on CD in 1996 by PRT Records, which went out of business immediately after, and finally made largely available by Blueprint in October 2001. The album begins like an early Phillips' Private Parts and Pieces, builds up to Mike Oldfield-ian symphonic proportions, and boils down to a latter-day new age Williamson solo album. The two musicians are accompanied by an 88-piece orchestra and a roster of soloists that includes bassoonist Lindsay Cooper, Gong flutist Didier Malherbe, and Van der Graaf Generator drummer Guy Evans. The music is well-written — compelling at times, benign at others. The best moments are found in "Movement One: The First Years" (Phillips plays 12-string guitar) and "Movement Three: The Hunt" (good sense of drama and use of the orchestra). Those familiar with any of these two artists know their talent for cute, intelligent instrumental themes. ~ François Couture, Rovi