A VISIT TO ZOETERMEER

The first DVD release of TIGER MOTH TALES is a 70-minute gig filmed at Cultuurpodium Boerderij, Zoetermeer, Netherlands in January 2019. The gig appears also on the supplementary cd while the dvd disc contains five promo videos.

In case you're not yet familiar with this British band, it is basically Peter Jones, the gifted multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and songwriter (nowadays playing keyboards in Camel) and his co-musicians, three of them on this gig. Since 2014 TMT has released four studio albums that should appeal in particular to fans of Steve Hackett and Genesis in his era. The music has warm charm and often it's inspired by fairy tales. Or by wintertime and "yuletide" especially, as is the case with the third album The Depths of Winter (2017). My first acquaintance with TMT were, some years ago, two videos seen from YouTube: Pete Jones, a blind guy, doing a fantastic cover of the Genesis classic 'The Musical Box', and the lovely video of 'A Visit to Chigwick' that (I presume) uses some old children's animation to picture the peaceful life in a small happy village. The latter song is naturally present in this gig as one guesses from the title of the release.

The promo videos here aren't as unique visually, but they are a nice addition to the shortish live show. Three of the songs appear also on the gig, in a longer form. Each of the videos concentrates showing Pete singing and playing, often multiplied to play various instruments -- on 'Hundred Acre Wood' he's having an ironic dialogue with his double. 'Hygge' features footage of snowy winter landscapes and aurora borealis.

The gig sees Pete quite talkative in between the songs. That's one part of his deeply sympathetic nature as a musician. His songs are full of the similar melodic, pastoral and emotional charm, and delightful solos mostly for his synths, as Wind & Wuthering era Genesis. And there's also humour. For example 'Toad of Toad Hall' depicting the Wind in the Willows character really makes the listener imagine the frog's carefree joy ride ending in a crash.

Not quite worth full rating as the show could have been both longer and visually more spectacular, but this release will bring happy smiles to anyone already enjoying TMT's symphonic prog music, and it will function perfectly also as the first encounter with this lovely artist!

TIGER MOTH TALES releases their first live album here after having four CDs in their basket. It is Peter JONES who masterfully orchestrates the sound and musical orientation of his group. Well surrounded by his three buddies, he takes up in this 70-minute live song nursery rhymes at the very beginning, quite intimate. During the recording, he went mostly to his 2017 productions and for the end to that of 2014, "Cocoon" quite simply. It is with these latter longer and more symphonic titles that the atmosphere of TIGER MOTH TALES is felt most. A live album which allows here titles of the time when he mainly took fragments from the group GENESIS during the post-separation period with Peter GABRIEL. A live that can be thought of as a gateway to his discography, just before delving into it afterwards.

Tiger Moth Tales in the studio is normally the incredible Peter Jones (Camel, Francis Dunnery), but the multi- instrumentalist in the world just does not have enough hands to play everything at the same time, so in concert it becomes a full band with Peter (vocals, keyboards and guitar) being joined by Andy Wilson (guitar), Mick Wilson (bass, melodica, vocoder, backing vocals) and Paul Comerie (drums). Recorded live at the Borderij in Zoetermeer on January 26th 2019, this set has been released as a CD + DVD, but I cannot comment on the latter as I only have the audio. The set is taken mostly from the two most recent albums, but he does go all the way back to the debut to play 'A Visit To Chigwick'. I must confess the opening bars brings back so many memories, as it will to every pom of a certain age, as we grew up watching the trilogy of 'Camberwick Green', 'Trumpton' and 'Chigley'.

In many ways I think this is one of the reasons I love Tiger Moth Tales so much, not because Peter sings about series I remember watching as a child, although thinking about it I was at junior school when I first read 'Wind in the Willow' ('Toad of Toad Hall'), as well as reading Aesop's Fables ('The Boy Who Cried Wolf'), but because he brings back memories of times gone by yet also brings them right up to date. He sings about my childhood yet combines it with the music of Steve Hackett and middle period Genesis, the music I fell in love with back in my teens. Now I am closer to 60 than 50 yet listening to Peter's music is like journeying in a time machine. The album is more than 70 minutes long, but still feels way too short, as I would love to have heard so much more. Peter is obviously really enjoying himself onstage and having a load of fun, as is everyone else. He has a very disarming manner, and just the way he speaks is like stepping back to the Seventies.

This is a great introduction to anyone who has yet to come across any of Peter's material, and if you are a fan of classic Steve Hackett combined with stories sung in a disarming manner by one of the most interesting guys around then this needs to be on your list.