SLIGHTLY SORRY

The latest (so far) album of PG Six is not exactly answering the expectations that one fan would've had following his first three albums. Indeed, hardly anything to do with them as there is almost no UK folk influence; this album concentrates on folk rock from the other side of the Atlantic (theirs), and even then, Gubler does not look at his own Appalachian Mountains folk music; but heads directly west coast. Another thing that sets this album apart from his discography is that there is a full band (drums, bass, electric guitar) behind Gubler, even if he still pulls the huge share of playing diverse instruments, including an array of vintage keyboards (Wurlitzer, Hammond, Vox Continental) and a mellotron.

While unmistakably folk rock music, Gubler's surprising choice of direction in this album makes you wonder if it is indeed the same artist that recorded this album. Although you can still hear some Bert Jansch here and there, you'll more likely hear some CSN&Y influences (the album's best track being Strange Messages), Byrds' Twangle Jangle guitars (I've Been Travelling) and some later- Fairport and Richard Thompson twinges and even some Pentangle (mostly due to Gubler's Jansch-like timbre), but it all sounds slightly (but not overly) stale, even if flawlessly played. Helen Rush (from the Tower Recordings collective) is again present on vocals (as duets on three tracks including the other album highlight, End Of Winter), as are three other female vocalists, just providing a choral tone here and there. Unfortunately for PG's folk, his organ choices are not the wisest as Bless This blues and the closing Sweet Music are just not what you await from Gubler, the later track even pulling on Soul music..

Don't get me wrong, here, there's nothing wrong with Slightly Sorry (actually it's an enjoyable laidback album), but it's just lacking the ambitions of its predecessors. Hopefully Gubler will make this a one-off experience. Best start elsewhere to discover Gubler's superb aptitudes at excellent progressive folk