Doug Hoekstra - The Past Is Never Past (Inbetweens)  

Originally only available on his last tour, Hoekstra's archival gathering of rarities, previously unreleased material (some left over from his Around the Margins album) and new material now gets a proper commercial release. Spanning a decade - though there's no information as to when tracks were recorded or previously featured - it's rather inevitably somewhat disjointed (maybe eclectic is a better word) stylistically speaking, though Hoekstra's hushed sing-speak vocals and the compassionate nature of his narrative insights tend to provide the bridge between numbers. One of the most evocative things here, the simple piano and percussion ballad Drops Fell From My Fingertips is one of two duets with Colleen Burke Kave while Oh, Zamira highlights his intricate filigree guitar work, deftly complemented by the fret fingering of the the title track that conjures up the spirit of Nick Drake. If the spoken delivery and skipping rhythms of What's On Your Mind suggests Paul Simon, then it's Lou Reed, who haunts 500 Miles Away as he does the walking guitar line of Staring Out The Window, one of the album's less successful tracks. None of which is to imply Hoekstra in any way subsumes his own identity to influences, conscious or otherwise, because as in all his material what emerges most strongly is a writer with a definite sense of individual vision, both musically and - whether impressionistic or literal - as storyteller. It's the inclusion of the piano, viola and cello arrangement of Brecht/Weill number Ballad of the Soldier's Wife that pins one of his more obvious reference points, that cabaret feel evident too on When I Worked and the closing Rear View Mirror effect with Allison Stanley's clarinet providing the European colour. A lyric sheet - here or on the web site - and annotations would have been useful to savour it to its full effect, poring over the nuances, but as a collection of songs hitherto brushed aside it puts many a carefully studied and meticulously crafted album in the shade. http://www.doughoekstra.com.