THE MAN WHO NEVER SLEEPS IS INDEED, DOUG HOEKSTRA - by Mike Cobley

Having already ranted and raved about the remarkable complexities of ‘acoustic singer-songwriter’, Doug Hoekstra, imagine my pleasure when I received an update from the great man himself declaring; he was putting the finishing touches to a ‘little something to fill the gap between albums’.

That ‘little something’ turned out to be thirteen tracks of “selections that didn’t quite fit stylistically on Around the Margins, my previous disc.”

Others on newie The Past Is Never Past are sited as “songwriting demos; and still others were released on special compilations, magazines and websites.” The man whom never sleeps is indeed, Doug Hoekstra.

Since Around The Margins was released in February of this year, Doug has toured ceaselessly, including an amazing date @ The Greys, winning over new fans with his mixture of softly-sung vocals and irony-biting lyrics. To say Around The Margins is/was wonderfully unique is stating more than the bleeding obvious.

So, having declared the above a masterpiece (a statement I still stand by), The Past Is Never Past was, initially, always going to be the black sheep of the Hoekstra album family .. that was until .. I played it and conceded: it’s cohesive, beautiful, wholly unique, a gold mine of licks, hooks, refrains and lyrical couplets .. I love it, and it almost puts Around The Margins on the Hoekstra substitute bench!

With column space restricted for a full song-by-song evaluation, there is time to mention If The World Was Blind, featured once in its entirety and once in the rather bizarre album closer, Rear-View Mirror Effect.

If The World Was Blind has all the hallmarks of a timeless classic, and features all the elements that make Doug Hoekstra a shining diamond in a world that’s all the worse for leaving him barely discovered .. for humanity’s sake .. step into his light, polish him up and put him up on a pedestal where he belongs!

Catch Doug Hoekstra @ The Greys, 105 Southover Street, Brighton, on Sunday 28th October (if you’re not sure you’ll like the man and his music, I‘ll pay for the ticket!) ….

I leave you with the opening words to If The World Was Blind ....

The world's most beautiful woman was born today
Another perfect diamond cast into the fray
She could grow up to be polished or turn out rough
Could choose to be smooth or wear her edges tough
She could be a lover, mother, president
But right now her fists are small and clenched
And her tiny eyes are closed
If the world was blind, what would we see?
If the world was blind
If the world was blind, what would we be?
If the world was blind, if the world was blind, if the world was blind.

Copyright Doug Hoekstra 2001

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