Doug Gallant - Review

Singer-songwriter Steve Sharratt is a seasoned veteran of the East Coast music industry with more than two decades of performances under his belt. He has plied his trade from the red clay soil of P.E.I. to the shores of Skye in Scotland, playing alone and in the company of some of P.E.I.¹s most accomplished players, in particular fiddler Roy Johnstone, with whom he plays extensively. But in all his years of pickin¹, grinnin¹ and tall tale spinnin¹ Sharratt has never recorded a solo album. Until now.

Sharratt has just released his first solo project, a self-titled album comprised of 12 original songs and a cover of the 50s standard Que Sera Sera, which receives a whole new lease on life thanks to an arrangement that transforms the fluffy pop tune into a very rhythmic folk/blues piece, aided and abetted by some lovely violin work from Roy Johnstone.

Sharratt¹s original material runs the gamut from driving folk tunes and hot jazz a la Django Reinhardt to updated sea shanties and gentle ballads. Much of the material is relatively new but Sharratt has also included a couple of older songs from his catalogue, among them Lantern Burn, covered several years ago by Rita and Mary Rankin and performed handsomely here by Kerri Wynne MacLeod, and Worm Forgives The Plough, which still stands as one of the prettiest pieces I¹ve ever heard.

This self-titled release is a strong vehicle for Sharratt, showcasing his depth not just as a songwriter but as a musician. During the course of the album he plays guitar, banjo, mandolin, harmonica and bass. In addition to Johnstone and MacLeod, Sharratt also utilized the talents of several other music friends in making the album, among them multi-instrumentalist Brad Fremlin, who played accordion on these sessions, former Jive Kings bass player Deryl Gallant and drummer Alberta Kays.

This set should serve Sharratt well. There isn¹t a bum track in the bunch.