Iain Matthews & The Salmon Smokers (from the album Fake Tan

Iain Matthews & The Salmon Smokers (from the album Fake Tan

Iain Matthews & The Salmon Smokers (from the album Fake Tan available on Talking Elephant Records) (by Lee Zimmerman)

Iain Matthews has a reputation as an also-ran in the Soft Rock sweepstakes. Following his earlier history as a co-founder of Fairport Convention, he devoted his efforts to his own English Folk Rock combo Matthews Southern Comfort, resulting in a semi-hit single, a cover of CSNY’s “Woodstock”. Later, under his own auspices, a sole chart-topper titled “Shake It”, which reached the Top Five. In the interim, he’s dabbled in several on-again, off-again ensembles — No Grey Faith, The Pyramid, and More Than A Song — as well as revivals of his earlier outfits Plainsong and Matthews Southern Comfort, and occasional partnerships with Dutch singer/songwriter Ad Vanderveen and longtime colleague Andy Roberts.
 
He’s also released scores of albums, including any number of archival offerings, that retrace earlier efforts and obscurities. A restless spirit, he’s shifted locales from England to Austin, Texas and then further to Amsterdam and Scandinavia. His latest venture, inexplicably titled Fake Tan, finds him teaming with a Norwegian ensemble that calls itself The Salmon Smokers. The association arose from Matthews’ expressed uneasiness with his ‘artistic status quo’ (as stated in the album’s liner notes), which led him to a manager/promoter named Tom Skjeklesaether, who, in turn, introduced him to the band. The initial result of that association is a solid new album, which includes re-recorded versions of earlier songs from his vast catalog — including an ominous take on “Woodstock”, equally arched revivals of two of his seminal solo standards, “Reno Nevada” and “If You Saw Thro’ My Eyes”, and a redo of “Keep on Sailing”, a mellower mid-tempo song that should have made him a star. He also tackles Dylan’s “It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry” in a way that’s decidedly dark given its deliberate pacing.
 
All in all, Fake Tan comes across as a boldly auspicious effort from Iain Matthews, one clearly designed to make a more emphatic imprint beyond his somewhat confined fan base. In that regard, Fake Tan makes a very real impression. (By Lee Zimmerman)
 
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