Ad Vanderveen is a Dutchman who, over the course of 40 years and 20 albums, has nailed his flag to the mast of American roots music, in particular the singer songwriter variety.
Over the years he’s recorded with Al Kooper, Al Perkins, Flaco Jimenez, Leland Sklar, Herman Brood, Iain Matthews, Eliza Gilkyson, Eric Andersen and David Olney but he’s never really cracked any market outside of the Netherlands and that’s a pity if his latest album is anything to go by.
Presents of the Past/Requests Revisited is something of a hybrid. A double CD it consists of an album of new songs, all recorded live (albeit without an audience) and another of his most requested songs from his back catalogue,…
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…all rerecorded. The two sets are quite distinct with separate players backing Vanderveen on each. Requests Revisited is stately at times, well arranged with occasional string arrangements as on the serene “Moment That Matters.” Vanderveen proves himself adept at serious soul searching songs, “Well of Wonder” and “Wonders of the World” are songs in the key of Jackson Browne and there’s a fine chunky Southern groove on “Driftwood.” Folksy harmonica adorns the rootsy “First Feeling” and “Blues So Bad” slinks along with some sly lap steel and slide guitar. There’s a “hidden” song at the end of the disc called “Water Under the Bridge” which finds Vanderveen and a stellar cast on a lengthy (20 minutes) slow organ driven blues groove. With Neil Young like guitars spiralling to the heavens it’s a tremendous workout and why it’s hidden away is beyond me.
Presents Of The Past, the disc of new songs is less memorable with Vanderveen cleaving to the age of sensitive singer/songwriters without stand out material to sing. While it’s a pleasant enough listen the opening and closing songs show that he’s most at ease talking rather than singing here, his voice pleasant but not memorable. That there’s such a dramatic difference in quality here is presumably due to Vanderveen having 40 years of work to cherry pick from on the oldies half the album.