After a series of taster singles, Larry Beckett and Stuart Anthony release the full power of Jacques Brel.

IN FULL GLORY

Having already sampled the latest Beckett/Anthony project with three singles released towards the end of 2025, the full set of Larry Beckett’s new translations with accompanying musical moods is revealed in its full glory.

The third member of the esteemed company, Belgian writer Jacques Brel takes centre stage as the trio. An accompanying musical cast includes the subtle piano/keys of James Edge who we recall from The Mindstep in another life. The album provides a dive into a deep and meaningful exploration that creates an alchemy which works on many levels. At its most intense, we enter the central part of the Venn diagram where the literary scholars overlap with the musical artistes yet there’s much to be discovered in the outlying pockets.

STARK AND SPARSE

Fourteen pieces expand on the warm up teasers that offered a quiet majesty. One where the likes of Songs Of The Old Lovers seduces and Don’t Walk Away channels an aching Nick Cave, Ghosteen-era, vibe (one that resurfaces now and again) and then Beckett’s own velvet richness delivering I Love You. The former comes preceded by an opening gambit that’s as close to a shake rattle and rolling as you’ll get. Surprisingly so, having anticipated a dreamy and soft focussed Gallic/Euro ambience which generally holds the balance. The sobriety of war encountered in The Dove, I Don’t Know (smell the valve amp in the nostrils) and I Loved for example, build on a similar austerity. Not to be confused with simplicity or under production as the emphasis is clearly on the voice and the lyrics with backing that’s sits sparse and stark in the shadows.

Self confessed nods dip in and out. Revolver-era Beatles, Nick Drake, Neil Young (check the “maybe she’s too good for me” phrasing in Madeline) R.E.M. and Dylan could all be noted, having been (and no doubt will continue to be) inspirations and influences. The Next Lover threatens to drift into what we like to think of as Front Porch Blues. Old guitars, barrelhouse piano, rocking chairs and saturated sepia and a doleful resignation. Could be a favourite track.

The gentle swing and shimmer of I Loved typifies the outwardly easy vibe of much of the musical arrangements. Add the Strawberry Field textures in The Lowlands and what sounds like wisps of pipe organ wafting in and out. The detail is in the apparent simplicity which impacts via a clever marriage between words and a sympathetic music.

THEMES

Of course, there’s the course of literary analysis awaiting in the wings. Yet, for those of us who exist on a mere mortal plain, without dipping too deeply into the translations and lyrical passages, we find places where lovers abound and Larry brings a nostalgic reminiscence to Juliet and along with the dreamy Madeline, casts a Raphaelite vision. Elsewhere lie Python-esque visions of devils slipping into safety deposit boxes (and more, all in the name of…) in the trebly psych of Tenderness.

The title track finale is perhaps the most arranged and produced. A bright and jangly momentum conjures further visions of sunshafts of sunlight breaking through an overcast skyscape. A finale to an album where the crafts of art, music and the of writing and interpretation are finely tuned. The latest in a series of dynamic duos. Stuart and Larry continue their journey which finds them refining and perfecting their artistry.

Here’s the most recent single, Don’t Walk Away:

Stuart Anthony:  Website 

Larry Beckett: Website 

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