DAVID EGGLETON : VERSIFIER : REVIEWS

Back

OTAGO DAILY TIMES (CD of the Week)
4/5 stars
I have a photo, taken in the early '80s, of poet David Eggleton on stage at the Empire Tavern. Resplendent in multi-striped jersey, drainpipes and wrap-around shades, he stands hunched over a Casiotone keyboard, providing supporting electronica for his stage partner Otis Mace, Guitar Ace. Judging by the drum kit in the background they, in turn, were providing support for the Double Happies.
Eggleton's zealous performance on that night drew strength from rock'n'roll vitality; his rapping and jiving riffs jagging at acute angles in the same way that noisy guitars reflected off the bricks in the tiny pub. He was then, and is now, a collaborator.
With Versifier, Eggleton revels in that spirit of collaboration, happy to let his words share time and space with music from the likes of Jordan Reyne, Martin Phillipps, Trevor Coleman, Jay Clarkson, Mochael Morley and Joost Langeveld. The resultant mix is as diverse a range of sounds as you could hope to hear, and it is this multiplicity of ideas that keeps you engaged, ready to hear how Eggleton will present his next surreal snapshot.
This ever-changing soundscape allows the poet to try styles of delivery you won't hear in dry reading. Where once the word-play tumbled from him so fast you were overwhelmed, there is here a more considered approach.
Clever, fun, and funky, this is a unique vehicle for Eggleton's subversive and insightful reflections on our peculiar world view. -Jeff Harford