Flashman - To the Victor - The Spoils! (2011)

This CD is the debut release by Flashman. Flashman appears to be a collaborative musical project initiated by Fred Deakin (of Lemon Jelly and Airside) and Robin Jones (of the Beta Band and the Aliens.) This album is limited to 1000 copies and is available in either a blue or red sleeve with identical audio content on either version. It features guest performances by jazz piano legend Brian Kellock, 86 year old clarinetist Wally Fawkes (who was a regular player in Humphey Littleton's original band,) trumpet extremist and James / Pale Fountains / Shack / Spaceheads member Andy Diagram, and several other highly trained professionals. When pushed to describe Flashman's music, Fred says it's 'jazz-folk-techno.' You may be able to do better. Most of the tracks are instrumental and are constructed from live performances by the various personnel including Robin tearing up the drums throughout. It was mostly recorded at the Sound Cafe studios in the heart of the Scottish countryside, where among many other fantastic recordings Vashti Bunyan made the follow-up to 'Just Another Diamond Day'.On the whole the Flashman sessions were a lot of fun; certainly, more than one kitchen sink was utilised during the making of this record. Brian Kellock appears courtesy of Thick Skinned Productions Ltd. That is all you need to know about this CD before listening to it or deciding that you have better things to do with your life.