Ryley Walker & Danny Thompson at ARC, Stockton-on-Tees

Having joined all and sundry in making the inevitable comparison between Ryley Walker, Bert Jansch and John Martyn, I obviously regarded Walker and Danny Thompson as a perfect fit. The 76 year old Thompson has now added his superb double bass skills to the work of them all - and many more besides. Despite there being a 50 year age difference, Walker also saw that Thompson would be the perfect playing partner and the two agreed to tour together.

I love Walker's last album 'Primrose Green' and since purchasing the record last year, there has been scarcely a week when I have not played it. Consequently I wasted no time in obtaining tickets for this event and was more than happy to make the 75 mile round trip to Stockton and back. It was certainly worth the effort as playing live allows Walker to stretch out his familiar songs.

If I did have one slight concern before the event, it was how the songs would fare when stripped of the wonderful instrumental accompaniment that adorns the album versions. Would I miss those gorgeous vibes and the superb drumming? My concerns were totally unfounded as Walker has an uncanny knack of sounding like two or three guitarists at once. And he makes it all look so damned easy. Throw into the mix, his unique voice which he uses like another instrument, moaning, howling and yelping to flesh out the more usual sound of his vocals and the absence of other instruments became superfluous.

The contrast between the two on stage also worked very well and it is clear that they are forging a respectful friendship while touring together. Walker is all energy and came across at times like an excited puppy while regaling us of tales from the road including his recent introduction to the delights of Yorkshire pudding. Thompson on the other hand conserved his energy for his wonderful playing. Standing or leaning against his stool, he remained almost motionless but made the occasional humourous quip with the timing of a true comedian. 

If I had one criticism, it was that the show was a little too short. The pair left the stage after and hour and returned to perform only two songs, so we got only about 75 minutes in total. I could have done with a lot longer but then, I did have a drive of almost an hour ahead of me.