Due to their unique sound, the Fabulous Red Diesel have built up a loyal fan base, fusing classic ’60s soul with jazz arrangements and a rhythm section that can skip from hip-hop beats to Latin to funk. Ms. Kitty (Kat Lee-Ryan, on vocals, keys and flute); Duke Boom (Will Lee-Ryan, on drums); Miss Bea-Have (Beatrice Gullick, on double bass, tuba and trumpet) and Rabbi Jaffa Delicious (Simon Dobell, on guitar and trumpet) have supported and played alongside the James Taylor Quartet, Skunk Anansie and Jeff Buckley.
When her sister took her own life in 2006, Kat Lee-Ryan wrote and developed a stage show called Sparkly Bird as part of the grieving process. This sold out theaters and was also used to educate audiences about mental health at universities and for the U.K.’s National Health Service. With songs written by Lee Ryan and the music, of course, performed by the Fabulous Red Diesel (accompanied with aerial performances, a narrator and dance), it’s yet another side of a collective who mix their ideas and personalities with passion, flair and invention.
The Queensbury House Sessions – a new album of 16 tracks that were each recorded in one take at a disused office block called, yes, Queensbury House – truly captures their live sound.
“Karma” opens the album with atmospheric piano, flute and percussion, before the piano sets up a six-note contrapuntal rhythm over a 4/4 beat which is almost guaranteed to tap into those parts of the brain that induce a smile. The song takes off, Ms. Kitty’s voice perfect for the upbeat doop bop bahh doo wahah, light-hearted lyrical lines, echoed by the keyboard and supported by a tight ensemble. This is smile-defying music and lifts the heart. “Butterfly Mind” is wonderful, with its twists and turns and the story of how the mind flits form from person to another, eventually settling on the love of her life. Written by Ms. Kitty, it is a song of many parts with an intrinsic joy, made more delicious when you hear butterfly sung as “flutterby” on occasion. Not surprisingly, this track is also the single release.
“The Game” is a song of a different ilk and includes a great trumpet-led section, while “Mama Josie Says” is laid back and smooth, with Ms. Kitty’s vocals sitting just right for the number. This track shows off her gorgeous vocal range. “Apple Tree” is a fun-filled romp, the atmosphere enhanced by the percussion line and equally percussive piano and an almost comical coned trumpet. The vocals again shine, and this countrified version is grand. “Soul Knows Why the Body Goes” is syrupy and deliciously delivered, with some great piano and guitar work intertwined with great vocals and an arrangement which delivers originality while allowing different ensemble members to shine.
“Nellie Gale” is quirky, funky, groovy and has such a deliciously jazzy under slurp. It is naughty but very nice, as Fabulous Red Diesel tell the story of a stripper. “Miss Nell Gale presents a tableau of her innocence,” Ms. Kitty sings – but soon there is a naked lady on stage “wearing just a ball,” and the music becomes correspondingly raucous in honor of Nellie’s descent into mischief. “And when the people saw the thing they had paid money for, some were outraged and some delighted.” It is very comical and somehow also slightly sad, especially with the wah-wahing trumpet mockingly laughing at the live tableau depicted — a great number.
“Birdie” begins with birdsong, then a little piano accompaniment with trumpet singing out over the top. Then the vocal drops in and absolutely soars as they travel the register, demonstrating Lee-Ryan’s ability to rise and fall at will. “Don’t Wanna Feel Old” is a lovely number about getting older but not feeling “old,” and all over a swung beat. The lovely slowed-down rhythm in the piano line in the final stretch is just beautifully timed.
“Temporary” has the feel of a ’60s swing club, with Ms. Kitty in lower range and telling the story of a somewhat narcissistic-sounding singer who leaves the grass greener where she has trod, only to encounter hurdles you have to leap to find the things inside of you which make you grow. the point of the song being all is temporary, and things are what you make them. The trumpet arising out of the background makes a point in a temporary way too, as does the piano, but the salsa beat and tightness of the ensemble is permanent.
“Protect Myself From You” is strongly delivered, with a lesson in staying away from a bad boy, while “Hiding” is calmer, poignant and atmospheric. Ms. Kitty demonstrates how she can do darker songs too, and her emotive vocals steal this number. The final section is immersive and quite astounding. “Innocence” is a tale of temptation and warnings with a great horn-section interlude, while “War” is dynamic and clever, with military-style percussion and an observation of warring parties.
“Gotta Be Nice” is upbeat, and tells the story of how behaving well might just mean you keep the girl. Be understanding – and nice! Ms. Kitty switches to the flute in the final third, and demonstrates yet more talent. “Helium Balloon,” the final track on The Queensbury House Sessions, has more of that quirky flourish which is so much a part of the Fabulous Red Diesel. The band looks unconventional, their music is quirky, their delivery is tight and well honed.
Named after fuel they had never heard of until moving from city to town and seeing vehicles being checked for illegal usage, the Fabulous Red Diesel are completely original, their music delivers change at every turn. The Queensbury House Sessions takes you high and low, tells stories, makes comic observations and is filled with a joy which runs through the entire album. A delight which you cannot help but imbibe. Just what we need now and for the future.
It’s been a while since I heard such an uplifting, musically diverse and well-produced album with such a tight ensemble and such wonderful vocals. The Queensbury House Sessions is stuffed with talented musicians, each getting their place in the sun.
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- James McGowan Ensemble – ‘Reaching In’ (2023) - December 10, 2023
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