Brooks Williams

If you weren’t at Crail Folk Club for this gig, I need to know why not… what could possibly take precedence? Were you commemorating VJ Day... were you watching Hibs’ UEFA Conference League qualifier game… or did the big ole’ thunderstorm turn you into a scaredy cat and you quaked under the blanket? Whatever it was, you wuz in the wrong place ‘cos Brooks is one cool cat.

He strolls onto the stage like an old pal you haven’t seen for a while… “hey Brooks, c’mon in”, get the kettle on, kick off the shoes and chew some fat. Brooks has an easy way about him, we all feel a little bit cooler, some folks are just like that, they make you feel damn good.

A countryish ‘Palomino Gold’ kicks off the soiree, he expertly plays guitar and sings with such effortlessness that he makes it look easy. It’s not of course, he’s one of those folks who make hard things look easy - in sharp contrast of course to those who go out of their way to make easy things look hard! And it would be incorrect of me to describe the guitar playing as ‘accompaniment’ to the singing, it is, as if guitar and voice are one entity, so intertwined are they.

Doc Watson’s ‘Deep River Blues’ offers astonishing syncopated fingerpicking... I kid you not, I felt an almost electromagnetic frisson of excitement sweep through the audience… Brooks’ thumb strides out a walking bassline whilst the rest of his hand does… well, whatever it’s doing, I’m humbled to be present for it!

‘Down on the London Road’ has us all join in on the super-catchy chorus… well it is a folk club and, given the right setting Crail will give it some tonsil welly.

‘Tornado Smith’ tells the remarkable tale of an amazing wall of death showman and motorcycle rider who… and, get this… would ride the wall of death with a real lioness in his sidecar while his wife – arguably a better cyclist, would ride in the opposite direction with a lamb in her sidecar. At each meeting point, the lion and lamb would eye each other up, quietly contemplating their own thoughts! I looked this up on Google, it’s all true, there’s even old photos of them!

A slide comes out for ‘Sitting on Top of the World’ – Brooks tipping a hat to Bonnie Raitt for revealing to him (on TV) the secrets of getting that bluesy slide guitar sound.

‘Here Comes the Blues’ sounds a little like electric blues, puts me in mind of the guitar genius that is Robben Ford.

It must be pointed out that Brooks plays the whole set with just one guitar, he accomplished everything with just one instrument, one voice and one guitar. And not for one second was there a lull. There was always something occurring to maintain our focus and attention; a vocal inflection, a guitar run, a story, not once did my attention waver.

So, next time you see Brooks Williams name anywhere, grab a ticket, you won’t be disappointed.

Words by Callum MacLeod photos by Peter Salkeld.