Ed Harcourt

Ed Harcourt, a former chef and member of indie-adolescents Snug, extended the range of ingredients, progressed from bass guitar, and raided the musical larder (playing piano/keyboards, guitar, banjo, drums, and kitchen sink) during his prolific solo career. At the age of 23, it was alleged he had a backlog of 300-plus songs. They're not all searingly original, but this sort of youthful industry should be warmly encouraged. Harcourt is an obvious disciple of Tom Waits, and the marriage of his dreamland Americana and England's South Coast is sometimes an awkward alliance. Other self-confessed influences include comatose jazzer Chet Baker, incendiary blues showman Screamin' Jay Hawkins -- and, later, Perry Farrell, The Beasties, Gravediggaz, and At The Drive-in. With a widening palette and application that sometimes sees him write two or three songs in a day, his career should be an interesting one. Maplewood sounds like a work in progress. Indeed, Heavenly Records put out the original four-track recordings straight from the rural idyll of his grandma's Sussex house. Here Be Monsters (2002) was recorded in a studio proper, some of the earlier songs are thickened and enriched, and the earlier promise is realized. Some wag has called Harcourt the Fortnum and Mason's version of Badly Drawn Boy, but he's not necessarily upmarket, more of a supermarket perhaps. He should rely on his own fertile soil, mulch his influences more thoroughly, and become an organic shop of real character, just like Damon Gough himself. His live performances are populated by an army of soft toys, with Kermit clinging onto the microphone sound promisingly dotty, but tales of piano trashing seem a bit egotistical and passé. This sort of caper can work with a gun-shaped guitar, but it does seem a bit harsh battering a defenseless piece of mahogany with imperfect ivory teeth. A piano is essentially a sedate and introverted piece of furniture, with hidden harmonic depths. This would be a step too far for Jerry Lee Lewis himself. These are minor quibbles, however. Harcourt has youth and bags of talent on his side. In 2003, Harcourt returned with the stripped-down sophomore effort From Every Sphere. That year he also toured with both Wilco and R.e.m., and in 2004 released his third studio album, Strangers. Beautiful Lie and the compilation Until Tomorrow Then: The Best Of Ed Harcourt followed in 2006 and 2007, respectively. ~ Mark Joseph, All Music Guide