Jason Walker & The Last Drinks “Ashes & Wine”

From Americana UK Reviews:

"Jason Walker, singer/ songwriter & novelist, is a leading figure on the UK Americana scene. 'Ashes & Wine', the eagerly awaited follow up to 'Stranger to Someone' is also hot on the heels of his excellent biography of genre legend Gram Parsons, 'Gods Own Singer'. So does Walker deserve his place at the top? With closest rival Peter Bruntnell's magnificent 'Ends of the Earth' already released, the pressure is on. Easing us in gently with the country pop of 'Your on your Own', the first truly smouldering track is the Stonesy 'Dissatisfaction'. Walker is enjoying the performance so much he urges the band to play it 'one more time' as his acoustic guitar re builds the crumbling riff before bringing it to a close in a wall of feedback. Awesome stuff. 'Please Save Your Tears', another highlight is a slovenly, slacking rocker that suggests that Neil Young's Zuma, or indeed Son Volts Trace, are never far from JW's mind, while 'Last Drinks' is a modern rewrite of The Stanley Brothers 'She's More to be Pitied' & every bit as good a song. The record closes with 'Looking Out', the most sonically challenging track here. It includes retro 'must haves' the Mellotron, Moog synthesizer, a Flaming Lips style Theramin & (not such a must have) a whistling solo... Yankee Hotel Foxtrot it isn't, but a tasteful finale. This is, quite simply, a great record."

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