(This review first appeared in issue #81 of Shindig! magazine.)
Mcniff's music is rooted in the Anglo-American storytelling tradition but offers more than a mere stylistic re-tread. His sixth and latest LP Joy And Independence is as stripped down as they come, mostly one voice, one guitar, no studio trickery, just songs and sentiments that draw you in and stay with you long after the disc has stopped playing. It's part travelogue, part autobiography and part emotional stock-taking with McNiff looking back at lost loves, his early troubadour days and the changing nature of dreams and ambitions.
His wistful reminiscences take in travels through Italy and northern Spain, and he recalls the fading rainy London of the 1990s with a rare sensitivity and a knack for finding the universal in the specific. Fans of Blood On The Tracks will find much to immerse themselves in here. Aside from the first person songs there's also sympathetic commentary on the Amanda Knox story. Rich pickings.
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