Fanfare
Like its predecessor, *Gentle Spirit*, *Fanfare* is a love letter to Wilson\'s longhaired, denim-clad countercultural heroes of the early \'70s. In fact, some of them (David Crosby, Graham Nash, Jackson Browne) appear on the album, and others (U.K. folk-rock legend Roy Harper) contribute to the songwriting. Recorded on analog gear—which channels the spirit of the aforementioned artists and the whole post-psychedelic hippie zeitgeist—and clocking in at 78 minutes, *Fanfare* is the ultimate headphone album for the modern era. While the multitalented Wilson played all the instruments on some tracks, everything here has an organic vibe; you can feel the air in the room where the record was made. As Wilson hops from orchestral majesty (the title track) to Crosby-esque folk (\"Her Hair Is Growing Long\"), sunny roots rock (\"Love to Love\"), and epic art rock (\"Lovestrong\"), he displays not only his passion for the sounds of the \'70s but his mastery of them.
Having jammed his way to acclaim on 2011 debut Gentle Spirit, Wilson goes super-sized on Fanfare, which, crucially, doesn’t mislay the warmth that fired off its predecessor amidst all the luxurious layers of sound.
On the positively baked Gentle Spirit, from 2011, Jonathan Wilson offered a stellar update of the early-'70s Laurel Canyon sound.
Album review: Jonathan Wilson, 'Fanfare'. Clash checks out the second solo album from Wilson, released on Bella Union
Jonathan Wilson's followup to his acclaimed debut is a star-studded affair that features some top-drawer songwriting, writes <strong>Dave Simpson</strong>
Contender for 2013’s best album could have been 1973’s best. CD review by Kieron Tyler