Neil Spencer 

Yorkston/Thorne/Khan: Neuk Wight Delhi All-Stars review – improbable trio work wonders again

(Domino)
  
  

James Yorkston, Jon Thorne and Suhail Yusuf Khan perform at the Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow.
James Yorkston, Jon Thorne and Suhail Yusuf Khan perform at the Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow. Photograph: Ross Gilmore/Redferns

The backstage encounter that led to this fusion of western folk and Indian classicism has paid off handsomely for James Yorkston, Jon Thorne and Suhail Yusuf Khan. They follow their garlanded debut with a similar mix of original and borrowed songs, blending Khan’s alluring cello with gentle acoustic guitar and thrumming bass; an improbable, but mostly seamless fit. All three sing; Khan rapturously, Thorne in plaintive cockney and Yorkston with his usual earthy intimacy. Pastoral moods pervade ballads such as False True Piya, the 15-minute devotional Halleluwah rocks furiously and Yorkston’s The Blues You Sang pays sweet tribute to a fallen friend. Top drawer.

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