Daniel Johnston and BEAM – Beam Me Up!!

 

Daniel Johnston’s most celebrated work was recorded single-handedly on a basic tape recorder, often in one take, using nothing more than a cheap acoustic guitar or an old chord organ. The prospect of listening to selections from his beloved catalogue spruced up by an 11-piece jazz orchestra does little to whet the appetite, and more fervent followers may consider it akin to messing with the gospel. Thankfully the BEAM Orchestra handle the material tastefully and attentively. However it’s the songs plucked from Johnston’s latter studio-friendly albums – Fear Yourself and Lost and Found – that lend best to the lite-jazz wiggle treatment. Syrup Of Tears and Try To Love sound particularly lush in their fresh form. Danny flies solo without accompaniment on new songs, Mask and Last Song, the former typical of Johnston – endearing and melodic – and the latter typical of Johnston, oblivious and unlistenable. It’s a charming – if not quite essential – addition to an already substantial body of work. [Alan Souter]