Live helt alene

Under the headline "Live helt alene" ("Live all alone"), Østlendingen (Elverum, 16 March 2004) carries a short review of Jackie Leven's live album For Peace Comes Dropping Slow (Cooking Vinyl). The reviewer says the world has hardly been crying out for a 75-minute, 16-track live album from the Scot, but here he is in top form ("i kjempeslag") at the music pub 12 Bar in London.

Four of the tracks are humorous chat, one of which starts from Tromsø; the rest is "almost songwriting" (visesang), and Leven's distinctive voice comes out especially well when only his own guitar accompanies it. Then the objection: it is a little hard to keep one's concentration when the set-up is so "thin", and his good lyrics are not printed in the sleeve booklet. The closing line, "But you're allowed to eat small portions!", advises taking the record in small helpings. The author is probably Geir Hovensjø (the byline in the scan is unclear).