BILL DIREEN - "A Memory of Others" 2xLP

Bill Direen - A Memory of Others 2xLP (Sophomore Lounge, 2019) "The superb 2LP set in your hands serves both as an overview of Bill Direen's musical arc, and as a companion to Simon Ogston's fascinating documentary film, Bill Direen: A Memory of Others. It is not a soundtrack per se, since the versions of the songs here are not always the same ones as in the film, but any quibbling about this is surely jackanapery and should be ignored forthwith.The film follows Direen's 2016 tour of New Zealand, the first he had undertaken in a decade. The venues range from the historical home of the late New Zealand writer, Janet Frame, to a children's musical workshop, as well as more standard spots like clubs, galleries and radio stations. Functioning both as a meditation and a travelogue, the tour footage is interspersed with wonderful bits of Bill's musical and literary history, both of which are long and varied. Direen's work as a writer has resulted in a large shelf of first rate poetry, prose