Tonight We Ride is a collection of songs from the songwriters that inspired McNiff’s writing and playing. This covers record grew out of his online “Sundowners” gigs that he played over the course of the lockdown in 2020. He says: “It’s been a real privilege to immerse myself in the work of heroes such as Townes Van Zandt and Mark Knopfler. I approached the recording as if they’d been my own songs (I wish!) and went to the same studio and producer (Roger Askew) where I made my most recent record, Dust Of Yesterday. Of course, there are 2 Dylan tracks (who could resist that?) and 2 by one of my fave guitar players, Bert Jansch. I also got the chance to record material by lesser known, but just as brilliant, artists like Tom Russell and Stephen Foster.”
And a varied collection they are. Mark Knopfler’s ‘Tunnel of Love’ keeps the languid feel of the Dire Straits original, but adds an almost acoustic Springsteen vibe to it. The other “pop” cover is ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ which retains the air of mystery that makes the original one of the great Beatles songs but also shows off his Bert Jansch influence in the guitar playing. Taking this and turning it into a psych folk song highlights McNiff’s skills as a player brilliantly.
The other standout song on the first half of the album is his own ‘I Remember You’. In fairness this is a very Dylan influenced song, but his singing is very much his own, and the electric guitar shifts this away from being a Dylan pastiche to simply respecting his legacy.
The best of the cover songs are from what he describes as the “lesser known” writers. Best songs here for me are The Waterboys’ ‘Fisherman’s Blues’ and Townes Van Zandt’s ‘My Proud Mountains’, although there isn’t a song that you would want to skip. The live take on Stephen Foster’s ‘Hard Times’ is also really good and I’ll have to investigate Foster who I know little about.
Hopefully I’ll be seeing McNiff live in a couple of weeks at the Americana Fest in Bath and on the basis of this album he’s gone to the top of the list of people to catch n=on the Sunday.
Buy it digitally at BANDCAMP. CDs and Vinyl at his own store.
