Michael Chapman at the Recovery Lounge
by Naj Wikoff
Guitarist, singer-songwriter, folk and jazz musician with over 20 albums
to his credit, one of England’s unsung heroes is coming to the
Recovery Lounge on Friday, October 10. His name is Michael Chapman. It
will be a performance that you will not want to miss.
Chapman first appeared on the London and Cornwall circuits in 1967,
alongside John Martyn and Roy Harper. His first album was Rainmaker, the
critically acclaimed Fully Qualified Survivor, Window and Wrecked Again.
During the 70’s he signed with Decca Records and toured the United
States and played the club and folk circuits in the ‘80s. In the
90’s he embraced the ‘elder statesman’ role and enjoyed critical
acclaim for albums like Navigation, Dreaming Out Loud and Still Making
Rain with many major bands such as Led Zeppelin acknowledging his
material and playing style as a major influence.
The new century saw Chapman exploring his guitar player roots and
releasing instrumental albums alongside his traditional song-based sets.
His recently released Americana and Words Fail Me feature soundscapes
that recalled travels in America and feature a dexterity and
inventiveness on the guitar equal to the classic Decca and Harvest
periods. “Michael Chapman may not be a god,” wrote music critic
Allan Burridge,” but he is a very special human being with a unique
and amazing talent for playing the guitar and writing meaningful lyrics
the way he does.”
