Tymon Dogg

Remember ‘Bitter Thoughts of Little Jane’? It’s one of my treasured memories from the Rubbles/Toytown pop era and it was Dogg’s debut single (at 17, as Timon) nearly 50 years ago. Half of Led Zep helped out. Future recordings included Macca, James Taylor, and Justin Hayward.

Dogg also recorded with Ian Hunter and a friendship with Joe Strummer led to numerous Clash and Mescalero recordings. But Dogg kept recording solo material and his latest is a gem of baroque folk housing protest songs with a Dickensian vibe, featuring his omnipresent violin, a splash of harmonium, and… a  Gregorian chant!

Wrenching, emotional yearning drips over the pleading ‘Conscience Money’ and the sentimental ‘Time For Moving On’ and ‘As I Make My Way’. Dogg lets his hair down pounding the 88s on the Hunteresque ‘Like I Used To Be’, ‘Perfect Match’ is a phased psychedelic gypsy jig, and there’s even a show tune or three. An album of great songwriting, energetic singing, and a tinge of sadness.