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Lloyd Cole ‘From Rattlesnakes to Guesswork’ live review

Great singer, great songs, but too many acoustic guitars

By Paul Sinclair

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36

After almost exactly two years without gigs, Lloyd Cole is on the road again continuing his From Rattlesnakes to Guesswork tour which started way back in 2019.

With no income from performing in front of an audience, Cole has been keeping the wolf from the door with his very engaging Patreon account where, in his words, he creates “insight and memorabilia via audio, photo and video + commentary”. This means photos, musings, rare audio and even guitar lessons for his monthly subscribers.

The format for the the tour, which SDE attended at Cadogan Hall, in London on Thursday night, sees Lloyd supporting himself, with an initial 35-minute solo set. After a 20 minute or so interval, Cole is back accompanied by Commotions guitarist Neil Clark, who lends an air of authenticity to proceedings. That second set lasts for around 85 minutes.

Now 61, Lloyd Cole has a lot going for him. He’s appears trim, and in good health (he’s now an avid cycler) and from a performance point of view his voice is in remarkable shape; strong, rich and seemingly hard to separate from the man 30 years younger. Despite self-deprecating comments to the contrary, Cole is an excellent guitar player and for the early part of the show, it’s intimate and entertaining with Cole’s dry wit delivering some very funny one-liners in between songs (he welcomes late-comers by saying “Good evening, you’ve only missed ‘Rattlesnakes’…”).

Broadly speaking, Lloyd in support act guise delivers the newer and more obscure material, opening with ‘Past Imperfect’ from The Negatives album (issued in 2000, that record was the only long-player from his short-lived band, also called The Negatives) and including three tracks from the ‘new’ album (Guesswork actually came out in the summer of 2019). That’s not to say there aren’t a few ‘biggies’, including a trio from Rattlesnakes (the aforementioned title track, ‘Patience’ and ‘Are You Ready to be Heartbroken?’). For audience members who don’t know their way around the more obscure albums, Lloyd’s lyrics are always interesting enough to draw you in, and the wordy and witty ‘Like A Broken Record’ (from 2010’s Broken Record) demonstrated this very well.

Neil Clark joins Cole for the feature presentation and together they deliver more Commotions and less solo Cole, with Clark doing all the intricate lead guitar on his acoustic, as Cole mainly strums along, taking care of rhythm guitar duties. ‘2CV’ for this writer was the highlight, sounding almost identical to the album version with Lloyd’s moving lyric. Later the pace increased for the non-stop snowstorm that is ‘My Bag’, a perky ‘Lost Weekend’ and of course ‘Perfect Skin’.

It was undoubtedly an entertaining evening of great songs, delivered impeccably and virtually all the boxes were ticked except the one labelled “sonic diversity”. Lloyd plays acoustic guitar all night and is then accompanied by someone else playing acoustic guitar. This goes on for two hours (in total) and I’ll be honest and say I was craving an electric guitar or a piano by the end. Clark is obviously a brilliant guitarist, but what should be his searing electric guitar solo at the end of the ‘Forest Fire’ encore loses much of its power when played on the acoustic. Dare I suggest it doesn’t actually sound very good at all? On other songs, his acoustic lead often doesn’t cut through enough, getting lost in what you might call an acoustic mush and I found myself straining to try and hear. The brilliant ‘Violins’, as recorded on Guesswork, is an electronic delight with plinky synths and a drum machine. On Thursday evening it was yet another song played on acoustic guitar… 

We have to acknowledge the economies of touring these days, for an artistic like Lloyd Cole, but he did suggest on Thursday that the income from his Patreon might allow him to tour with a full band sometime in the not-too-distant future. That’s great news, but in the meantime, how much more expensive is it for Clark to travel with an electric guitar rather than an acoustic one? I can’t help but compare Suzanne Vega with Lloyd Cole at this instance. Both play acoustic guitars during their shows, but Vega is accompanied by Irish guitarist Gerry Leonard, who is a one-man-band par excellence. He can deliver sonics that are out of this world, from his pedals and his box of tricks. He’s brilliant at soundscapes, beats and just playing incredible electric guitar which is a wonderful backdrop and contrast to Suzanne’s acoustic rhythm guitar playing. It’s still just two people up on stage, just as Cole and Clark are two people, but Leonard brings much more to the table. It’s dynamic, offers creative re-interpretations and delivers the interesting sonic textures currently missing from an evening with Lloyd Cole.

Lloyd’s From Rattlesnakes to Guesswork tour continues tonight in Southend.

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36 thoughts on “Lloyd Cole ‘From Rattlesnakes to Guesswork’ live review”

  1. FFS. In an earlier post, I stated that Paul inspired me to buy ‘Cleaning Out The Ashtrays.’ Turns out, I already own it. I’ve seen numerous posts in recent weeks by those who have done the same thing. What’s wrong with us? :-) Too much product, or old age setting in? :-(

    1. Usually, if you don’t remember owning a particular release, it’s probably because you have (way too) many LPs/CDs.
      If you have a huge collection (thousands of items) then if you buy something again because you didn’t remember owning it, it means you haven’t listened to that CD/LP in a long time and therefore you should trim your collection and ask yourself this question : if I didn’t remember owning that CD/LP then why did I buy it again ? If you didn’t play it for a long time then why buy it again ? It makes no sense.
      Result will be the same. You will play it a few times and then you will forget about it. Many of us are compulsive buyers. Very often we buy stuff we don’t really need.

      I have done it too a few times in the past and that’s why I decided to catalog my collection 2 years ago and get rid of the records and compacts I didn’t play anymore or items I didn’t need anymore.

      1. You’re right, of course. But that little voice inside my head says, “I’ll listen to this…someday,” and my fingers click “buy” with little hesitation. Now, I’m off to order ‘Cleaning Out The Ashtrays.’ Oh, wait a minute…

  2. I am long overdue seeing him live again. Reading Paul’s review sparked a memory of seeing Lloyd at The Forum in London, 1996. That was a full band show and he was still in rock-star-not-folkie mode at that stage.

    At one point in the set he gestured to a roadie to ‘swap axes’ like rock stars do, and stood there eyes front, arms outstretched like he was on a cross, waiting for the roadie to make the exchange. The nonchalant roadie took his time on purpose by the look of it, and Lloyd was literally left hanging in his very own little Spinal Tap moment. Maybe that’s another reason for scaling down on tour: you don’t have to line-manage difficult staff. Still, Love Story was a damn fine album, wasn’t it?

    PS. Support act that night was those poor sods Trashcan Sinatras, who couldn’t get arrested in 1996 despite having a quality new album to share with the great British public. There ain’t no justice.

  3. I’m jealous of anyone who has had the opportunity to see LC in concert. I just played ‘No Blue Skies’ followed by a couple of tracks from his latest. His voice seems almost miraculously unchanged. But I have just one quick question: has Lloyd ever smiled for a camera?

  4. That sounds like very constructive criticism, Paul. The human ear and the listener’s attention will be tickled for longer by a little sonic variety. I hope Lloyd listens to the advice. I remember, back in the pre-internet era, reviewing a concert by Scottish folk legend / guitar wizard Dick Gaughan in a magazine. Dick (currently in poor health and musically inactive, I believe) is/was one of that scene’s most gifted acoustic guitarists – but he had opted to start playing a Telecaster-ish semi-acoustic through a DI box rather than pure external mic + acoustic. I mentioned something to the effect that while being obviously easier to amplify, this was a real shame – a boingy, tinny sound from a master of the pure acoustic, which diminished the experience. Dick later told me he’d read the review, thought about it and agreed… and ditched the quasi-electric. If you’re reading this, Lloyd, there’s no shame in taking such advice from fans on board… :-)

  5. Paul: Lloyd & Neil did do a short tour similar to the Suzanne Vega style show you described, back in 2006 just after Antidepressant was released- Lloyd on acoustic & some electric & Neil on electric, with Lloyd adding beats/backing tracks from a laptop he had onstage. I remember Lloyd having some technical difficulties with the laptop at the show I saw at the Arts Theatre in London and if I remember correctly may have actually abandoned using it after a few songs because of this. Economics looks like the main reason for the two man show, but they may have decided to keep it all acoustic for other reasons.

  7. I’m going to Shrewsbury to see LLoyd Cole on Monday week. Hardly anybody decent plays Shrewsbury so I’m happy to be there although slightly disappointed to find out it’s all acoustic.
    I saw him a couple of times in the 80’s with the Commotions and they were excellent shows.
    Incidentally I am also seeing Wilko Johnson in Shrewsbury this Friday and I’m pretty sure that won’t be acoustic!!

  8. I’ve been to see baz warne,stranglers guitarist, loads of times on his solo gigs. They are always just acoustic guitar the whole show, and every one has been brilliant. At least half the entertainment of each gig is the chat and banter baz has with the audience, having a go at people(me included plenty of times),jokes, good natured dealing with heckles, jokey insults,etc. Long live entire gigs with just one acoustic I say. (With baz anyway)

  9. We’re going to see Elvis Costello at The Caves in Edinburgh at the end of May, organised by Assai Records. At £13 for a standalone e-ticket, I can’t imagine Elvis will have a band, even a guitar of any kind might be a push!
    :-D

  10. About 10-11 years ago, I went to a couple of solo gigs by Alarm front man Mike Peters. It was just him and an acoustic guitar, taking requests and telling the stories behind the songs. Very enjoyable and, most importantly, you knew what the “deal” was beforehand – they were advertised as acoustic performances.

  11. An honest review, despite your disappointment.
    I saw Lloyd & The Commotions at Hammersmith in the mid 90’s and he was brilliant, very humble with the applause he was getting and a very enjoyable gig despite some hecklers.
    I would love to see him again but only with a full band.
    Acoustic gigs can be brilliant, I saw Dave Matthews at Union Chapel, London which was a lot better than expected, but Bob Mould at the Bush Theatre, London was a massive let down when played on an acoustic as all the power and riffage was lost.

    2. I saw them at Hammersmith in 1985. I remember wearing black jeans and a black turtle neck jumper. My wife thought I was a bit of a poser! I was getting mildly annoyed at the ‘youngsters’ in the audience standing up and screaming, when I just wanted to sit and listen!

      1. I saw him at Hammy Odeon too back in the day. Remember getting told off by security for standing at times. Don’t remember screaming though.

        1. I was upstairs in the Circle at the 1985 gig, downstairs in the Stalls some drunks were heckling and shouting between songs which was annoying and it occasionally put Lloyd off his stride while talking to the audience.

  12. Saw lloyd deliver a very similar set a couple of years back at Guildford. For me, the sheer strength of the songs and performance more than made up for any lack of sonic variety. Only the very best song writers can carry this off! Saw Nick Lowe play a solo acoustic blinder in in Bristol last week too.

  13. I was there on Thursday night – would have bought you a beer if I had known you were going. The time split of the two sets was interesting – why not just play two sets of an hour each? Also, if he’s going to play, why doesn’t Neil Clark just play all the time? My friend and I both said at the end that NC didn’t really add much. There wasn’t as much banter in the second half either. Still really enjoyed it though. Never been to Cadogan Hall before – lovely place (enjoyed being addressed as ‘Sir’ at a gig). Also saw Ian McNabb recently who played in an acoustic style but also had keyboards for a few songs as well as his guitars. Well worth seeing him if you get the chance.

  14. I haven’t seen this particular leg, but saw the Glassworks promotional tour pre pandemic when it visited Leeds. I’ve also saw the Lloyd and Will acoustic show a few years before and totally solo in 2013 and earlier full band shows. Paul is a massive supporter of Lloyd’s music. As a paying punter he is totally entitled to voice his opinion, as is anyone else. The world has become very vanilla with hardly anyone voicing constructive criticism, just treating everyone as “an artist” and speaking in hushed tones. What ever happened to “It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll”? People should get over themselves with this “The Artist” pedestal thing. Post pandemic Lloyd will be looking to have an enjoyable low risk, high returns tour. I’m sure it’s not an “artistic” decision. It’s a pragmatic one. He has said in the past he’d do another electric tour like he did around the time of “Standards” but for the costs. I think acts should charge accordingly. If it’s a band show, the prices can be a bit higher and duo acoustic a bit cheaper. As it is, many (other) heritage acts are these days guilty of charging the absolute maximum that the market will stand. That practice has got me having to budget accordingly and there are many acts I’d have seen every time and these days, I’ll just keep my money, as I’ve seen them and the entire cost is getting prohibitive as they try to make all the money they should be getting from record sales and streaming from the live show. Have you ever seen Merch prices these days? Yes I know they have to give a cut to the venue sometimes, but when they charge £15 per CD and £30 per LP at the Merch table, for something you can get for £10 and £20 elsewhere, it’s crazy, when the proportion they must get of the Merch table will be MUCH greater than say from amazon. Shooting themselves in the foot!

  15. I agree wholeheartedly with what you say Paul, I do believe that the paying punter has expectations and can have an opinion (your electric guitar point wouldn’t have broke the bank). I went to a concert at Newcastle Arena on Thursday to see Dream Theater although it wasn’t disappointing inside the arena it was absolutely freezing. A lot of people around me were cold and my partner even suggestions wanting to go home before the main act took the stage because of feeling it more than I. I gave her my hoodie but she was still cold and consequently I started to feel it as well. To be honest it sort of ruined the show for us. I do feel that punters should expect to be pampered a bit by at least being warm enough!. Sonically it was also slightly distorted in the vocals, we couldn’t make out any words clearly which considering the amount of mixing desks in hand was bewildering!.

    1. Newcastle arena is a dreadful arena compared to the newer ones, like Glasgow’s. Alanis Morrisette’s Super Infatuation concert was the worst mixed sound I’ve heard there. It was all booming bass and no vocals. Normally concerts sort out the mix within a song or two and it makes a big difference, but it didn’t happen at that concert.

      The coldest concert I went to was Rumer’s one at the Tyne Theatre, where Rumer performed in a dress and we sat in coats and hats. She did get a good laugh when she talked about how cold it was; and at least it was a freezing January evening, not late April.

      1. Also in these times of rising bills etc how they can justify £7.50 for a pint of lager at an event up North is shocking, consequently the bar seemed to be like a ghost
        town!. We didn’t have any refreshment in there not that a cold drink was any good anyways in those temperatures!.

    2. Currently, rightly or wrongly, a lot of venues are running the air conditioning/circulation/extraction at full pelt, irrespective of the temperature, as an measure to reduce Covid transmission. Having said that, Newcastle arena is chilly all year round.

  16. I have to say I totally agree with the drawbacks of too much acoustic guitar! Haven’t seen the Lloyd show as the Bristol date was cancelled but have had similar feelings about other artists doing this type of thing in the past. Suzanne Vega on the other hand is brilliant at getting the most from the two person stripped down setting. Mind you her Close Up albums show how she has a great way of approaching ‘acoustic’ type arrangements in general. Otherwise there is a risk that the acoustic version ends up feeling like second best.

  17. Good, honest review. Only the other week you were saying how much you loved his solo stuff and it would be easy, lazy journalism to say everything was amazing or fantastic.

  19. I think this is a very honest report, Paul, which I understand very well. Normally, if one attends to a concert, there is mostly the will to have a nice evening, and it takes (at least myself) a while to accept if it doesn’t turn out the way one expected it to be. And then it’s another biiiig step to acknowledge that one doesn’t actually like it.

    Everyone who plays in a band and maybe already thought about including an acoustic set into a stage performance has probably asked himself how long that acoustic part should be, since it can surely lead to a very intimate atmosphere and an interesting approach to certain songs, but at the same time can be very limited concerning the dynamics.

    And concerning the MTV Unplugged concerts: Most of the times they were also not only played with two acoustic guitars, but also by loads of other acoustic instruments – for a very good reason.

  21. Bit unfair Paul. The Artist will do what they wish. Back in the 90’s this would be deemed ‘unplugged’!. Glad you got to be there either way.

    1. I have to agree with Paul, although I don’t mind the odd acoustic track here and there practically an entire gig of the stuff is a bit much.
      I guess it down’s to personal taste, a similar thing applied to a TOOL gig I saw where each track was between 10 and 15 minutes long, after 3 tracks I left as was bored to tears. Whereas they seemed to have gone the prog rock approach at the time Lloyd and other artists post-lockdown/s seem to be channelling an early Dylan.
      It’s 2022 and some of us want a bit of action on stage after so long away…

    2. Of course the artist can do as they wish but that doesn’t mean it always works for everyone. So not really ‘unfair’ to be very mildly critical.

    3. It’s the artist’s right to do what they choose/indulge themselves for their own satisfaction. I’d say it’s a bit different in a live setting-obvious differences in effort between going out to a live gig rather than just putting their music on.
      Didn’t care for the “unplugged” thing. I loathed the worthiness, authenticity, self righteousness of it all. I hope it doesn’t make a big comeback.

        1. I vividly remember John Peel doing the album chart rundown on Radio 1 one lunchtime in the 1990s, standing in for somebody else, and saying “…and at number six, Eric Clapton – Unplugged. If only…”

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