The Whiting’s on the Wall

Paul Sartin and Paul Hutchinson just can’t help themselves. If ever one tune reminds them of another - for even a mere fraction of a second - then they are powerless to resist playing it. Particularly if there’s a musical joke to be made. So, on this live album, the two multi-instrumentalists segue motifs from Beethoven concertos into the themes from Postman Pat and Benny Hill, or ‘I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside’ - or even that Red Army chestnut, ‘Kalinka’.

Yet everything they play sounds quintessentially British, thanks largely to the heartiness of tone and solidity of rhythm that they wring from their squeezeboxes, fiddle and clarinet.

And their British sense of humour infects everything in a way that will win over any fans of Radio 4’s I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue. Indeed, their fondness for Les Dawson-style comedy wrong notes could be reined in a bit, and the faux false starts to ‘One Cold Morning’ grate a little.

But it’s not all bad puns and cheesy humour. Paul Sartin has a warm, genial Everyman of a voice that lends a real pathos to ‘Home Lad, Home’ and ‘If I was a Blackbird’. Both songs benefit from the more sparse arrangements they receive here, as compared to their studio versions. Sartin and Hutchinson clearly thrive in front of an audience; this is one of the most intimate and entertaining live albums I’ve heard.