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Less than a year after his Nottingham debut (which I also reviewed<\/a>), Ryley Walker is back, in a larger venue, with a larger band, but a sparser audience. Whether that\u2019s down to the heat-wave, the football final or the tragedy at Manchester Arena, I don\u2019t know. It can\u2019t be down to the music, for third album Golden Songs That Have Been Sung<\/em> marked a big step forward for Walker, whose jazz-tinged, improvisatory gigs can be a thing of wonder.<\/p>\n Jam band Health and Beauty are the support and backing group. Whereas last year\u2019s accompanying jazz duo emulated Miles Davis, tonight\u2019s guiding spirit is The Grateful Dead. The four take a while to gel. Two of the three opening numbers are a little clunky in places. That said, drummer Frank Rosaly shines throughout, albeit his jazzy rhythms tend to be too low in the sound mix. He seems to have a dozen cowbells dangling from his lips in opener Sullen Mind. During On the Banks of the Old Kishwaukee he conjures eerie sounds from his cymbal with a violin bow. Funny Thing She Said gets a long, lovely build up. Indeed, only one, somewhat dirge-like, new song comes in at less than ten minutes.<\/p>\n From the fifth number, a mesmerising The Roundabout, Walker is in full swing. Writing about the Glee show, I compared Walker\u2019s jazzy tones to 60s singer\/songwriter Tim Hardin, so I was pleased to hear Walker play a drawn out version of his classic If I Were A Carpenter, a song I last heard live sung by its author (that was at, if you\u2019ll indulge me for a moment, the first show I ever reviewed, back in 1975). It\u2019s excellent.<\/p>\n Here’s Hardin’s version, and an instrumental from Ryley’s latest album,\u00a0Deafman Glance<\/em>.<\/p>\n