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Reviews

Michael Chapman, ‘Fully Qualified Survivor’ (Light in the Attic)

This gorgeous 1970 folk-blues masterpiece teams a gnomic songwriter from Leeds with David Bowie’s future guitarist (Mick Ronson), and Elton John’s future producer (Gus Dudgeon) and string arranger (Paul Buckmaster). Boasting a cod-psychedelic cover printed in silver metallic ink, Fully Qualified Survivor displays Chapman’s ragged, rambling style, marked by precise flashes of his acoustic guitar. Amid Ronson’s solos and Buckmaster’s sweeping orchestrations, he sounds like a blasted troubadour back from a long cosmic odyssey.