Andy White’s two CD set 21st Century Troubadour is a package based around his book of the same name. For long-term fans there’s a whole album of unreleased recordings, and for those new to Andy’s work, it’s a wonderful introduction to both his songs and his writing.

Published in Ireland by Lagan Press, ‘21st Century Troubadour‘ is a 300 page 90,000 word rock’n’roll odyssey, starring a Belfast singer-songwriter who travels the world carrying an acoustic guitar and a bag so heavy it’s currently showing up on Google Earth as a small island.

Sound familiar? Yes, Andy based it on his ‘on the road’ experiences and a lifetime spent devouring great literature, but you can read the book as a novel, without knowing Andy’s music.

After publication of the novel, Andy was approached by a group of partially-sighted fans in London who asked him to record an audio book of the novel. He started out by choosing his favourite passages from the book, reading them out, and then writing and recording a soundtrack for the readings.

When Andy’s record label Floating World heard about this, they suggested combining these readings with a compilation of songs mentioned in the book, to illustrate and counterpoint the 21st Century Troubadour’s travels. The result was this double album:

CD 1- Songs – Twelve songs chosen from Andy’s last four albums, plus ‘Berlin 6 a.m.’ and ‘Travelling Circus’ from previous albums – both songs relate to particular episodes in the book.

CD 2 – Stories – is made up of eight new recordings. Six of them are passages from the book set to music, plus there’s a poem from Andy’s latest poetry collection ‘Stolen Moments‘. The last track is the 21st Century Troubadour’s eponymous theme song.

Here’s the tracklisting of 21st Century Troubadour, followed by notes on the songs and readings. Finally, the lyrics of the Troubadour’s theme song (this is the only place you’ll find them).

If you’re new to Andy’s work, this is the perfect place to start.

CD 1

1. Jesus In A Cadillac
2. I Want It Straight
3. Twelfth Of July
4. Deeper Water
5. The Capital Of Now
6. Berlin 6am
7. Message To You
8. Italian Girls On Mopeds
9. The Fortune Teller’s Right
10. A Long Time Coming
11. Samuel Beckett
12. Start All Over Again
13. If You Want It
14. Travelling Circus

CD 2

1. The Night Before The Tour
2. 56 Reasons
3. In Between Times
4. So Focking Gay
5. Bob, Patti and the Backdoor Crew
6. In LA I Dream Of Books
7. Sting Is Hot
8. 21st Century Troubadour

CD 1: Songs

JESUS IN A CADILLAC
Though I’m usually in a Fiat or a Ford Fiasco, I can still dream. You thought he’d come back on a donkey? You were wrong.

I WANT IT STRAIGHT
The 10 years I took to write the book was just starting. How could we always get it right? Too much day, not enough night.

TWELFTH OF JULY
A Belfast childhood is something to see. Flags waving, crazy paving. I remember what we did but I never worked out why.

DEEPER WATER
Time comes when you’ve got to leave. And when that time comes, which one of us is ready. The journey has already started.

THE CAPITAL OF NOW
Where we all want to live. Listen to this on repeat. I remember early mornings waiting for the sun. Yeah yeah yeah yeah.

BERLIN 6AM
February 1990 and the wall has just come down. Hanging with the artists, before unification sets in.

ITALIAN GIRLS ON MOPEDS
An old old story with brand new shoes, and it doesn’t have to be just a metaphor. Step off the plane and you’re starring in your very own movie.

THE FORTUNE TELLER’S RIGHT
When the threat is over, they’re going to make up another one. After Belfast, it was back to square one. Welcome to the age of terrorism.

A LONG TIME COMING
All this time Dublin was changing. I still see you driving down the street, the wind in your hair and the world at your feet.

SAMUEL BECKETT
Sam we salute you. Oscar and Seamus too. Be sure to keep your eyes open, for you never know who you might see.

WHEN I COME BACK
The Beatles, Paris, my vote meaning something, humans looking after the planet, meeting for the first time. These things matter to me.

START ALL OVER AGAIN
A brand new beginning. Fill in the gaps with your own story, get in the car and drive. This song should be called David Hockney.

TRAVELLING CIRCUS
From Carrickfergus to A Million Miles Away – life is just a travelling circus, stops off when it rains.

IF YOU WANT IT
Writing the book nearly finished, you can hear the decade ending in the fade out. The game’s still waiting on the ground just get down to it.

CD 2 Stories:

THE NIGHT BEFORE THE TOUR
The book opens in Melbourne as our hero contemplates taking his acoustic guitar and a bag so heavy that it’s showing up on Google Earth as a small island on tour.

56 REASONS
The troubadour visits Germany, where they really do tell it like it is.

IN BETWEEN TIMES
An epiphany in three parts, flying over Ireland en route from London to Canada.

SO FOCKING GAY
Back in his hometown of Belfast, the troubadour stumbles into a late night party with his sister. Both of them attract intense interest from a remarkably drunk man of indeterminate provenance.

BOB, PATTI AND THE BACKDOOR CREW
A recording session in Vancouver is interrupted by a visit to an alleyway beside Bob Dylan’s stage door.

IN LA I DREAM OF BOOKS
Brisbane and Los Angeles come together in this piece which mixes a poem from ‘Stolen Moments’ and the final LA chapter from ’21st Century Troubadour’,

STING IS HOT
The title says it all.

21st CENTURY TROUBADOUR

Now this here’s the story
About a man on a mission
And the first verse alone
Is worth the price of admission
He’s a very real part
Of an ancient tradition
Where each man’s life
Is a limited edition

You might think you’ve heard it all before
But there’s always something more
21st Century Troubadour

Well the history books tell it
Like they think you can’t read
Well I’m a newspaper junkie
But I’ve forgotten how to breathe
Wikipedia’s lies
Come through a set of broken false teeth
And the government alibis are flying so fast
That they can’t keep up
With new ways they’ve got to cheat

You always think you’ve heard it all before
But there’s always something more
For the 21st Century Troubadour …

Go to sleep Sunday
Then we’ll wake up on the stage
Drive four hundred miles just the opposite way
’Cause it’s the only way
That we’re gonna get paid

You think you’ve seen it all
But there’s always just a little bit more
For the 21st Century Troubadour

It’s a life lived upside-down
On the road there’s no home town
First you’re Business Class
Then you’re out on your ass
They tell you you’re Shakespeare
Then an abject failure

I’m an angel and a devil
I’m a loser and a rebel
I’m a 21st Century Troubadour

I thank God above
It’s the life that I love
I’m a 21st Century Troubadour …