All My Swim by Faeland.

I received a new CD in the post yesterday called All My Swim by Faeland. After listening to it three times now I think it is a very enjoyable album indeed. Faeland are Rebecca Nelson who is the lead vocalist and also plays guitar, and Jacob Morrison who is a great guitarist and also plays ukulele and banjo. On this album there are six other fine musicians plus several backing singers. The album was recorded in Bristol in 2017. The opening track Too Much begins very quietly with just guitar and Rebecca’s vocals until the band join in. I was immediately reminded of the British folk-rock sound of the early 1970s. We’re Just A Love Song has a more upbeat sound featuring some very accomplished violin playing by Martin Solomon and an excellent guitar solo. Prayer Song has sparse lyrics but is a very evocative mystical meditation on the beauty of nature. The title track All My Swim is a perfect song for the hot weather we are having this summer. The Celtic harp sounds almost like ripples of cool water. It builds to a climatic ending with the drums & percussion of Rowan Sterk who makes a huge contribution to the sound of this album. 

After three listens the standout track for me is Chantress which has a traditional medieval feel to it with lines like ‘A maiden fair is what I seek’. I love the catchy chorus which features backing vocals by Emma Trevens, Holly Marjoram, Lydia Medland, Joan Ward & Jessica Langton. I wonder if the imagery of The Wheel inspired the cover art by Jen Howarth?  Maybe not, but the haunting violin reminded me of Bob Dylan’s Desire album. Strings is another excellent song with the vocals and delicate guitar being a meditation on the joys of solitude. Silent Story and Train both have enigmatic words for me, but I’m sure they have very personal meanings for the writers. Before I go any further, I should also mention the contributions to this album of Lizzie Tucker on bass, Matthew Heyse on piano and Hammond organ, and Sarah Moody on cello. To The Green is a wonderful simple song recorded live with Rebecca’s ethereal vocals just accompanied by ukulele. One of the best songs is saved until last which is Find Me. The atmospheric percussive intro to this song reminded me of Reynardine on the Liege & Leif album by Fairport Convention. Congratulations to Faeland and everyone who worked on this project. If I hear of this band playing anywhere near me, I will certainly go and see them. I have shared a song from the album below. If you want to find out more about Faeland you can find their website here,  https://faeland.co.uk/ 

Faeland.

Faeland - We're Just a Love Song [Official Video]

My World In The Evening.

 

My Garden.

And one, an English home — gray twilight pour'd

      On dewy pastures, dewy trees,

Softer than sleep — all things in order stored,

      A haunt of ancient peace. 

(Alfred Lord Tennyson)

Phew, wot a scorcher!. It has been about 30 degrees C the last few days. I have been staying in the cool of my house, apart from watering my little garden in the evenings. About five years ago some friends from Yorkshire visited me and brought a yucca plant with them.

Yucca Flowers.

I put it in a large pot and placed it in a corner, I had forgotten about it. Suddenly this year it has decided to flower. If you live in a hot country, you might not think much of that, but I think it is amazing. I don’t think I have seen a flowering yucca before. I was complaining recently about the lack of bees in my garden. Well, when I was down in the corner admiring the yucca, I noticed the blossom on a wild raspberry bush that is growing everywhere is attracting lots of bees. Also, the flowers on a honeysuckle seem to be very popular with the local bee community. I was quite concerned a few days ago when I saw two bumble bees which were on the ground and quite lethargic, but I don’t think there is anything to worry about.

Cabbage White On Nasturtium.

The same applies to butterflies. They seemed quite scarce until the last few days. Now I am getting lots of Cabbage Whites and Red Admirals visiting, so that is good. Nasturtiums have turned a lot of my garden into a jungle, but the flowers seem to attract the insects, so I will let them be. Next year I will try and keep them under control. The Evening Primroses are growing like weeds as well, but I like them. Anyway, it is nearly 8.00, time to water my garden. See you later.

Bright Phoebus by Mike & Lal Waterson.

After months of looking, I finally managed to acquire a copy of Bright Phoebus by Lal & Mike Waterson. It cost me deep in the purse though. I saw a 2CD copy in the auction on eBay. I bid and bid, but to no avail. I finally stopped bidding when it reached £45. “This is ridiculous”, I thought to myself. It sold for £51. I was so disappointed I looked on Amazon and saw a copy for sale for £36 and bought it. That is the second highest price I have ever paid for an album. The record is held by In Gardens Where We Feel Secure by Virginia Astley which I paid £44 for. I think Bright Phoebus has become much sought after since being mentioned in Richard Thompson’s book called Beeswing. Anyway, I am pleased I managed to find a copy. The album was originally released in 1972 in an edition of only 1,000 copies. The copy I have is a remastered re-release by Domino Records in 2017 and became the subject of a copyright dispute which might account for it being quite rare these days. 

I must say they did a wonderful job with the design and packaging. It has a triple gate-fold sleeve and contains a fabulous booklet with the lyrics, an extensive essay by Pete Paprides which explains everything you might need to know about Lal & Mike Waterson and the story of how the album came into being, and some splendid photos, including one of Anne Briggs which I had not seen before. Martin Carthy had a lot to do with bringing the songs to the attention of Bill Leader who produced the album. It was recorded in one week at Cecil Sharp House in London. The list of musicians who played on the album reads like a Who’s Who of the British folk scene of the 70s. Richard Thompson, Norma Waterson, Tim Hart, Ashley Hutchings, Maddy Prior, Dave Mattacks, Martin Carthy, Bob Davenport, and many others appear on the twelve tracks along with Mike and Lal. Let us have a look at the songs.

Rubber Band is the opening song. Some critics have described this album as Folk music’s Sergeant Pepper, and I can see that link with this jolly opening song which has a huge array of instruments including trombone and Jew’s harp. The lyrics are comical, clever word play. The Scarecrow is completely different. One person compared it to an Ingmar Bergman film. It has a pre-Christian pagan feel to it with hints of human sacrifice. It is sung by Mike & Lal with just Richard Thompson and Martin Carthy on acoustic guitars. I know Fine Horseman because Anne Briggs also recorded it. Lal sings and wrote this song. Her hero was the French poet Arthur Rimbaud, and I think you can see the influence in Lal’s sometimes enigmatic lyrics. I wonder if Winifer Odd might have been influenced slightly by Eleanor Rigby. It is a strange song about a lonely tragi-comic person who spends their life waiting for something to happen, and it never does. Danny Rose is a kind of rockabilly song about a gangster who comes to a sticky end. Lal wrote Child Among The Weeds after her son Oliver was born. All the songs on the album are original compositions, but many of them, like this song sound like traditional ballads that have been around for hundreds of years. If this album is Folk’s Sgt Pepper, then I think The Magical Man is the equivalent of ‘For The Benefit Of Mr Kite’ with it’s circus and Victorian Music Hall imagery. There are twelve musicians on this track. 

The next two songs are much simpler arrangements featuring just Lal and acoustic guitars, cello, and bass. Never The Same is a scary vision of a post-apocalypse world. To Make You Stay is a simple song about loss which does stir the same emotion as ‘She’s Leaving Home’. Shady Lady by contrast features lots of singers and splendid lead guitar by Richard Thompson. Lal wrote Red Wine Promises after she went out to the pub for the night. On the way home she tried to leap-frog over a traffic bollard and fell flat on her back. The song is about her telling herself off for her behaviour. Mike was up a ladder working as a house painter when the sun came out. The words of the title track Bright Phoebus came to him there and then. He had to go home and write it all down. I did not know what Phoebus meant, so I looked in Collin’s English Dictionary, and it said, also called: Phoebus, Apollo Greek mythology, Apollo as the sun god, poetic, a personification of the sun. So there!

I have enjoyed listening to the other CD nearly as much as Bright Phoebus, which is demo recordings made the previous year. The quality is surprisingly good, and I liked the stripped back sound of the songs. There are also three songs which were not included on the original album. Sadly, Lal Waterson died in 1998 and her brother Mike Waterson passed away in 2011. They have left a great legacy and I am sure that their legend will continue to grow in the years to come.