The Eternal Rocks Beneath by Katherine Priddy.

Phew, it is too hot to be outdoors today, so I have stayed in the cool of my living room. I have been listening to a CD called The Eternal Rocks Beneath which is the debut album by Katherine Priddy. I bought it from Katherine herself after her performance on the Acoustic Stage at Glastonbury a few weeks ago. It is a most enjoyable album indeed. Katherine has a beautiful voice, writes wonderful songs, and is an excellent guitar player. The opening song is called Indigo. It begins with the sound of a blackbird singing in a tree before Katherine’s deft acoustic guitar picking joins in. The lyrics tell the story of a child playing in a favourite beech tree, until one dark night the tree is felled in a storm. I suppose it is a song of lost innocence. The production on this song and the whole album by Simon Weaver is first class with the multi-layered voice harmonising with itself. 

The lyrics of Wolf read like some Victorian gothic novel where a person is repelled by and attracted to a dangerous character. I love the cello and relentless drum sound. About Rosie is a sad song concerning someone in a bad relationship who lets other people decide their worth, rather then deciding their own destiny. Katherine is obviously very well read because two of the songs are inspired by the Greek Myths. I can relate to that as well, because when I was a kid, I used to get a weekly magazine called Finding Out which serialised all the stories from ancient Greece. The first song is called Icarus and is about a self-destructive person heading for a sticky end. This song has fabulous violin playing by Zofia Reeves, viola by Alice Brown and cello by Bart Shirm. 

Katherine Priddy at Glastonbury

The other Greek Myths inspired song is Eurydice which I thought was her best song at Glasto. As you probably know Eurydice was the nymph wife of the musician Orpheus who went into the underworld to rescue her and bring her back to the world of the living. The production on this song can only be described as lush. Letters From A Travelling Man by contrast is a lively upbeat folkie type song which I think was released as a single. Katherine sang this song for the BBC while at Glastonbury, and I have shared it below if you want to see it. The lines about buying some land and a baby on the lawn reminded me slightly of lyrics in Beeswing by Richard Thompson. He has spoken very highly of Katherine, and she has supported Richard on tour. I think he might be a big influence on her. 

Katherine Priddy @ Glasto.

The Spring Never Came is a beautiful sad tale of lost love. Ring O’Roses is obviously inspired by the children’s nursery rhyme of the same name. It was originally about the Black Death in the Middle Ages but might have taken on a new meaning since the Covid pandemic. I don’t think that was Katherine’s intention though and she probably wrote the song before Covid. From listening to the lyrics, I think it is an anti-war song. The music is perfection and the shimmering cymbals and percussion remind me of Reynardine on Fairport Convention’s Liege & Leif album. The Isle Of Eigg is a small island in The Hebrides of Scotland. Arisaig is also mentioned in the lyrics, which is where you can catch a ferry to Eigg. Katherine’s song is inspired by a trip to Eigg where a lot of drinking went on by the sound of it. You can see her sense of humour in the lyrics, such as Eigg, you have cracked it. 

The album ends with The Summer Has Flown which is an achingly beautiful lament for the end of summer. This excellent album concludes, as it began with the sound of a blackbird which I think is one of the nicest sounds in nature. I highly recommend this album and I look forward to hearing more music by the wonderful Katherine Priddy.