Do you ever hark back to the sounds of Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span? Or have you never heard of these groups? I can’t say that I was especially into 1970s folk rock, being more enthused by the likes of Manfred Mann’s Earth Band and Hawkwind. Somewhere along the line I did acquire a copy of Fairport Convention’s album “Babbacombe Lee” (1971), which added a strong dimension to what I considered to be boring old folk (the music that is, not the band members). I volunteered to review this album by Galley Beggar even though revived folk rock isn’t my thing, but it sounded interesting.
I realised that I was going to like this album from the first track “Geordie”. Of course it’s not extreme or edgy but it does have ambiance and atmosphere. “Geordie” is an old track, first sung by Joan Baez, and Galley Beggar do justice to the tale of the woman who goes to save her husband from being hanged. Galley Beggar’s female vocalist sounds wistful as she tells the story, which is accompanied by a steady acoustic melody and dreamy fiddle. The sad, drifting song has a smooth structure and even an element of Gaelic melancholy in the air. An electric guitar solo rounds it off. It’s all in harmony. “Jack Orion” is another cover, this time of a Pentangle song. Its drum pattern suggests a mediaeval march at the fayre. The toe-tapping fiddling adds to the mediaeval hey nonny nonny story about the musician Jack Orion. After a bit of misty fiddling, it’s over to the imaginary idyll of “Sanctuary Song”. The vocalist sings to the high flying bluebird to the accompaniment of an acoustic tune.
Galley Beggar mix upbeat and sinister songs. “Empty Sky” is an accusatory song, symbolised by … the empty skies. The vocalist expresses great feeling in her disappointment. Meanwhile the acoustic tune gives way to a sublime violin passage. This is why I like this album – the timing and moods are perfectly coordinated. I suppose there’s a kind of hippie feel to it but it seems accessible and real. Unfortunately these qualities were missing, in my view anyway, on the title track which for me was no more than a sombre folk song, but the mystical air returns amid the melancholic gloom of “Adam and Eve”. The female vocalist plays the role of Adam but it’s the instrumental work here which is outstanding. The guitar line is exotic, then the violin brings in melancholy, there’s acoustic tranquillity and we find ourselves in a folk instrumental wonderland. The nine minute “Pay My Body” introduces another side to Galley Beggar. Slow and psychedelic vibes creep through this atmospheric song which follows a progressive pathway. This refreshing and interesting development continues into “Deliver Him”, a haunting acoustic and cosmic choral piece which brings this album to a close.
Galley Beggar invite us to “imagine the next phase of English folk rock”. Although those earlier influences can be identified, it is true that there is a modernity about “Silence and Tears”. It features a variety of moods which are captured in harmonised instrumental and vocal output, and enhanced by a clever use of sound. I imagine that Galley Beggar would be a very interesting band to listen to when playing live. I live about five minutes away from the site of the Cambridge International Folk Festival and if the wind is blowing in the right direction, I can hear every note. If I knew Galley Beggar were playing, I might even be tempted to go.
(7.5/10 Andrew Doherty)
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