Many A Thousand - Jimmy Aldridge and Sid Goldsmith (07/09/18)
Artist: Jimmy Aldridge & Sid Goldsmith
Release Date: 7th September, 2018
Genre: Folk
Record Label: Ear Trumpet Music
Tracks: 11
Website: http://www.jimmyandsidduo.com/
Review By: Gary Smith (LCM)
The release of their critically acclaimed second album 'Night Hours' in 2016 cemented Jimmy Aldridge and Sid Goldsmith's reputation as two of the most exciting musicians and social commentators on the British folk scene. Songs have always taken center stage with Jimmy and Sid and on 'Many A Thousand' we see the duo flexing not only their vocal and instrumentation skills, but also their talent as composers. Part of what makes this compelling duo tick is a love of traditional folk song and a mutual passion for the history that is carried in the music.
On 'Many A Thousand' the past and present sit side by side, with original songs more than comfortably holding their own next to the traditional. Another crucial element to this partnership is a shared world-view: sustainability, traditional crafts and living in tune with the land, all elements that deeply inform their music.
The album opens with the thought provoking ‘Hope and Glory’, a response to the rise of nationalism in England. A cautionary tale of falsely romanticising the past in order to stoke the fear of change. This defiant song shows that we must not misuse our shared history in this way. The traditional Bothy ballad ‘Working Chap’ depicts the struggles of poverty and working very hard to make ends meet. Something that resonates very clearly today, as many people in the UK are still ‘just about managing (JAM)’. The song contains an additional verse added by Martin Cathy, who first recorded the song in 1990. “They are working live out…. to keep life in” .
The powerful ‘Turning Of The Year’ tells of the unique ability of the elements to heal and restore us. Following a difficult period in their lives Jimmy and his partner were caught in a huge storm on the Cornish cliffs on New Year’s Day. They returned alarmed but completely renewed. With it’s hypnotic drone backing the traditional ‘Reedcutter’s Daughter’ tells the tale of a traveler who falls in love with a girl from Hoveton, a village very close to where they both grew up. The traveler has to decide whether to settle down with his love or follow the call of the road. This album recording of the song using the organ of St. Helens in Hoveton. Another very thought provoking and atmospheric song ‘The Last Ploughshare’ was written by John Connolly in response to a call from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) for songs about the mistreatment of our natural world.
The haunting and beautiful ‘The Hawks Call’ is a re-write of the slave spiritual ‘No More Auction Block’, imagining a world of peace without military conflict. It was a stunning song when the performed it live at their album launch in London. There is a real sense of irony in ‘A Monument To The Times/The Stepped Ford’ a song about Shirebook in Derbyshire. For years the site of a unionised colliery but now a Sports Direct warehouse employing people on zero hours contracts and below minimum wage. The songs explores whether these warehouses represent a troubling monument to our times. This moves wonderfully into ‘The Stepped Ford’, a song written by Sid on the English Acoustic Collective summer school last year.
Love reflected in nature is something of a holy grail in the folk tradition and ‘Via Extasia’ manages it so well. A beautiful song written by Liam Weldon and first recorded in 1976. it was learned from the the great Norfolk singer Harry Cox, who was recorded singing it in 1970. ‘The Poachers Fate’ (Roud 793) like many traditional songs on the subject deals with the age old battle against land and power lying in the hands of the rich.
Written by Jimmy for a event celebrating the history of Rotherhithe ‘The Tide’ reflects on the relentless drifting and rising tide of the River Thames (and people) coming in and out of London each day. The album closes wonderfully on a song based on a Joseph Campbell poem ‘The Seasons’. It is recorded over birdsong recorded at dawn in Wacton in Norfolk. Additional lyrics are by Peta Webb, Ken Hall and Jeff Wesley.
‘Many A Thousand’ is a stunning album of both traditional and contemporary folk music from two of it’s finest fast rising UK stars. Thought provoking, timely and highly crafted.