I have been passed another album - this time by the band
Lucid, an album called
This Lonely Town. I have reflected thereupon..
Whilst contemporary references can easily be found in the music of Big Big Train, Mostly Autumn, and others with a folk/rock edge, the slide guitar reminded a lot of Bryn Howarth's work on Wally's Valley Gardens LP - indeed, anyone sufficiently long in the tooth to recall Wally will probably find this a very pleasing set of tunes.
Range of vocals is very pleasing, all well sung, and harmonies spot on, never overdone. One might even wonder if the backing singers had been listening to Dark Side Of The Moon. The scope and depth is both wide and deep. There are some very atmospheric vistas created, as well as some quite intimate moments. The mix of near and far elements has been judged perfectly.
This clearly has roots deep in the folk and celtic idioms, blended very proficiently with more traditional rock and blues elements - even a bit of pop creeping in with Simple Things (with its interesting use of Charlie Chaplin's speech from The Great Dictator as the introduction) and Head In The Clouds. The use of acoustic instrumentation throughout is most pleasing, bringing often a lightness to the proceedings, whatever the subject matter may be. Acoustic guitar and piano form the bedrock of the sound, helped out with some fabulous violin playing, occasional flute, and both very atmospheric and stirring sax from Steve Beighton. Even a bit of fretless bass which always warms my heart.
An early reflection was that, for my own taste, I found the dynamic range of the arrangements (and between tunes) slightly less pronounced than I would like. However, as the album progresses this complaint is put to bed. There is plenty hear to engage the ears. The music hangs together perfectly well, both the tunes individually and as a collection. And, from a technical stand point, the overall production and final mixes (by Simon Hanhart) are excellent, as is the final master.
There is a timelessness about this music. It never gets locked in one place, a common feature to many folk-prog albums. It moves from straighter meters to 6/8s, up tempo to slower ballad (This Lonely Town being a highlight here, especially with its occasional drops into some Kurt Weill moments), from single instrument to very full sound.
The sound engineer in me appreciated the emotional intelligence of the sound, and that the depth of field hasn't been lost in overzealous mastering. The musician in me warmed to the arrangements; and the punter in me would be happy to go out and see them live as well as buy the odd disc!
