I know it’s stating the obvious, but the first thing to say about raison d’etre is how good it is to have another Dave Swarbrick solo album to add to the discography! That can be taken a couple of ways. Firstly, it reminded me just how much I’ve enjoyed all the previous ones, stretching back in time many years now, and the opportunities they’ve afforded Swarb to extend musically in directions his musical life might not otherwise provide. And of course, the credits thanking the transplant team at the QE Hospital, Birmingham are a reminder of just how far he has come between his last solo CD English Fiddler (Naxos 2003) and now.
On the matter of musical direction, this CD is an interesting one. In common with most of his previous solo work, it is still all instrumental but the players, tunes and arrangements all have unexpected elements that make it a fairly unique combination. For example, there is not really any folk rock as such, and a large percentage of the tracks comprise rarely heard English tunes from the seventeenth and eighteenth century.
However, the surprises are apparent from the very start. Swarb previously recorded the medley of “Spanish Ladies/Geese On The Bog/Leather Away The Wattle-oh/Freedom For Ireland” on his first solo album Rags Reels & Airs in 1967 but has revived it here in an entirely new arrangement with his current musical compatriots, Canadian reggae outfit the Jason Wilson Band. Of course, the combination of differing musical styles is nothing terribly unusual these days, but it’s still fairly unexpected in the context of a Dave Swarbrick CD. Not at all unexpected though is the way it works so well — brass arrangements meet folk fiddle, and they happily meet each other halfway and work as a team! The tunes themselves are still enjoyable as such, and Swarb’s playing still weaves happily in and around the melodies as well as it ever did. Though the track is unrepresentative of the album as a whole, it definitely arouses attention and inspires the listener to become involved.
The rest of the CD features many of the players he has worked with over the decades such as Beryl Marriott and Martin Carthy, though not always in the context one might expect — for example, Carthy and John Kirkpatrick’s ensemble playing on a medley of early eighteenth century tunes. Marriott — Swarb’s long-time mentor and colleague who faced her own health issues around the time of recording and sadly passed away later in 2010 — plays typically beautiful piano on two tracks, “The Fair Headed Child” and “We Brought The Summer With Us”. These also feature Maartin Allcock on very smooth bass and Kevin Dempsey on acoustic guitar, so are practically a reformed Swarb’s Lazarus, with special guest! Dempsey, also a member of Whippersnapper with Swarb many years ago, in fact features on the majority of pieces; his seemingly effortless playing enhancing each of them appropriately.
Overall, I’m not sure if there can be many direct comparisons to many of previous Dave Swarbrick solo efforts. It’s clearly still Swarb’s distinctive playing of course, but not in the electric folk style of eg Smiddyburn, and even the more acoustic elements of raison d’etre have a different focus to albums such as Swarbrick from the mid-70s. It’s probably the recurring theme of the previously mentioned eighteenth century tunes that does it. One word that kept coming to mind while listening to them was “stately”, though the arrangement of “Carpenters Morris/Frank and Easie/Easter Thursday/Mrs Savage’s Whim” shows that stateliness and briskness aren’t mutually exclusive terms. The addition of Jude Rees on oboe is a definite bonus; its texture adding greatly to the medley.
Perhaps the highlight of such pieces is “A Jigg Called Long Time/Running Footman’s Jig/The Brown Joak” with Carthy, Kirkpatrick and Rees (who also adds recorder, shawm and curtal in this case). It is a joyful track that to my mind compares favourably, in a more acoustic fashion, to the Richard Thompson/Philip Pickett CD The Bones Of All Men - and that is definitely meant as a compliment. A couple of Swarb’s original compositions are also included. ”Andy’s Waltz” is a slow lament in dedication to his late friend Andy Smith, and is a lovely melodic tune, played on baritone violin. (As a side note: the reference to Swarb’s erstwhile musical partner Alistair Hulett in the cover notes, along with this lament, are further illustrations of the passing of time that seem to inevitably form part of the backdrop of life, if one’s own career lasts long enough to allow it).
The other original is “Sweet Alban”, written obviously with great affection for his wife Jill Swarbrick Banks. Of course, this is a happier tune although it took me a few listens to quite understand the structure of it, and follow the melody and key changes as it went along. No matter, it rewards you when you get there! Kevin Dempsey adds some quite jazzy guitar work to this one.
Another unusual aspect is the inclusion of another fiddler, Michael Burnham, on “Ravenscroft’s Fancy” — another in the “stately eighteenth century tune” category. Despite both playing similar parts, it’s easy to tell which violin belongs to whom and it must be said they complement each other well. The term “second fiddle” would be utterly inappropriate in this case!
Dave is also quite exhaustive in his cover notes in terms of describing the origins of the tunes and where one can go for further information. I always appreciate artists going to some effort to explain such things as it shows they care about what they’re playing, and about expanding that knowledge further. Also, even a quick glance at the well-designed cover shows the thought that has gone into that too. As I said at the start, it would be good enough to just have a new Dave Swarbrick album. The fact that it is captivating and works on many different levels can’t really be called a bonus as it is pretty much to be expected. Let’s just say it’s a keeper and one he can rightly feel proud of. Insert obligatory “music is definitely his raison d’etre” comment here.
(Shirty Records, 2010)
Available via Talking Elephant.
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