I normally have a great deal of respect for singer-songwriters, for they tread a very difficult path as a folk singer. They are in a sense, artists, who like modern artists who paint, see or feel something others don’t. They are laying bare their innermost souls for the rest of the world to see or hear and criticise. Sometimes they, most innocently, get it right, and sometimes they don’t.
Before this album dropped through my letterbox, I had never heard of Kyle Alden. Kyle comes from California, U.S.A. While touring Ireland with the band ‘The Gas Men’ in 2010, he visited Coole Park, Thoor Ballylee and Sligo and became aware of W.B. Yeats and his poetry. On returning to California, he revisited Yeats’ poetry and was struck by the musicality and song quality of some of the poems. This began a quest of setting some 13 of them to music. I must confess I am not an authority on W.B. Yeats’ poetry — and indeed after having some experience in setting poetry by Cicely Fox Smith to music, on first inspection, W.B. Yeats did not immediately fire my imagination. In fact Cicely Fox Smith’s work was a lot more obvious as a song. Yeats’ poetry looked a little bit too much like hard work to me!
Songs from Yeats’ Bee-Loud Glade (subtitled “Thirteen poems by W.B.Yeats set to music by Kyle Alden”) comes very nicely presented, in a cardboard sleeve, complete with a booklet containing all the lyrics. Kyle sings and plays acoustic guitar very well. And I have to say it is recorded very professionally. He has guest musicians Athena Tergis, violin; Mike Marshall, mandolin; Scott Thunes, bass; Robbie Belgrade, percussion; Cormac Gannon, bodhran; Gareth Loy, autoharp; Robert Powel, slide guitar; and Susan Spurlock giving backing vocals.
One of the interesting things about the album, for me, is that some of the songs have an ‘American’ rhythm and tunes about them (slightly country/bluegrass) and not ‘Irish’ as I may have expected. Nothing wrong with this, I have to say, as it adds to the enjoyment and interpretation of the poetry. It’s a thin line — but in the end the important thing is the songs work.
The 13 Yeats poems used are: Brown Penny, Running to Paradise, Colonel Martin, The Lake Isle of Innisfree, The Song of Wandering Aengus, The Cloak the Boat and the Shoes, The Valley of the Black Pig, The Mask, The Pilgrim, The Heart of the Woman, The Cap and Bells, The Blessed, and The Well and the Tree.
Best tracks, for me, are “Colonel Martin” and “The Valley of the Black Pig.” I can see many bands like Oysterband and The Old Blind Dogs covering these.
All the songs on the album are very well performed and make interesting listening, even if you are not well versed in Yeats’ poetry. As a stand alone music album it maybe isn’t so strong, but it entertains well and keeps you interested. For sure it’s very different and certainly well worth having in your collection. Music is very subjective and in the ear of the beholder. I enjoyed the album and I think you will too.
Released on 6th Aug 2011, you can buy it online here .
(Self-released, 2011)
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