James Yorkston and the Big Eyed Family Players – Martinmas Time / I Went To Visit The Roses

James Yorkston and the Big Eyed Family Players – Martinmas Time / I Went To Visit The Roses

Whereas the ’60s folk revival was based on the reinvention of traditional songs, the 21st century version has been fuelled by new songwriting.  James Yorkston has built a loyal fanbase with a string of albums packed with new songs that deserve to rank with the best music of the era.  And he’s great live.

So Folk Songs, his new album of traditional covers, is a tantalising prospect.  He’s parked his faithful backing band, the Athletes, for this record and taken up with old collaborators the Big Eye Family Players, who lay on a fuller, sweeter sound with mellotron, clarinet and fiddle.

‘Martinmas Time’ is a ballad about a girl who tricks her way out of a promise to a troop of soldiers by dressing as a man.  It’s a quiet, melancholy song, which, in true folk style is a lot nastier than it first appears, the sub-text dealing with avoiding rape.  The best known recording is a haunting version by Annie Briggs, who sings it unaccompanied, in her timeless voice. Yorkston’s version sounds as though it was written yesterday, and features a bassline he claims is borrowed from Can.

The B-side, ‘I Went to Visit the Roses’, matches traditional Irish words with Yorkston’s soft, Fife tones.  The tune is his own, and the result is a song that would sit easily on any of his recent albums.  It’s about the redemptive power of music and drink.  Lines such as “Where can we get some good drink here, that will take away our grief”, are typical Yorkston. This may sound depressing, but really it’s delightfully life-affirming stuff, with an honesty of expression that marks Yorkston out as a top notch singer. If you want to know what all the folky fuss is about, get hold of this and let James show you the way.

No related posts.