Beau - Palace Of Light

 

Consistently inspired singer songwriter returns with a satirical 15-song set. Modern life may well be rubbish but at least we have Beau to survey it with gentle humour and poetic barbs.

I've always admired artists that are in it for the long haul. There are certain songwriters who stick to their principles and stylistic choices, riding out the changes in fashion, sensibilities and taste that affect the wider musical world. Beau, AKA Trevor Midgley is one of these artists. His latest album is his nineteenth for Cherry Red Records and confirms his status as one of the sharpest satirical songwriters this country has produced. He won't be appearing at Radio One's Big Weekend, neither will he grace the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury this year. But at 79 years of age Beau still has the drive and talent that was evident on his eponymous 1969 debut album (which was the first release on John Peel's Dandelion label don't ya know!)

Palace Of Light is, like Beau's previous albums, a simply recorded affair - just one voice and one guitar (a vintage 1968 Harmony 12-string no less!) It's a contemporary look at modern life and its strange political and cultural climate. The accompanying sense of dissatisfaction and occasional bafflement is best encapsulated in songs such as 'Twenty-Twenty Vision' and 'Cuckoo Land'. Serious subject matter for sure but Beau lays into it all with delicate humour. Similarly smile-raising is opening track 'I Plagiarise Beethoven' where we get an insight into Beau's wide-ranging melodic influences. Other subjects/targets include cultural appropriation, social media, cancel culture, Brexit, identity politics, society's obsession with celebrity, rigid adherence to ideology and more. Also worth looking out for are references to Adele, along with one to Paul McCartney's sheepdog Martha on 'Celebrity Memorabilia'.

He's a pretty decent guitar player too, perhaps no surprise given that he's spent a good 60 years at folk music's coal face. You can take a listen to Palace Of Light via the Spotify player below. It's a good place to start before working your way through his extensive and highly-recommended back catalogue.

http://beausrecordings.blogspot.com/ 

http://www.trevormidgley.com/

 

The Bordellos - Crabs EP

An antidote to the anodyne.

Music lovers will be aware that last Saturday was Record Store Day. The annual event that drives nominally sane middle aged men to queue in the cold and dark early hours for fear of missing out on overpriced limited edition vinyl records that they probably won't play anyway. I'll bet most of these items get filed away alphabetically in the hope that one day they'll increase in monetary value.

Don't get me wrong, I love vinyl records, have always bought them and will continue to do so. It's also great that the shops, labels and bands are supported. Yeah can't fault that. What I object to is the fetishisation of vinyl, along with the “investment” aspect of buying records that seems to be of equal if not more important these days than the music. So RSD is the one day I guarantee I won't be anywhere near a record shop. This year? I whitewashed the wall in the back yard. A long overdue chore and I have to say, the wall looks bloody good!

I mention all this because last Saturday saw the release of a new EP from the Bordellos, a bunch of independently-minded, lo—fi leaning proud misfits from England's Northwest who each year on RSD release new music as a refreshing antidote to its madness. Their Crabs EP is refreshingly not available on vinyl. It's a five-track all instrumental affair on download/stream only available from Metal Postcards Records. As you'd expect from the Bordellos, this new music delights, challenges, amuses and takes you to places you didn't know you wanted to go. It's a journey that takes in acidic folk, found sounds, industrial noise and the open-minded possibilities of post-punk. Oh and there's some whistling too. If John Peel were alive today he'd no doubt be broadcasting tracks off the Crabs EP each night.

Interestingly Brian from the Bordellos also shares my reservations about Record Store Day. You can read his thoughts about it on his wonderful blog, along with his thoughts about pop music, both good and bad. His writing is always insightful, bang on the money, and damn entertaining too. Check it out. Now I'm off to buy a couple of fence panels. Happy Easter!

https://inthemindofabordello.wordpress.com/
https://twitter.com/thebordellos
https://bordellos.bandcamp.com/
 

Beau - Damascus Road

Back with a new album! Fifty years on from his eponymous debut Beau remains as sharp and insightful as ever.

If I asked you to name a musician who epitomised the word prolific, who would spring to mind? Prince? Billy Childish maybe? Each genre would have its own nominations but when it comes to folk-based singer-songwriters a name I'd definitely propose would be Beau. Consistently impressive and with a back catalogue that continues to grow, Beau (AKA Trevor Midgeley) has a new album released this week. Damascus Road is out on Friday, a full fifty years to the day since the release of his 1969 eponymous debut album.

Regular readers of this blog (I hope they exist!) may already be familiar with Beau but if not here's a very brief potted history – His debut album was one the first releases on DJ John Peel's Dandelion label back in 1969. With his trusty 12-string acoustic guitar and sole voice Beau's music is always simply recorded, it doesn't rely on the smoke and mirrors of effects or studio trickery. Nor does it attempt to forge or follow fashion. And it's all the better for that. What does characterise Beau's songs is his commitment to write about the things what move, frustrate or amuse him, be it the shortcomings of our politicians, modern day celebratory foibles, or lessons that ought to have been learnt from history.

His latest album shows no signs of his talent diminishing. Its thirteen songs include juxtapositions of suffragettes with YouTubers and Instagram influencers ('Lacey Fayre'), critiques of populism ('Demagogue Rules') and an informed analysis of 'soft' guerrilla war tactics ('The Quiet Ones'). In our era of fake news and social media manipulation it's reassuring to know that are still songwriters that can cut through with truth. One of the album's most poignant songs is 'Child of Aberfan'. In the liner notes that accompany the promo CD, Beau makes the point that lessons surrounding public accountability may not have been learnt. A heartbreaking thought in light of the Grenfell Tower tragedy. In addition there are songs with subjects as diverse as Masonic Lodges ('Men of the World'), the casting couch ('Kitten Caboodle') and the ill effects of collective amnesia ('Rear-View Mirror').

Beau's music may not be currently commercial but it is uniquely interesting, engaging and enjoyable. I very much recommend you make time to listen to Damascus Road. Beau is committed to the muse as ever and remains as sharp a commentator on contemporary society's mores as it's possible to be. Long may that continue.


http://beausrecordings.blogspot.com/ 

http://www.trevormidgley.com/

Beau - Rattle The Asylum Bars

HD's favourite folkie returns with more wry, satirical, protest, commentary and observation.

It's a standing joke among music journalists that there's always a folk revival going on. It's kind of a truth but looked at from another angle it means that folk music never actually goes away, an eternal touchstone and deep well of inspiration for each new generation of musicians. As a genre it occasionally provides the mainstream with crossover stars but for each of those there are countless other artists, often more unique and talented, mining away at the coalface of folk music and adhering to its core principles; giving voice to the marginalised, highlighting injustice, celebrating cooperation and community while also entertaining and actually having fun.

Which bring me to Beau, who is back with a brand new set of songs that does all those things and more. For those unfamiliar with Beau here's a little back story – Beau (AKA Trevor Midgley) was the first artist to record for John Peel's Dandelion label back in the late '60s. He's continued to write, record and play live ever since, amassing an impressive back catalogue of material. His is a stripped down sound, one voice, one Harmony 12-string acoustic guitar, which lets the lyrics take centre stage.

On his new album Rattle The Asylum Bars, Beau shows he's as astute with those lyrics now as he was back on his 1969 debut. The subject matter ranges from historical lessons society has yet to learn, observations on modern foibles, calls for increased compassion and as you'd expect in these strange times, a little political commentary. As ever with Beau's work you come away feeling informed, entertained and aware that the world is more nuanced than “moral absolutists and polemicists” would have us believe.

Click here for more on Beau.

Beau – An Original Thought

Peel favourite Beau marks his 70th birthday with a brand new studio LP.

Almost a year to the day since Beau's previous album Shoeless In The Desert, the ever prolific Norfolk-based songster has a brand new 13-tracker released digitally by the good folks at Cherry Red Records. An Original Thought has all the hallmarks of a classic Beau album; the every present Harmony twelve-string guitar backing, lyrics that veer from the wry, to comic, and to poignant, along with the astute and compassionate commentary on society's foibles.

This time round the subject matter is, if anything, even more varied. There are the big themes of religion, patriotism, war and peace (The Thinking Of God, A Peace That's Bad). Politicians and tabloid journalism are also subject to Beau's critical eye (Skeleton's Dance), but there's light relief and celebration of the good in humanity too, our ingenuity and ability to invent (Everything's Possible), showbiz comebacks (The Trotter Sisters). It's all done in a manner we've come to expect from such a talented songwriter, the songs are funny but never frivolous, playful but never without a point. Amazingly the album was written in just 2 weeks, in what Beau describes as “... my most intense writing phase ever, even going back to my twenties!

Famously championed by John Peel, Beau featured on the DJ's Dandelion label back in the Perfumed Garden era. Of course the musical climate has changed massively in the intervening decades. Admirably Beau has stuck to the basic principles of what makes his music truthful and honest, rather than indulging in fads and fashions. His songs are recorded without unnecessary studio trickery or technology led instrumentation. All the songs are based on having something to say rather than filling out an album to push “the single”. This might make him something of an anomaly in the current climate but it's something that should be applauded. More power to his elbow!

If you're unfamiliar with Beau's work and want to find out more, check out his previous albums ShoelessIn The Desert, Fly The Bluebird and Twelve Strings To The Beau.

Clickhere for more on Beau.

Five reasons to love Sandy Denny

Sandy Denny must surely be one of the greatest singers these shores have ever produced. She was gifted with a voice that seemed to carry an eternal truth. It was and remains a voice you simply could believe in and added depth and weight to any song she sung. A voice that didn't try and sell you the song, but made sure you simply had to listen.

This Friday sees the release of I've Always Kept A Unicorn, a 2CD set of acoustic songs containing demos, live performances, radio sessions and previously unreleased recordings spanning her all too short career. It features Sandy Denny's solo work along with recordings she made as vocalist with Fairport Convention, Fotheringay, The Strawbs and The Bunch. Alongside the 40 songs it also comes with extensive and beautifully written sleeve-notes by Sandy's biographer Mick Houghton.

To mark it's release here's a short list of reasons why everyone should love Sandy Denny. (click over the jump.)

Beau - Shoeless In The Desert

How I survived the aftermath of the general election with a little help from Kurt Vonnegut and Beau's latest LP.

After the all too depressing results of the recent general election sank in, and the prospect of another five years of Tory government became a reality, my Twitter feed turned quickly from pre-election optimism and hope, to despair and blame. It also filled with scaremongering about what we as a society needed to prepare ourselves for. There was one tweet, amongst the deluge, that stuck in my mind and seemed to sum up where our society is heading. It highlighted a quote from Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse 5, about how the American poor are encouraged to despise themselves, perpetuating their position and lack of opportunity while bolstering that of the rich and powerful. This, Vonnegut states, is in contrast to many other countries which have folk tales that value wisdom over wealth, and virtue over self-serving ambition -

America is a nation of poor. Every other nation has folk traditions of men who were poor but extremely wise and virtuous, and therefore more estimable than anyone with power and gold. No such tales are told by the American poor. They mock themselves and glorify their betters. The meanest eating or drinking establishment, owned by a man who is himself poor, is very likely to have a sign on its wall asking this cruel question: “If you’re so smart, why ain’t you rich?” (Kurt Vonnegut – Slaughterhouse 5)

It's easy to see the parallels in modern Britain where our underclass is routinely ridiculed on TV, or attacked in the press, whereas corporations are free to avoid taxes if they pay enough donations to the right political parties. Timely then that the latest album from Beau should drop through my letterbox around the same time as did many electoral leaflets and voting reminders. It too chimes themes similar to those found in Slaughterhouse 5, along with other cautionary tales about corruption and misuse of wealth. Listening to Beau's latest work did give me some hope for the spiritual well being of our nation, which in the immediate wake of the election seemed somehow broken and in need of some TLC.

Shoeless In The Desert is a gentle compassionate album, and like those folk tales it champions wisdom and virtue. Recorded simply and in the timeless folk way of just voice and one 12-string guitar, no overdubs, it's an album that's all about melody and message. Themes spread across the album's fourteen songs include religion, immigration, environmental concerns, alongside more personal takes on relationships, ageing, and even a humorous sideswipe at coronary heart disease.

In our current sound-bite and shuffle era it's encouraging to see long-form songwriting done so well. And no wonder - Beau has been writing, recording and performing music for over four and a half decades. His early championing by John Peel tells you all you need to know about the calibre of his work. (Peel released Beau's debut as the first release on his Dandelion label). In a fairer world Beau would be a much valued cultural treasure, up alongside Dylan, Mitchell, Cohen and the like. As it is the world is not always fair, something that may become all too apparent over the next few years. Thankfully we have the likes of Beau to help fight our corner and cushion any blows. Long may it be so.

Click here for more from Beau.