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/

 

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 - 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.

Beau - Fly The Bluebird

Brand new album from one of John Peel's early favourites shows that there is a future for musical protest.

It's been three years since Trevor Midgeley (AKA Beau) released an album of new material. Last year did however see the release of a lost album from the 1970s, a vinyl-only release entitled Twelve Strings to The Beau (You can read the full review here). This month Cherry Red are releasing a new album, Fly The Bluebird. As one would expect it's generously packed with wordy, intelligent folk-based songs that you don't often here these days, and harks back to the golden era of singer-song-writers. Think Bob Dylan, or Leonard Cohen. Though with a distinctly English perspective.

It's 45 years since his first album helped launch John Peel's Dandelion label. His sound has hardly altered in the ensuing years, he still backs himself with the same Harmony 12-string guitar, his recordings are simple - just one voice, and the one guitar. This continuity of sound, and disregard for changing fashions is to be admired, especially as none of his powers are diminished. If anything the advancing of years adds weight and authority to his songwriting. The voice and playing are also as strong as ever.

Though many of the songs are informed by modern political events they have a timeless quality, sounding like they could have been written in 2014, 1969 or for that matter 1869. Poetic and rich with imagery, there's a lot to absorb from the songs here. From environmental issues, through to skilful broadswords against capitalism, tyranny, terrorism and war, the songs have a biting social agenda not at first apparent due to the offsetting gentleness of much of the music.

Aside from the politics there's light relief as Beau weighs into a character we've all met, the overbearing social bore he documents on “A Curious Man”. There's also a sensitive treatise on the cruel effects of dementia in “When Gabriel Turns”. Humanistic, compassionate and full of love for mankind and what lies ahead as we head into the unknown future, it would seem that those supposedly outdated hippie ideals from the late '60s are very much alive if not so widely embraced. Perhaps we need them more than ever. Many more widely recognised musicians of Beau's generation have neglected these ideals, whereas he may just be the true keeper of the flame.

Click here for more on Beau.

Various - The Fruits de Mer 2014 Annual

Three bands, five tracks! Fruits De Mer Records find a home for the weird and wonderful. Limited 7” colour vinyl pressing with tracks from Astralasia, The Raiders and The Blue Giant Zeta Puppies.

A marvellously eclectic bag which somehow holds together, this shared 7” opens with a spirited surf-guitar version of the Joe 90 theme tune, performed by the oddly monikered Blue Giant Zeta Puppies. The band also put their souped-up-surf stamp on John William's Lost In Space. Fans of Man Or Astroman will no doubt approve.

Astralasia is a band I never thought I'd see appear on a Fruits De Mer record. The long-serving trance and dub specialists have turned in a version of Johnny Remember Me complete with a Lee Marvin-esque deep vocal. The song was originally a hit for John Leyton and was Joe Meek's first number one record. Here the band have brought the song kicking and screaming into the modern age yet kept that eerie otherworld quality that made it a special song in the first place.

Joe Meek is also a name that springs to mind on hearing The Raiders track on this compilation single. I Remember is an unreleased instrumental from 1964, and features a guitarist called Trevor Midgley AKA Beau, who went on to release albums on John Peel's Dandelion label. Why the track was unreleased is a mystery as it's a real gem. Perhaps its haunting and eerie Meeks-meets-David-Lynch quality was too much for folks back in the pre-England swings era. Anyway it's available here now so check it out.

The best is saved for last though with Astralasia's Johnny In Dub. A heavy skanking dub mix of Johnny Remember Me. Again, even with Fruits De Mer testing the time limits of a 7” single there still enough deep groove on this record to carry the room-shaking bass-line. Nice!

TRACKLISTING

1 – The Giant Blue Zeta Puppies – Joe 90 Theme

2 – Astralasia – Johnny Remember Me

3 – The Giant Blue Zeta Puppies – Lost In Space

4 – The Raiders – I Remember

5 – Astralasia – Johnny In Dub

Click here for The Blue Giant Zeta Puppies on Facebook.

Click here for the Astralasia website.

Click here for the Fruits De Mer website.