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The Phoenix And The Turtle Les Cousins LC018
A life lived in the shadows and on the edge, it’s good to have Beverley Martyn stepping into the light. She tried fourteen years before. No Frills was low key; it had potential but somehow it got lost. The Phoenix And The Turtle is a snapshot of
the Beverley Martyn that might have been. By her own admission this is a personal album, a reflection on a journey through tempestuous years, never giving up on the idea of songwriter. Indeed opener Reckless Jane, a heralded co-write with Nick Drake, ruminating on a free-spirited individual, was penned at a time when Beverley was virtual- ly a prisoner in her own home. The cut has a rustic sweep and stately air courtesy of a dis- arming refrain and Robert Kirby-esque string arrangement.
Sweet Joy, her first ever creation, a sim- ple homily on romanticism comes as con- trast to Potters Blues. Dreams and illusions mix in a longing for a more innocent time… ”take me back to those blue remembered hills,” where life has balance and purpose. It’s hard not to hear history and experience in these tracks. Occasionally it’s right there, no question; elsewhere songs are more alle- gorical. Women & Malt Whisky leaves no doubt, her former husband is all but named. A man who goes bed-hopping, far from home, drinks himself into the ground, tells lies, goes through the cycle again and again. “Davy was your hero, Bobby was mine.” The band gently tumble behind her fractured, distressed vocal. This is one of the most telling cuts.
The Phoenix And The Turtle suggests an album a ’60s child might make if she’d been absent for the ensuing decades – as Beverley Martyn indeed has. Its combination of inno- cence, hope, imaginings, remembrance and resilience references the past whilst trying to look forward. That her label is Les Cousins, in tribute to the legendary club she must have played many times, is fitting; in many senses there is continuity here. Her voice is lived-in, amiably rough round the edges, as it should be. “It has a just-hanging-out-in-the-room feeling,” says Bev. Quite.
You’re very welcome round here Bever- ley Martyn. Don’t leave it so long before you call again.
Distribution through Proper.
www.beverleymartyn.com
Simon Jones.
YAABA FUNK My Vote Dey Count Sterns STCD1121
Jazz afro funk from ten- piece London band of bustling energy and front. Africa, particularly Ghana, is the inspiration. They’ve been together as a unit since 2006, following previous years of shared enthusiasm for – and tuition in – African
music. This is their second album – solid and confident, with musical wit and drive, a bal- ance struck between feelgood vibe and didactic political stance. Vocals are not the band’s strongest point – heavy on soapbox means light on emotional depth, with melody lines that tend to be minimal and repetitive. But no problems in the feet department. This is to dance to.
www.sternsmusic.com Rick Sanders
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