Four, not three. :)

My friend and I started saying "frak" for fun a while back and we just forgot to stop.

Are you she? Why is your whole family on this site?

It's a god damn Christian takeover. One day the Pope will get modded and be able to wield the excommunication hammer.

Not the whole family. She's the third daughter (we have seven kids). She's on here, I'm on here, and my wife is on here because....wait for it....we like music.

Demographics is destiny. :)

But until that day we will praise our one and only leader Lucifer, amirite?

^Avatar checks out.

EDIT: Avatar doesn't check out. He's changed it.

Seven? I could have swore Priblems said he was related as well though.

Priblems?

Guess not, can't find the profile.

Well, I'm back. It's another weekend, and this time, in honour of Led Zeppelin winning their court case, we listened to three Led Zeppelin albums.

Led Zeppelin III

http://s3.amazonaws.com/quietus_prod...1401711052.jpg

Led Zeppelin IV

http://news.songlyricscom.netdna-cdn...ledzepiv-1.png

Physical Graffiti
https://cdn.pastemagazine.com/www/ar...227957940.jpeg

First of all, to address why not Led Zeppelin II, we listened to these while having beer (for Sir) and Malibu-Coke for me. Led Zeppelin II is for sexy times. Those pounding rhythms and overtly sexual lyrics ... if your girl is not turned on by Led Zeppelin II you probably have the wrong girl...

So, we were listening to music this evening while having a drink and looking after the baby. So we chose these three because we have these in physical format and because I love them--which is why we have them in physical format. (And I want Houses of the Holy for Christmas.)

Where to begin? There is simply too much depth in each and all of these albums for a little review to do them justice, so I will not try. Instead, I will simply choose a favourite moment from each of the three albums tonight, and try to explain why that particular moment touched me tonight.

First of all, for Led Zeppelin III, there was the moment the first notes of "Immigrant Song" played. There are few albums that can rival that opening, and I cannot think offhand of any that surpass it. The haunting call that opens it evokes beautifully the building passion of the Vikings seeking Valhalla and glory both now and later, here and there. For me, "Immigrant Song" encapsulates much of what I find so deeply moving about Led Zeppelin's music: their proud, unabashed celebration of a vibrantly pagan passion. In particular, there is a Nordic sense of the Ragnarok, the dark end that overshadows the present heroism, and lends it a brighter, if briefer, light.

I know I wrote above "a favourite moment", but I may cheat and do more than one. ;)

Also on Led Zeppelin III there is "Tangerine". What can I write about this song? Nothing to be understood, perhaps, but when Robert Plant sings "I was her love, she was my queen/ And now a thousand years between" I see the lost and lonely lover. I see him, clear as I see my daughter asleep on the sofa across from me. I see that lost and lonely lover, his black hair tumbling around him, silvering as the centuries pass, his green eyes looking across centuries as across as a sea, and his queen not looking back.

I won't linger to write about "Gallows Pole", though I want to, because I still have two albums to cover...

Led Zeppelin IV. Different things strike me every time I listen to this album, and tonight when I heard "Battle of Evermore", once again I was floored by how brilliantly evocative their music is, of places I have never seen, times I have never lived, and yet places so real, times so present, that I cannot forget them.

"Stairway to Heaven"--Sir mentioned to me that he has heard many people talk about how "cliche" it is to say that "Stairway" is their best song, and I was immediately irritated because that is a misuse of the word "cliche", which denotes a phrase that has become trite due to overuse, and because it implies that if many people agree that "Stairway to Heaven" is the best Led Zeppelin song it cannot be the case because ... reasons.

The actual reason being that it is too popular an opinion to be "cool".

I do not really care if it is popular or not to think so (made easier because I rarely know the popular musical opinion on a topic unless Sir tells me), but I do know that I am not qualified to state whether or not "Stairway to Heaven" is their best song, but it is certainly one of them. It is a song that opens a vista to a place--how often they do this!--a place and time that are heartbreakingly lovely, and I am loath to leave it.

"When the Levee Breaks" made both my 17-year-old daughter and my 1-year-old son dance. What more could I desire in a song?

And now for Physical Graffiti. It was almost too much, as I had been worn out from the journeys of the previous two albums. "In My Time of Dying" was unexpectedly fragile. Sir has mentioned in the past that Robert Plant's voice is delicate even when he screams, and I noticed this a lot in Physical Graffiti.

But for me the highlight was "Kashmir". Its pulsing rhythm and melody, its opulence, pulled me from my seat. Everyone else was quiet. Most of the family was either asleep or out of the room. But I stepped onto the balcony and looked up at the overcast sky and simply listened, marvelling how the music swelled and bore me up, in a way it did not do under a roof.

Then I floated inside on the music and danced, feeling its richness welling up until it swept me away.

I am now quite drunk on Led Zeppelin's music. (Oddly enough, not on the Malibu-Coke, as I had only two.)

What a perfect Saturday night...

Great post! :)

I was worn out after listening to these three albums. I've never listened to three Zep albums in a row, and, boy, are they demanding! Great fun!

Well, today was just the usual, listening to whatever came up in Sir's rotation.

But then came Of Monsters and Men's My Head Is an Animal.

Oh yes.

Of Monsters and Men is one of my top five bands of ever, based on the strength of two albums: My Head Is an Animal and Beneath the Skin. Either one of those albums would be enough to bind my heart to the band's music with chains as strong as music itself. But both?
http://cdn.albumoftheyear.org/album/...-an-animal.jpg

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....1D1PzGcutL.jpg


Their sound combines the raw inspiration of the selkie that Sigur Ros used to have, with the power of the Icelandic troll. It adds to this a mythopoeic lyricism that I find endlessly fruitful.

I can listen to Of Monsters and Men, and depending on my whim, I can explore the world of their sounds, the bright--indeed chiaroscuro level of contrast--world where their songs take place, that place where mythical beings are but commonplace, and yet still so powerful.

The lead singers, both male and female, can either one draw me in, whether the male with his understated power, or the female with her raw emotion. Together they weave an irresistible tapestry, telling stories that keep me spellbound for the duration of the album and beyond.

Or I can listen to Of Monsters and Men and take from them inspiration for the worlds of my own mind. There are few bands I can listen to that provide food for my rather particular imagination. Of Monsters and Men does that.

Their sound is rich, due to the large size of the band, but it is intimate, due to the demanding lyrics.

Of Monsters and Men is a band that I have never heard the like. There are other artists that can match their musicianship, sure. There are other artists that do what they do as well as Of Monsters and Men do what they do. But I do not know of any band who does what Of Monsters and Men do, let alone do it even a quarter as well.

There is a wealth of story in their songs, and I look forward to listening to them in the same way that I look forward to eating a rich slice of chocolate-peanut butter cheesecake. It is a rich treat.

TIL what chiaroscuro is. :)

I wish I could write reviews of albums as well as you do, my darling one. <3

Well, usually this journal is for music only, but this documentary about of Montreal had enough music to qualify.

Furthermore, Sir wanted me to review it, so...

The Past is a Grotesque Animal

http://cdn.pitchfork.com/news/54977/c2625d61.jpg

All right, I was familiar with of Montreal before this. I have heard Sunlandic Twins and Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? many times. (Sir loves them.) I have heard some of his (and I learned from the documentary that it is totally "his", not "their" music) other music, too, but I never thought it was anywhere near as good.

I have actually seen Kevin Barnes in concert, even. Considering I have been to fewer concerts than I have fingers, that is saying something. Furthermore, the venue was one of those super-tiny ones where you can nearly reach out to the stage. He was even hanging out in the upstairs bar beforehand. I thought at the time I could see in his face and in his carriage the same sense of insecurity and arrogance that suffuses his music.

(Incidentally, despite the release of other albums since then, nearly all the music he played at the concert was from Sunlandic Twins and Hissing Fauna. Even he knows they're his best.)

As I watched the documentary, I realized that Kevin Barnes is completely lacking in human empathy. He has no feeling for anyone. He is happy for anyone and everyone to be out of his life--providing he is the one who kicks them out. He does not like it when anyone leaves. He named his band for the girl "of Montreal" who broke up with him. He wrote his best albums in an attempt to get his wife and daughter back. Not that he really wants them. He doesn't seem to know what to do with them, or to enjoy them, when he has them. He just doesn't want them to leave him.

He reminds me of Bram Stoker, in that he has a piece of art that is miles ahead of any of his other work. Bram Stoker's Dracula is a masterpiece. Then his other works are competent, enjoyable if you like that sort of thing, but no more. The same seems to hold true for Kevin Barnes. His pair of breakup albums, Sunlandic Twins and Hissing Fauna, are excellent. The rest of his stuff seems to be competent, but nothing special.

During the documentary, several times he looked at the camera and freely acknowledged how he did not care about anyone. And he obviously meant it. He mentioned his dread of "adult responsibilities", which was so crippling he nearly had a nervous breakdown. He goes on in one scene about how this little cat postcard will not send him into a downward spiral. No, he will overcome the cat postcard.

I realized at that moment that what Kevin Barnes actually needs is perspective. As in, he should probably go work in a coal mine or something. He needs to have to do some real work, preferably physical labor, where no one cares about his "artistic" posturing. He is horribly insecure, something particularly repulsive in a man, and yet arrogant. He says that he doesn't care about "his legacy", but he brought it up apropos of nothing at least twice. The assumption that he will have a "legacy" is just staggering.

When the documentary ended, Sir looked at me, laughing, and said, "I'm going to listen to his whole discography."

I said, "He's a turd."

The documentary was pretty eye-opening. I knew the guy was a douche, but I had no idea to what extent.

2016 AotY
 

Well, it has definitely been a long while since I last posted here. Sir is back, and I forum-stalk him as always. But I also have no particular place I have been keeping track of my Album of the Year candidates, except for a Little Twin Stars notebook.

I would rather be able to see them all in order and know what is currently in my Top Ten at any given time, so...

Tokumaru Shugo - Toss
1.36
I hate this. I hate this so much. If I could give negative stars, I would. This is Twee Pop, and "twee" is an insult.


Bat for Lashes - The Bride
1.75
This was just awful. She had an interesting concept for the concept album, but the execution was dreadful. She is supposed to be singing the pain of a woman who lost her fiance on the day of her wedding, but listening to her, I did not believe in her passion or her loss. She was simply dull. And whingey.


Paul Simon - Stranger to Stranger
1.91
I like Paul Simon. He has made some amazing albums. This is ... not one of them. It was lame. But he can have my wristband for free.


Bon Iver - 22, a Million
2.20
I like Justin Vernon, and his performance on Hadestown is one of my treasures. But this was just bad.


Steven Wilson - 4 1/2
2.33
There were a couple of good songs. Most of the rest were just mediocre.


Ray LaMontagne - Ouroboros
2.38
This was ... just dull. It was the first one we listened to, though, so I was still learning to rate the albums...


Dungen - Haxan
2.50
This one was more irritating than Ezra Furman overall, so he edged it out, despite their equal rating.


Ezra Furman - Big Fugitive Life
2.50
This one I was surprised to find I enjoyed as much as I did. I had watched his Glastonbury 2016 performance and was ... underwhelmed. He definitely needs to put his big boy panties on.


Goat - Requiem
2.62
Sir liked this a lot. I found much of it irritating, especially the female vocals. Ugh.


Sam Beam & Jesca Hoop - Love Letter for Fire
3.08
This was good. Some cheesy bits, but most pleasant.


Explosions in the Sky - The Wilderness
3.22
There were a couple of quite enjoyable songs, with most of the rest coming in at a solid 3. So if I were going over my whole music collection, this would not make it.


Lisa Hannigan - At Swim
3.27
Her work on Damien Rice's O is brilliant. Some of her other songs are also excellent. This album was ... good enough, I suppose.


Mutual Benefit - Skip a Sinking Stone
3.50
This was lovely. It reminded me a great deal of Love's Crushing Diamond, which is a good thing.


Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker
3.56
My previous experience listening to Leonard Cohen has been underwhelming but unobjectionable (a U on the LPUC scale). Though most of this album was in the solid three range, there were a couple of stand-out songs that pulled the average up.


Sturgill Simpson - A Sailor's Guide to Earth
3.67
I enjoyed this quite a bit, but it is still my least favorite of his three albums.


Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree
3.75
I liked his dark vibe throughout, and his cynicism resonates with me.


Devin Townsend Project - Transcendence
4.00
Though this has the exact rating as Sorceress, I moved it to an inferior position because, though it has more "great songs", it also has more weak songs, making it more uneven overall.


Opeth - Sorceress
4.00
I think that if I have a general "favorite genre", it's probably prog rock, whether from the classic era or now.


David Bowie - Blackstar
4.57
The only surprise for me with this is that it was not the absolute highest ranking I have. Dark and lovely as the Shulamite.


Wardruna - Runaljod-Ragnarok
5.00
This was sheer beauty when I first listened to it. It cleaned my clock. It was staggering.
Then I listened to it a second time, in a row with its two predecessors. It was a magical experience, an epic journey to the end of the world. I had already ranked the album five stars before that. Now it is probably the most perfect album I know. Intent and execution perfectly married and resulting in a tour de force that leaves me simultaneously whimpering for it to end and hoping it never does.

***

Sir and I still have over 30 albums (maybe more) to listen to between now and 31 December. That's ... a lot. I will keep posting up my ratings on those as we go, and I will do a complete Top Ten at the end.

KED!!! I missed your chemistry!!! You guys were so cute together on the forum! Glad both of you are back now :)

2016 AotY
 

Avantasia - Ghostlights
N/A
Well, Sir turned this off after a few songs. It was already proving itself to be a fine little 3, but no more. Just like the other Avantasia album I have heard (The Metal Opera), it was both melodic and metallic, but ... a bit cheesy. Metal does not do well with added cheese.

The Mercury Tree - Permutations
N/A
This was Generic Prog Album #237. It was not bad, but it was not particularly impressive either. So off it went a few songs in.

Teen Suicide - It's the Big Joyous Celebration, Let's Stir the Honeypot
1.85
Ugh. I wished this one had gotten turned off a few songs in. It was just a hot mess. It was terribly uneven, clashing even within its own crappy self. I could not wait for it to end.

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Nonagon Infinity
3.78
I had heard this one earlier in the year. It was a lot of fun then, and the re-listening did not hurt the album. It was as good as I recalled it being. Solidly in the Top Ten so far.

LIES!!! i

Let's Eat Grandma - I, Gemini
2.00
This was unobjectionable at best, irritating at worst. There was nothing substantial to hook my attention. When I saw the "Art Pop" and "Ambient Pop" genres I was not surprised. They do not (usually) do anything for me.

Chairlift - Moth
2.00
The second album in a row to hit me right in the "meh". "Synthpop" is also, apparently, not going to be my thing...

The only thing that surprised me was that these albums ended up below 22, a Million, which I disliked quite a bit.

Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam - I Had a Dream That You Were Mine
2.80
Well, it was a lot better than the nonsense last night. But I still think they'd have done better to stick to their respective bands.

Margo Price - Midwest Farmer's Daughter
N/A
Sir turned this off partway. I was quite relieved. Country music has no surprises in it. This is not a bad thing. It just means that country music is very unforgiving, and if you do not do it well, then it is just terrible.

This was just terrible.

Iggy Pop - Post Pop Depression
N/A
He sounded like a Bowie impersonator. Not cool. When you are old, it is ridiculous to sing the same sorts of things as when you were young. Iggy Pop was just ... Ziggy Pop.

So, again, I was glad to see it cut off partway.

AotY 2016
 

School of Seven Bells - SVIIB
N/A
This was tedious from the first bars. I was happy to have it cut off.


Wilco - Schmilco
N/A
Well, they used to care. Now, not so much, as evidenced by the title. You can't care, Wilco? Neither can I.


Steve Gunn - Eyes on the Lines
N/A
No, thank you.


Wovenhand - Star Treatment
N/A
They did not give the star treatment to this album, which I hated right away.


And now for the ones we actually made it all the way through, and well worth it they were!


Moulettes - Preternatural
4.27
Knocking Opeth out of third place, we have this band I had never heard of. It was original and textured right out of the gates, and it did not flag. I look forward to hearing this again.

Virus - Memento Collider
4.17
Poor Opeth. From third place, they're now in fifth. But this was a lot of fun, too. I appreciated the lead singer's voice, which was gruff without being unpleasant, with plenty of strength behind it. I always appreciate music that has masculine strength.

The Final Top Ten, for real
 

Well, the Album of the Year journey is complete. I have finally come up with my list. In this process, I listened to a lot of crap, including ones I did not bother mentioning in previous posts. Sir and I ended up listening to about 70 albums for this project.

And here are the ten albums of 2016 that I loved the best.

#10
Sturgill Simpson - A Sailor's Guide to Earth
3.67
http://cdn.albumoftheyear.org/album/...e-to-earth.jpg

Going into this, I expected this one to be higher ranked than it was, but I ended up not liking it as much as Metamodern Sounds in Country Music or High Top Mountain, and I found other music I loved much more. But this made it onto the list.



#9
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree
3.75
http://cdn.albumoftheyear.org/album/...leton-tree.jpg

I liked the darker sounds of this, and Nick Cave's cynicism is always pleasing.



#8
King Gizzard and Lizard Wizard - Nonagon Infinity
3.78
http://cdn.albumoftheyear.org/album/...n-infinity.jpg

This was another one I had expected to rank higher, but those new awesome albums crowded out some I had heard earlier in the year.



#7
Metá Metá - MM3
3.78
http://albumart.besteveralbums.com/a...2d9e697a3b.jpg

Though this was exactly the same rating as Nonagon Infinity, I preferred this album overall, so it came in ahead.



#6
Devin Townsend Project - Transcendence
4.00
http://www.albumlust.co/uploads/albu...b8-500x500.jpg

A rewarding listen, but though it comes in at the same rank as Opeth's album below, it was not as consistent, pushing Opeth up.



#5
Opeth - Sorceress
4.00
http://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-cont...ss-500x500.jpg

I loved this. I really did. I am looking forward to hearing it again, and I expect to enjoy it at least as much the next time.



#4
Virus - Memento Collider
4.17
http://shop.season-of-mist.com/media...er-50156-1.jpg

Finding something totally out of the blue that was this cool? That made for an amazing evening, especially because I first heard this the same night as I first heard #3.



#3
Moulettes - Preternatural
4.27
http://cdn.albumoftheyear.org/album/...ternatural.jpg

I am looking forward to hearing the other albums by this band. So rich, so rewarding.



#2
David Bowie - ★
4.57
https://cdn.pastemagazine.com/www/ar...lbum_cover.jpg

Prior to this album, my favorite Bowie was The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. After this album, Ziggy is still my favorite. But ★ was brilliant and eerie. Awesome Bowie. A perfect swan song.



#1
Wardruna - Runaljod – Ragnarok
5.00
http://takemetal.org/wp-content/uplo...32_front-1.jpg

I do not find many albums to be perfect. In general, actually my Sir is more likely to rate any given album more highly than I do. But this album absolutely slaughtered me when I first heard it, and when Sir and I went out for my birthday to a love hotel, I requested that we listen to the whole trilogy.

It was perfect. We turned off the lights, sat in the bath, then lay on the bed, and the music transported us. I felt positively high by the time it was over. We went on a journey into a beautiful pagan world and became denizens of it.

If I heard nothing else all year, it would have been worthwhile just to hear this album.

If you dig Virus then you should check out Ved Buens Ende. They were a pre-Virus band and from what I remember of Virus they basically took up where VBE left off. At least to an extent.

Disappointed you didn't like School of Seven Bells. I heard Ghoststory and just fell in love with it. Maybe worth listening to that? Haven't heard the new one yet.

I dig Ghostory, just not the latest album.

I am sure that Sir will be getting those. Thank you for the suggestion.

Then I expect I will hear Ghostory when G comes around...

But yes, School of Seven Bells hit me right in the "meh".

Hmm. That does not bode well for the new album, as Ghostory was my only experience of them. I'll get back to you when I've had a chance to hear the new offering.

Anaïs Mitchell is most definitely an L on the LPUC scale. I have never heard an album of hers that I have not loved. She combines so many elements of what I love about folk music (which is my favorite genre...), and she does it so effortlessly, so beautifully.

For actual information on Anaïs Mitchell, see my darling Sir's journal.

This entry will focus on only one of her albums, her collaboration with Jefferson Hamer on Child Ballads.


The Child Ballads were originally published in the 19th century by Francis James Child, who collected many variations of different folk songs from England and Scotland, preserving them for future generations. These songs have been sung by many folk artists since that time, and I seek them out when I can. But few performances of them can rival, in my opinion, the understated intensity found in Mitchell's collaboration with Hamer. Note, too, that the Child Ballads do not have musical notation, only the lyrics. Any musical setting is provided by the artists performing them.

On to the ballads.


The first ballad in this small collection is "Willie of Winsbury" (Child 100). (The numbering refers to their appearance in the original collections by Child.) Briefly, the plot of this song concerns a King who has long been in prison, and who has only recently been ransomed back to his home. There he finds his daughter, the Princess Jane, is suspiciously pregnant. He presses the princess to reveal her lover, and she does so. The King fully intends to execute the youth, young Willie of Winsbury, for daring to defile the princess. But upon seeing the beautiful young man, the King responds by admitting that he would have taken Willie to his bed, had the King been a woman. So instead of executing Willie, the King offers him the princess' hand in marriage and the position of heir to the throne. Willie accepts the princess, but refuses to become the King's heir, instead taking Princess Jane back to his own little country estate. She goes willingly, forgoing her position to be with Willie.

This interesting reverse of a Cinderella tale, wherein it is the poor youth who gets the princess, is moving precisely because it is so real, so true to the inconsistencies of human behavior. In fact, when Willie rides off with the princess, the King makes no objection, but I am left suspecting the King envies his daughter...






The second ballad, "Willie's Lady" (Child 6), concerns another yet another Willie, but not the same one. In this one, Willie is the King, who has married against his mother's wishes. His mother has thereupon cursed the young Queen to never give birth to the child she is carrying, but instead to die in an unending labor, freeing Willie to marry someone of his mother's choice. Willie offers to give his mother gifts to lift the curse, but always in vain. In the end, the young Queen instructs Willie on how to trick his mother into revealing the means of breaking the curse. Then they follow the instructions his mother unwittingly lets slip, and Willie and his Queen live happily ever after.

Musically, this piece has a repetitive, bouncy feel, as though the listener were accompanying King Willie back and forth on his fruitless rides to his mother's home. It is also a herald of a theme that was touched on tangentially in the previous song, the parental adversity. But in this piece, the adversity is from a mother, not a father, and there is no way of altering. All they can hope for is to outwit her. She has no pity. This theme of maternal disapproval of spousal choice is repeated often in the Child ballads, and on this album, only seven songs in number, there are two that deal with it directly. This question is not one that often shows up in modern life, but in the past parental disapproval (and maternal disapproval, too, not merely paternal, despite what many would seem to argue) could often prevent a match from occurring. This particular ballad shows how the young lovers triumph over this adversity, but that does not always happen. Even in this song, there is much suffering to endure first, and the King despairs to the point of wishing for death well before the end.






The third ballad is "Sir Patrick Spens" (Child 58), and in it we depart from the theme of marriage, at least regarding the hero of the song. In this, the King has arranged to marry a princess from Norway, and he wants to send for her at once. He hears that Sir Patrick Spens is the best captain, and the King orders Sir Patrick to sail at once for Norway to bring back the princess. Sir Patrick is sorrowful to receive this order, for he is indeed the best sailor of the day--and he knows that to sail now for Norway is a death sentence. But there is no arguing with the King. Sir Patrick sails, along with all the King's nobles. And the ship is battered with a storm and sinks, going down with all hands. Sir Patrick dies, and his wife is left to wander the shores, hoping for the return of her lost lord.

This ballad has a mournful sound from the first, and the imagery, from the "blood red wine" to the "lady fair with a comb and a glass in her hand", is as haunting as the delicate strings that accompany the softly blending voices of Mitchell and Hamer.






The fourth ballad is "Riddles Wisely Expounded" (Child 1). Its plot leaves behind for the first time royalty and nobility. A man seeks shelter at a cottage on a cold night, and he is taken in by three sisters. They offer him food and shelter, and the youngest sister spends the night in his bed and in his arms. In the morning, she asks him to marry her. He agrees, on condition she can answer his riddles. She does so, and they marry.

In this piece, Hamer takes the lead, unlike in the others so far, and when it comes to the youth singing out his riddles, one gets the sense that the youth is not trying to weasel out of marrying the girl but rather wanting to make sure that she is as wise as she is lovely. Mitchell's soft but confident replies show that when the youth marries the girl, they will be as happy as the lilting tunes promise. But there is definitely a sense of risk in what the girl has done, for if he had refused her, she would have been ruined altogether. This song is one of the brightest on the album, for the test the girl must go through is brief and simple. The charm of it lies in the imagery of the riddles and in the surprising depth of their responses.






The fifth ballad is "Clyde Waters" (Child 216), and it is darker even than "Sir Patrick Spens". In it we return to the theme of maternal opposition. Once again, we have a William for a hero. Sweet William is wooing Maid Margaret, and his mother objects. He tells his mother of his plan to visit Maid Margaret, and the mother tries to convince him to stay home, contrasting the comforts of the house with the coming storm. When that fails, his mother curses Sweet William should he go, curses him unto death. Sweet William braves the curse and goes to visit his beloved. He rides through the storm and crosses the flooding River Clyde. He tells the river to spare him as goes and take him on his return. The river does not catch him, and he rides to Maid Margaret's house, calling out to her to let him in, for he is soaked with rain and Clyde water. But the door does not open, and the lady within calls out that her barns are full of gentlemen's horses, her house is full of noble guests. She refuses him entry, and he tells her farewell, telling her of the curse his mother laid on him. Then he rides back, and the River Clyde sweeps the heartbroken youth in and drowns him. Only in the hour that he drowns, does Maid Margaret awaken and tell her mother of the dark dream she had, in which her lover came to the gate and was refused entry. Her mother mocks her, saying that it was no dream and that the mother, pretending to be Margaret, had sent Sweet William away, convinced Margaret did not love him. Maid Margaret runs out into the dark storm and goes searching for her lover, whom she finds in the heart of the river, and they sleep forever in each other's embrace, victims of their mothers' hatred.

This song is heartbreakingly lovely from the first note to the last, and the way it follows Sweet William's defiance of his mother ("The good steed that I ride upon/Cost me thrice thirty pounds/I'll put my trust in his swift feet/To keep me safe and sound") through to the part where, silent and sorrowful, the River Clyde pulls him from his horse--and he does not even struggle, is perfect. The song, too, does not reveal that Maid Margaret was true to him until after his death, letting the listener assume Sweet William died betrayed, because that is what he assumes, too. Maid Margaret is more straightforward in her search for death than Sweet William was, for she is certain that only in death will she find her love again. They are brother and sister in that they both share such cruel mothers, and that flawless, painfully perfect ending is gut-wrenching.

Mitchell and Hamer are clearly aware of this, for though they follow it with another dark ballad, the presentation of that ballad focuses on light and defiance throughout. But I am getting ahead.






The sixth ballad is "Geordie" (Child 209), and it tells the story of a young matron who rides into London to petition the judges there to release her husband, Geordie. He is under arrest for poaching, and she begs for his life. She argues that he has not injured any of those there, nor has he done anything gravely wrong. But her petition is refused, and the judge dismisses her, saying Geordie has already been condemned. When she pleads that she is carrying Geordie's seventh child at that very moment, the judge says they'll give Geordie a high-class execution and his six sons can carry the coffin. The young matron then defies the judge, challenging him to a duel with sword and pistol in the city square, wanting to fight for the life of her Geordie.

But the ballad ends there. There is no duel. The challenge goes unanswered, and the defiance is fruitless in the end. In this instance, the bright, defiant music is at odds with the unhappy ending, but they mesh so perfectly that this is quite clearly intentional. Hamer takes the lead on this song, and he is a superior guitarist to Mitchell, so the young matron's challenges are primarily carried on a masculine voice, albeit a sweet one. This has the odd effect of making this unhappy ending song a respite between the heart-twisting "Clyde Waters" and the deeply disturbing "Tam Lin" that follows.






The seventh and final ballad on the album is "Tam Lin" (Child 39). This one tells the story of Tam Lin, the Lord of Carterhaugh, who was captured by the Faerie Queen. He becomes something of a bogey, requiring "tribute" of the maids who pass through his lands. Lady Jane goes there, and Tam Lin challenges her. She responds defiantly, so he rapes her, impregnating her. She goes back to her home and becomes sorrowful, missing Tam Lin, and when her pregnancy is discovered, her father worries that no one will be able to give her child a name. Lady Jane returns to Carterhaugh and threatens to kill the child before his birth, for the child has no earthly father, only a wild shade. Tam Lin tells her how to break the spell on him, which entails "taking him back into her arms". This will win his love, as well as breaking the spell. He warns her, though, that he will become a wolf, a bear, and a lion in her arms. She accepts the challenge, and she passes. She holds him and does not fear him. This breaks the Faerie Queen's curse on him, and he becomes a man once more, whom she leads home and marries.

There are many variants of this ballad and the story it is based on, some dealing in more detail with the Faerie Queen and her possessiveness of Tam Lin, as well as her hatred of Lady Jane for defeating her. The idea that the woman might love the man who forced her is unpalatable to some, but it has a wide following, too. This piece takes up the theme of the woman fighting for her love that "Geordie" began, but though the overall musical feel of "Tam Lin" is much darker, more suited to the twisted fairy tale, Lady Jane succeeds where Geordie's wife failed. This ballad is a topsy-turvy thing, for it takes the idea of a man winning a woman's love and flips it. Lady Jane must win Tam Lin's love, for he has suffered at a woman's hands (the Faerie Queen is quite the villainess...), and this sense of being backwards is also carried by the subtly sensual, yet darkly rich melodies of the piece. It sounds as though it should be sad, should even be frightening, but it ends happily, with Lady Jane having won her "own true love" back from the Faerie Queen.


When I listen to this album, I am invariably moved. The restrained intensity of the melodies and the weight of the past on the lyrics combine perfectly to ravish my heart and mind together, leaving me bewitched.

lol

Just checking this out. It’s got a moment here and there but you pretty much called it. It’s funny what you find when you utfse

Btw, How’s the fam?

I prefer Ghostory

She's gone, dude.