Blue Murder on The Watersons: Mighty River of Song Bright Shiny Morning Norma Waterson: Bright Shiny Morning; A family folk ensemble from Hull, Yorkshire, Norma, Mike and Lal Waterson formed the crux of the group, joined by their cousin, John Harrison, who occasionally performed guitar accompaniment. For the most part, they were known for their head-turning four-part vocal performance, often unaccompanied, of traditional songs from around the United Kingdom. Jo Freya’s Lal Waterson Project: Lal Birds Will Still Be Singing, The Norma Waterson: Norma Waterson; The Watersons on The Season Round Green Fields of England, The Mike and Norma Waterson on Peter Bellamy: The Transports;

But the songs that affect me most on this record are sung by Lal and Mike alone. On ‘Christmas Day Is Drawing Near’, Lal sings this moralising Christian song in a voice that suggests a heartbreaking submission to its sentiments. She surrenders to its mournful minor key, underlining the terrors of subservience. You hear the strange movements of the song’s melody in her songwriting in Bright Phoebus seven years later.Lal & Norma Waterson on The Watersons: Mighty River of Song Bath Time Lal Waterson & Oliver Knight: A Bed of Roses; The Watersons on The Season Round Heavenly Aeroplane The Watersons: Sound, Sound Your Instruments of Joy; Then, ‘Pace-Egging Song’ details the traditional practice, during springtime(!) of “begging for eggs” (Thank you, original liner notes!). Christian Easter melts into mythology with a pagan belief in the egg’s symbolism for renewed life. It all boggles the mind with yet another (almost) sacred melody. And ‘Seven Virgins (The Leaves Of Life)’, sung by Norma, oozes Christian beliefs, yet touches its spiritual natural roots that still, even after all these years, manage to bless the circular and very magical nature of all things sublime. The Watersons on Peter Bellamy: Wake the Vaulted Echoes Long Vacation Lal Waterson & Oliver Knight: A Bed of Roses;

The songs are roughly set around the calendar, as the album’s subtitle says, and as noted by A.L. Lloyd in his original liner notes: Then, ‘The Derby Ram’ (with lead voice by Michael) resurrects the rather pagan choral tradition of worshiping animals and, in this case, butchering a rather large ram. The lyric is laced with rather dark jocund humour: (to give just a sample): “ Now all the men in Derby came a-begging for his eyes/To punt down the Derby Streets, for they were football size”. What’s New for the 1st of the October: Horror, time travel, murder and fantasy, and comics journalism; personal Scandinavian jazz, ancient Persian songs, bluegrass, Americana, and a podcast; Johnny Cash on TV; chocolate and empanadas

Science On trial

The Watersons on The Season Round Holly Bears a Crown, The The Watersons: A Yorkshire Christmas Holmfirth Anthem, The The Watersons: The Watersons; Earsdon Sword Dance Song’ is the original that Steeleye Span morphed into their quite familiar ‘A Calling On Song’. Their style can be compared to the Copper Family of Sussex, a dynasty of traditional singers who sing in harmony, [4] which was extremely unusual in traditional English music. Like many punk and post-punk records, it is an uncompromising listen. The Watersons sing together more often in unison than in conventional four-part or contrapuntal harmonies. Little ornamentation softens the ends of their phrases. The effect is like being met by four horns on a shore, trying to target their words to the elements in straight, direct blasts. That also said, and it’s just an idea, but these are the songs that birthed Richard Thompson’s brilliant song from Henry’s ‘The Old Changing Way’. That’s a rather nice pedigree.