Rousing songs and tunes from Oxford ensemble Magpie Lane. Further investigation is certainly advisable
Release Date: Available now
Label: Self Release
Formats: CD / Digital
Oxford 5-piece folk band, Magpie Lane have been around for some considerable time – over 30 years, in fact – and they’ve got ten albums under their belt. Three Quarter Time isn’t the band’s most recent offering – that honour goes to The 25th, the album they released in 2018 to celebrate their silver jubilee, but it’s the album that has been brought to my attention and I’m sufficiently enamoured by what I’ve heard that I feel I must share my thoughts with you.
The current line-up of Magpie Lane is: Ian Giles (vocals, percussion), Andy Turner (vocals, anglo-concertina, melodeon), Mat Green (vocals, fiddle), Sophie Thurman (vocals, cello) and Jon Fletcher (vocals, bouzouki, guitar). It won’t have escaped your attention that each member of the band is credited as a vocalist, and therein lies one of Magpie Lane’s true strengths; the vocals on Three Quarter Time are impeccable – the melodies and harmonies are infectious – and, it’s not only in the vocal department that these people excel, each member is a master of his or her instrumental craft. And, as if all of that wasn’t enough to get your taste buds a-racing and your juices a-flowing, here comes an ace card: on Three Quarter Time, Magpie Lane have managed to augment themselves with a list of guest performers that is, quite simply, stellar. But more of that in due course…
The album is an enticing mix of traditional material and material that sounds as though it should be traditional, but isn’t… If you have any interest in the traditional music of these islands (and, frankly, I doubt that you’ll have read this far if you haven’t) then a lot of these songs and tunes will be familiar to you, but don’t let that put you off in any way whatsoever because, as well as being respectful and sympathetic in their treatment of these songs, Magpie Lane also have a knack of innovating, giving songs that should be as familiar as an old pair of wellies a fresh, vibrant flavour that makes repeated listening unavoidable.
Opening track, The Dancing, is one of the more contemporary songs on the album but, as I’ve already inferred, you wouldn’t assume that if you hadn’t been told. Written by Scottish songwriters Andy Shanks and Jim Russell and inspired by the stories told by the residents of a Kirkcaldy old people’s home, it sets the mood of the album perfectly. The vocals are crystal-clear, the harmonies are devastating and Andy’s concertina and Mat’s fiddle blend deliciously with the various stringed instruments.
Helped along by guest fiddler, Joe Turner, Push About the Jorum/ The Ploughman/ Salt Of The Earth is a set of tunes guaranteed to get even the most reluctant of feet tapping, especially so when the band break into the rousing Salt of the Earth, Andy Turner’s tribute to the memory of his friend and former collaborator, Howard Salt. The pace, and the mood, are relaxed somewhat for the beautiful Belfast Mountains. The song’s instrumental intro has a chamber feel to it; guest Jackie Oates, plays 5-string viola, and the pared-back accompaniment of strings, bouzouki and whistle lend a wistful air to the song.
Perhaps the song on Three Quarter Time that will be most familiar to listeners is Sovay – it’s been widely covered, by, amongst many others, Martin Carthy, and the version included here is one of the best ever. The track opens with a gentle rendition of the Morris tune, Wheatley Processional, before the song kicks in. The accompaniment is sparse at first – just Andy’s concertina – but it builds subtly and satisfyingly. The trumpet, played by guest Jan Mortimer adds a majestic feel and, once again, the vocals – particularly the harmonies during the repeated last line of each verse – are superb.
The late Paul Sartin, on loan from Bellowhead, is the guest on Cheltenham Waltz/ Rout Of The Blues and his oboe, always a welcome addition to any assembly, is prominent in the mix. Rout of the Blues is another well-trodden song and, once again, it’s given new life, this time by Sophie’s warm, precise vocal and the subtle blend of instrumentation. And there’s also a Bellowhead connection to the vibrant set Nobody’s Jig/ Kentish Cricketers (and it’s not the last such connection on the album, either) – Andy learned Nobody’s Jig from the wonderful Sam Sweeney, during a session at Broadstairs Folk Festival and John Spiers (no less) guests on melodeon, alongside the one and only Jenny Bancroft on spoons. Bodily movement is unavoidable to this glorious medley – it captures the reason why we listen to this music in the first place!
There’s another imaginative interpretation to savour, with the version of New Garden Fields, a song collected by Vaughan Williams in the Essex village of East Horndon; I particularly love how concertina, fiddle and cello all take turns as lead instrument during the song’s instrumental coda. Written by Ian and inspired by his experiences working at Oxford Castle, Dance Around the Gallows Tree is another quasi-trad song that is indistinguishable from the real thing. It’s highly upbeat, despite the ominous title, and Ian delivers a stunning vocal, before the song becomes a round as it reaches its dramatic climax.
Unearthed and adapted by Jon, as he browsed Sabine Baring-Gould’s 1895 A Garland Of Song, Blow Ye Winds is presented here as a delightful acapella number and Sophie’s voice soars like an angel’s during the sumptuous choral harmonies. The tune to The Captain and His Whiskers will be familiar to many listeners – it’s been used as Brackley morris tune and, harking back to the 1960s, even in a TV advert, but the song itself is probably less well-known. It was written in the early 19th century by Thomas Haynes Bayly and Sidney Nelson (which, I suppose, qualifies it as ‘traditional…’) and was often sung by Confederate troops during the American Civil War. Sophie’s vocals tug at the heart strings, Jon’s guitar is quietly understated and highly appropriate, whilst Mat’s fiddle and Andy’s concertina add just the right amount of colour – and the dreamy waltz reprise of the tune as the song reaches its conclusion is wonderful!
The Battle Of Waterloo provides the subject matter for Lovely Elwina/ Waterloo. The track is awash with guests, as Colin Fletcher (double bass), Jan Mortimer (trumpet), John Spiers (button accordion) and Toby Goss (clarinet) all join the fun to add a very special ‘something’ to the band’s glorious sound. The instrumental Waterloo is lively and sprightly and can’t fail to conjure visions of a vast room in which dancers whirl, twirl, skip and leap.
I’ve heard countless versions of the traditional standard Lord Bateman over the years, and I don’t believe I’ve ever heard two versions that are remotely similar. And that’s a record that Magpie Lane continue here, with their imaginative take on the song. They’ve used a tune that Cecil Sharp collected in 1909 in the Oxfordshire village of Bampton and the sparse backing that they’ve decided to apply is given a special richness by the deep notes of Sophie’s cello.
All good things come to an end, and so it must be with Three Quarter Time. The album is closed with a resounding bang by a set of three tunes. One More Dance and Then/ Not A Natural Dancer/ Spirit Of The Dance is, once again, an inspired blend of the traditional and the not quite traditional. Not a Natural Dancer is, in fact, the work of Jessica Marshall, fiddler and dancer with Ducklington Morris and, once again, the tunes are festooned with guests – Colin Fletcher, John Spiers and Toby Goss are all back to give Three Quarter Time a rousing send-off. The band and guests all mesh wonderfully and leave the listener in no doubt: This is what folk music is all about.
Three Quarter Time is an excellent album and, if you’ve missed out on Magpie Lane thus far, I strongly advise that you investigate further.
Not featured on the album, but get a taste of the delicious Magpie Lane harmonies – listen to John Barleycorn from the band’s 2000 homage to amber nectar, A Taste Of Ale, here:
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