Suffolk singer-songwriter John Ward tackles an impressively wide range of subjects – from working to wandering and leaving to leadership – on Songs Like An Old Friend, his 10th album.
Release Date: 11th July 2025
Label: ION Music
Formats: CD
JOHN WARD
Multi-instrumentalist; poet; singer; songwriter; author; folklorist; teacher; polemicist. Lowestoft-based John Ward is all of these – and, probably, more. Songs Like An Old Friend is John’s 10th album and it follows his 2023 album (and book), Congress.
John Ward’s songwriting influences are as diverse as his job description and include The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Dick Gaughan, Tom Lehrer, The Waterboys, Pete Seeger, The Who and Ry Cooder. And that’s just his musical influences. His writing is equally influenced by literary heroes such as Charles Dickens, Richard Dawkins and Spike Milligan. And they’re all evident on Songs Like an Old Friend.
A WIDE RANGE OF SUBJECTS
Whilst John began his musical career as a solo artist, nowadays you’re likely to find him in the company of his trio. Wife Lynne (vocal harmonies, accordion and recorder) and long-time associate Les Wooley (vocal harmonies, double bass and mandolin) add weight and substance to John’s vocals, guitars, bass guitar, percussion, drums, bodhran, harmonica, ukulele and cello. And that’s the way it is on Songs Like An Old Friend – with additional help (where needed) from Ian Sainsbury on piano.
Songs Like An Old Friend is almost entirely acoustic and features 12 of John’s own songs, plus one well-known and highly relevant cover (which I’ll come to in due course…) John’s songs span a wide range of subjects, including migration, yearning for home, work and industry and political leadership. There’s even space for him to contemplate what Lowestoft’s young trawlermen of the early 1960s used to get up to during their time ashore. The messages are sometimes optimistic, often intense and invariably thought-provoking.
OUTSTANDING VOCAL HARMONIES
Written during a long walk in the hills of Spain, opening track, The Wind That Blows Me Home sets the template for the album. John’s lyrics express the emotion of longing for home and his voice is suitably plaintive and wistful. Lynne and Les add harmonies that enhance the melancholy mood; Les’s bass is deep and lush, whilst John’s slide guitar gives the song a country feel.
The trio’s tight, 3-part harmonies are a recurring feature of the album and they’re outstanding on the optimistic Sometimes You’ve Got To Look Back. The band are in full flow, with accordion, Mandolin and harmonica all getting a look-in and John’s lyrics remind us that looking back is, quite often, the only way to appreciate the extent of progress that we’ve made.
DOCKSIDE DANDIES
John takes the time to revisit 1960s Lowestoft for the entertaining Dockside Dandy. The lyrics recall how the young, off-duty, trawlermen would dress in their teddy boy finery and cruise the town on their Triumph Bonneville motorcycles when they were ashore – much to the delight of some of the local ladies. It’s evocative, and it’s a laugh-a-line.
The frustration and futility of working every day, just so that the bills can be paid, is the subject matter for Beasts Of Burden – another wistful song. The band are on top form as John urges us to hop off the treadmill and take the time to savour some of the opportunities that the world has to offer.
SONGS OF INTENSITY
The lyrics to the intense I Instead of Us will resonate particularly with anyone who, like me, has experienced the decline of industry and the resulting disintegration of the communities that serviced those industries. With lyrics like: “We do not mourn dirty industry, young folks trapped and bound to a foregone destiny,” John considers both sides of the equation – the loss of skills and community and the health, safety and environmental benefits associated with the changes.
And there’s no relief to the intensity as, with Cathedrals, John goes on to consider how the actions we take today can have a lasting impact upon the generations of the future. It’s a deeply contemplative song; John plays some nice fingerpicked guitar, Lynne’s recorder parts are the perfect fit and, once again, the vocal harmonies are stunning.
A CLOWN IN CHARGE?
Many songs have been written about the adventures and experiences of those who, in past centuries, decided to cross the ocean to the New World. Less attention has, however, been given to the emotional impact of that migration on the loved ones left behind. The finality of departure is captured soundly by lyrics like “I’m going west, where you cannot follow. I’m going west, beyond the setting sun,” and the sadness in the lyrics is mirrored by John’s mournful tune.
I suspect that there will be few amongst John’s target audience who will disagree with his suggestion that, in recent years, we seem to have lost the plot, as far as our ability to elect a competent, credible, leader is concerned. This is a subject that registers so highly on John’s list of concerns that he’s dedicated two songs to it -The Clown’s The King At Last and Flim Flam Man. With the former, John uses lyrics like: “We’re living in a satire that we’d have laughed at in the past” to revisit the Johnson years with a clarity that’s almost scary. And, for the latter, he compares the skills and motives of our leaders to those of a Snake Oil salesman. They’re both jolly tunes, reminding us, perhaps, that, when the chips are down, the best way out is laughter.
OPTIMISM AND INSPIRATION
Optimism makes a welcome return for The River Is Rising. Another song that was inspired during John’s recent Spanish sojourn and that’s a spirit that’s retained for the heartwarming It’s Not Dark. Written several years ago, with John’s and Lynne’s infant daughter in mind, it’s a song reminiscent of Crosby, Stills and Nash. John’s key message – “It’s not dark, you’ve just got your eyes closed” – is a takeaway that we can all use.
Under normal circumstances, the album’s anthemic, calming, reassuring title track would, surely, be the closing number. Of course, today’s circumstances are anything but ‘normal.’ Nevertheless, Songs Like An Old Friend is an inspiring song. The band are in full flow as John recites a list of his own, and his friends’ and family’s favourite songs. And I was so pleased to hear, within that list, a good few of my own personal favourites, including Fairport’s Meet On The Ledge and Who Knows Where the Time Goes?
A POIGNANT ENDING
But, as has been noted, today’s circumstances are not ‘normal.’ Woody Guthrie’s Deportees, a song that commemorates the tragic 1948 plane crash at Los Gatos Canyon has been recalled by many in recent months. Populist politicians attempt to justify their harebrained, inhuman, schemes to deport innocent humans to places like Rwanda and El Salvador. John concludes this excellent album with a chilling version of the song. One that retains the original Hispanic feel and adds a final shot of those signature vocal harmonies. It’s just sad that a song such as this should be as poignant today as it ever was.
Watch The John Ward Trio perform Dockside Dandy – a track from the album – below:
John Ward online: Official Website / Facebook / YouTube / Bandcamp
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