I’d pay to attend this folk club, as a varied and entertaining crew queue up to celebrate an entirely different sort of Hammer-time.

HOLD THOSE HORSES

There was a time and, gulp, yes it was last century, when the name Rev Hammer was a regular, propping up the bills of any of the myriad members of an embryonic agit folk uprising, that would see kindred spirits like the Levellers and the Oyster Band meet in the middle of opposite starting points, politicising folk music with a dynamic seldom seen before, at least in this country. New Model Army weren’t that far off reference, as were also the Lakeman brothers, all three of them embarking on separate careers. This was folk with a conscience and the ability to scare any number of horses.

FRIENDS, ACOLYTES & ACQUAINTANCES

Fast forward and Hammer is here recognised with this stellar double set, as myriad friends, acolytes and acquaintances revisit and revive the Hammer songbook. And, well-deserved, this is like a a gathering of the tribes, congregating to celebrate this, if not over-egging it, John the Baptist figure, promoting awareness more than any one individual. Now, this is a big old set of songs, drawing in a veritable who’s who of let’s call it alt. folk, and including contributions from the kindred spirits referenced above. As such, this has to be a wildfire sortie through the 23 tracks, lest it take longer to read about than listen.

BANJAX & BUBBLEGUM

Who better than Nick Harper to kicks things off, demonstrating his maverick idiosyncratic way, armed just with an acoustic guitar and a rabid cackle of a voice? His take on Happy Birthday Revolution isn’t necessarily an easy listen, but beds in nicely on repeated immersions. It bears no apparent resemblance whatsoever to, say, the Leveller’s version. But, with that ice now broken, old buddy Mark Chadwick is then positively bubblegum for a glorious Brighton Rock, that harks back to when his band, the Levellers were not infrequently bothering the charts. “I brought the weed, you brought the wine” is a fair reflection of the bucolic country-folk mood and we’re in safe hands.

I don’t know who the Doulas are, but they seem perfect to deliver Every Woman’s Pain, sounding like a more homespun all-female Spiral Tribe version of Fleetwood Mac. Which is actually a compliment. A google reveals they are likely Hammer’s wife, Sanchia, possibly a daughter, Anna, and an Olivia Olwyn. I do know Nick Parker, mind, and his False Attractions perform a wonderful steel and fiddle drenched Down By The River O, track one on the first solo Hammer release, 1991’s Industrial Sound & Magic, and another track later covered by the Levs. So far and so much for any ability to fillet out any fillers, these all so far killer. Yes, even the Harper one; I told you it was moreish..

ENDLESS STREAM OF GOODNESS

Oysterband’s John Jones then picks up the baton for a delicate Cobblestones, his voice immediately recognisable, a good fit for one of the more pastoral songs by his fellow adoptive Welshman. It’ll be Chopper on the harmonica, and Al Scott providing the additional accompaniment. This seemingly endless stream of goodness then continues with Maddy Prior, the pristine voiced Steeleye bastion perhaps an unexpected presence. But what a fillip, her now weathered tones a fabulous fit for a loping saunter through Maid Of The River, a further helpful reminder of how often the Levellers looked Hammer-ward for material. Now, if Ms Prior were to teach this to the current Span, that would be a pleasure and a joy.

Praying now for a duffer, it ain’t coming, as the first of the Lakeman boys, Sean, appears, with his wife, Kathryn Roberts. All the inherent melody of Every Step Of The Way drips lusciously out their grooves, and I’m loving this Folk Club, with no dodgy floor singers to sour the moment. To be fair, I am uncertain if these songs are using, when required, the similar backing band, but it certainly sounds that way. Whomsoevers are on bass and piano are getting a vote of confidence. It is piano that leads the sweet but piercing Black Coal Hole, by Alex Johnstone, the first contributor, Doulas apart, without that much of a footprint. This will do him no harm. Likewise Sam Ryan who gives Jack O’Green a muted hobbledehoy folk punk, with, I think, some background bagpipes, entering toward the end.

BRADFORD & WESTERN

It is now track 10 before the first slight misstep, where Zachariah Chadney’s vocal is a little overshadowed by the barrage of FX, which I preferred to the song. But a Sam & Rohen McGrory are then immediately there for a terrific Wingman, imbuing it with all manner of Celtic charm, which somehow, despite the lyric, feels more like a tale from a medicine show than a gig. They also set the stage perfectly for the unmistakable tones of Justin Sullivan, and a marvellous Bradford and western Ghost Of Walachin, replete with Ennio Morricone tubular bells, thus reprising a version from Red Sky Coven, the lasting ad hoc musical collision of Hammer and the New Model Army frontman. Not for the first time, I am getting a sense of Jackie Leven in some of the inventive backing vocal arrangements.

Another of Hammer’s erstwhile companions in crime, Rupert McDonald features for St. John. He was the bass player for Meltwater Ghosts, a quartet of he, Hammer, Sanchia Hammer and John Matthias, who had performed the original of Wingman. St. John is a 2017 song, that saw Nick Harper adding his guitar to Hammer. I am unsure if the guitar here is Harper or McDonald, but it has a delectably sleekit slide presence.

All change for what I though may at first be a misprint, as a Roy Harter gives a Bruce Hornsby-esque flavour to the preceding, for the piano and accordion heavy Pour Your Whisky On My Road. And it clearly isn’t Harter with a T, Nick’s dad, Harter being a New York studio guy who seems also to find the time to make music with the wider On The Fiddle family. it is quite different from anything else here, and delightful.

PIRATE INFUSED FUN

Seeing the name Simon Friend, missing in action these past few years, had me hopeful, his take on Caledonian Rain stronger on nostalgia than were he an unknown, the issue perhaps the fault of one of the triter songs here. But let’s hope it sees his return to the fray. That Olivia Olwyn then returns, with Bob King, for a swagger through Stealing, which sounds like one of the Mekon’s country excursions. I’d have altered the running order here, putting the next track ahead of it, if only the better to introduce Friend’ s replacement, temporary or otherwise, in his old band, Dan Donnelly, here with another Leveller, fiddleman, Jon Sevink. Be that is it may, they offer a an uncomplicated romp through Down In The Alley. Fiddles, mandolins, all of that, nothing big or clever, and loads of pirate infused fun.

I really, really wanted to enjoy Just Like Trevylan, Seth Lakeman’s contribution. Just he and his fiddle, voice and strings, it needs a little more meat on the bones, at least for me. I know this is one of the boy Seth’s trademarks, but I prefer him with a full band. Humm are the Bristol duo of Arty Jackson and Carys Lewin, who make Ellan Vannin sound like something from an old forgotten Dylan songbook, with Anna Ryan & Joe Frost offering a capable Mary Mary, which lifts as a host electronic FX sidle in. Ryan may or may not be the daughter of Hammer, also part of the Doulas.

NO SKIP REFLEX NECESSARY

Joolz Denby is another name from the past, familiar to those who recall her performance poet days, often backed by New Model Army, or indeed, as another member of the Red Sky Coven. Spoken word has often the effect of causing me to reflexly skip such intrusions to the music, but her track is absolutely wonderful, possibly even a favourite. Saline comes from the same sessions, with Nick Harper, as St. John. Dare I say I prefer Denby’s iteration?

Getting close to the end, it may be listener fatigue, but I couldn’t fully invest in the Green Matthias Band, where Matthias is likely the Meltwater Ghost. The song, Springtime In England, is pleasant but, in this version, unmemorable. Similarly, the initial electronica drowns the melodic essence of Rosie, it then picking up as the beats bounce in, sung by Alex Dover. My bad, maybe I should have listened to the album in reverse.

FILE UNDER KEEPER

The odd gripe aside, this is a really very good sampler of and selection into the world of Rev Hammer and those who populate it. I am uncertain whether it is aimed at a specific fanbase or designed more to act as an introduction, but I am more than happy to file it alongside the discs by his more famous friends. A to hunt out again a copy of Freeborn John.

Rather than those friends, try out the Doulas:

Rev. Hammer: Bandcamp

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