Is it too early to nominate this as best CD of 2014?
I confess that I had written this review countless times in my head before hearing a single track from Blue Rose Code’s new CD ‘The Ballads of Peckham Rye’. I’d heard rumours that the legendary bassist Danny Thompson was involved – along with stellar musicians Kathryn Williams, Karine Polwart and Aidan O’Rourke – and I’d had a taster of some of the new material at a recent live show. I therefore knew without doubt that ‘The Ballads of Peckham Rye’ would be high on my top CDs of 2014.
But nothing had prepared me for the preview CD that arrived last week. My pre-written review was promptly scrapped. Each time I listened to the CD I started afresh with my review. I found myself lost for words trying to describe the depth and complexity of the music, the layer upon layer of sounds and voices that envelope the listener, and the breadth of emotions that the music both captures and releases.
The CD is full of pain, guilt, fear and remorse, but also hope, laughter, wisdom and forgiveness. The lyrics are deeply personal and achingly vulnerable, brought to life by music that defies genre. Despite its pain, the album is beautiful, uplifting and deeply moving. The tracks fit together like a jigsaw puzzle, each piece holding mystery and promise, but combining together to form a three-dimensional picture that is much more than the sum of its parts.
If he hadn’t chosen a path as a singer-songwriter, Blue Rose Code musician Ross Wilson could surely have been a poet or an award-winning writer. He paints pictures with his lyrics, using a skilled mastery of language that is comparable to an artist creating a masterpiece with carefully placed brush-strokes. Listening to ‘Edina’, where Wilson recounts experiences of his Edinburgh childhood and begs forgiveness from the City for fleeing to the glittering lights of London, I wondered whether in years to come high-school children might study the ‘Works of Ross Wilson’ alongside Shakespeare and Robert Burns.
‘Edina’ captures the highs and lows of a misspent youth that will be familiar to many who grew up on the streets of central Scotland, from searching for coins for the ice-cream van and watching his local football team, to being chased by the police (‘the polis’ in Scottish slang) and avoiding school. But despite his troubled childhood and wasted education, Wilson has a gift for written language that could rival the finest literary qualifications.
The album is technically perfect, and every instrument and sound is chosen and placed with precision. The words of Scots’ poet Norman MacCaig are brought to life on ‘True Ways of Knowing’, the only track where the lyrics were not penned by Wilson himself. MacCaig’s opening line ‘Not an ounce excessive, not an inch too little‘ is a perfect description of the musicianship throughout the CD. The musical genre is difficult to categorise, extending from sultry jazz ballads, through soul to the pedal steel sounds of country Americana. Danny Thompson’s distinctive bass flows through the album, at times creating a quiet cacophony with Wilson’s guitar. There are undoubted comparisons with the late John Martyn, reinforced of course by the presence of Danny Thompson. But there is so much more. Beautiful vocal harmonies provided by Karine Polwart and Kathryn Williams are joined by perfectly orchestrated hand-clapping, chimes and chanting. The wide range of musical styles and upbeat compositions gives the CD a noticeably positive energy, countering what might otherwise be pretty depressing subject matter. This creates a CD that is uplifting and full of hope for unspoken happy endings.
The subjects of alcoholism and substance abuse run throughout the album and the CD’s liner notes confirm that it is Wilson’s own personal battles that have provided such a wealth of material. One of the most powerful tracks on the CD is Step Eleven, which takes its title from the well-known twelve step recovery program, with step eleven representing prayer and meditation. The track includes the spoken wisdom of an old yoga master, and creates a healing mantra by repetition of the line ‘All I ever wanted was to let go of my fears‘. Although more spiritual than religious, the track incorporates ancient proverbs and prayer, and emits an aura of perfect calm.
The CD draws on many other literary references. The title of the album is taken from Muriel Spark’s 1960 novel of the same name, where the main protagonist causes mayhem in Peckham, being described by the author as ‘one of the wicked spirits that wanders through the world for the ruin of souls’ – a perfect analogy for the character running through the CD’s tracks.
I could easily write pages more and still not do justice to this CD. I may even have misinterpreted the meaning in Wilson’s lyrics. But ultimately all that matters is that I have been profoundly moved by Wilson’s music, and ‘The Ballads of Peckham Rye’ is already my contender for best CD of 2014.
‘The Ballads of Peckham Rye’ is released on June 2nd and is available for pre-order at http://bluerosecode.bandcamp.com/album/the-ballads-of-peckham-rye
Blue Rose Code music and tour dates at http://www.bluerosecode.com/
Live solo acoustic version of ‘Silent Drums’:
