How does it compare to the artist's other releases
Value for Money
Advantages:
Wonderful songs !
Disadvantages:
Annoying trick on the last track . Depressing at times !
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
I’m not just a metal head. Oh no, not while the Levellers still breathe.
The band was formed back in 1988 and brought together a range of talents and instruments. Fiddles, harmonicas, mandolins and of course guitar and drums. As a result their sound is something unique (at least it is in my CD collection). A wonderful blend of folk and rock combines well with Chadwick’s voice. Although one of the founding members was called Alan Leveller the name comes from some political movement or something which I should know more about but don’t. Alan Leveller left back in 1990.
“Warning”
What a great way to start a CD. A warning siren (sort of) sound leads into the rapid but delicate tapping of drums. The guitar and the fiddle rush to join and within seconds you’re twirling around the field without any care at all for the mud. “Armed surveillance, Last Dance / Sparks fly at the first glance” The Levellers do like to ramp up the messages in their music. You can’t help but notice them even if you don’t agree with them.
“100 Years of Solitude”
You’ll be aware, if it wasn’t already crystal clear, that you’re not listening to a pop-rock album when the second track starts up. Fiddles and pop rock are mutually exclusive; at least, they were until the Corrs came along. This a sad song, many of the Levellers’ songs are but this one pretty much holds back from the angry accusations which is the more usual flavour to their tunes, instead “100 Years” is aggressively defensive. “Excuse me ma’am for being so rude.”
“The Likes of You and I”
Almost gentle, almost. The start of this wonderful song reminds me of crying. “Take the rope from around your neck / and the blindfold from your eyes \ And you’ll never be surprised \ When they tell you that they love you \ While they’re eating you alive.” This isn’t sung in an angry way, don’t think Rage Against the Machine. This is sung in a calm, quite way with almost a lullaby quality to it.
“Is This Art?”
Ethical questions abound in this ballad. This is the story of technology versus Nature. The Levellers are, of course, very much on Nature’s side. The music here is pretty basic, the constant rhythm of the guitar. However, at times, there’s the echo of bells in the back ground which as out of place as that sound, actually fits in very well especially when the fiddle lifts up in volume.
“Dirty Dave”
I’m sure people have danced around a barn to this quick tempo track. The folk roots of the band rise to the fore here, and so does the anti-establishmentarian element of the music. “It’s a kick in the head and a prison bed \ And you tell me it’s the Law.” Fast paced fiddling lead this song through out to great effect.
“This Garden”
I’m not sure what the instrument being played in the intro and throughout the song is. I have my suspicions it’s akin to the <spell checker file missing> long, hollow, wooden pipes played by the natives of Australia! What ever it is, it works very well and blends nicely with the more usual Leveller sound of the guitar and fiddle. The music isn’t slow but the vocals are unusually restrained, at times, secondary to the music. “If this is as far your culture’s got \ Then I deny it”
“Broken Circles”
This is a good contrast to the lower pace of the “This Garden” before hand. The drums and the fiddle fight back and offer up a rapid dance of thumping tunes. Chadwick provides a mantra like of political comments to the tune and, as always, it works very well. The sung chorus is saner and calmer.
“Julie”
This is the saddest song that I know, and I mean that in the traditional sense of the word. It’s the depressing tale of average girl Julie. “She left alone in a crowded room / Cry when she heard a happy tune.” Everything else seems to fade away apart from Chadwick’s appropriately depressing singing voice and Simon Friend’s guitar. There are more than six minutes to Julie but I never notice; time seems to vanish as well and I only snap out of it when the song fades into a dirge of sorry bagpipes and heat beat drums.
“The Player”
You would need something carefully light hearted to pick you up after Julie. The Player does it, well, kinda. The music, the /sound/ of the song, is upbeat and gentle, a more traditional use of the guitar. Of course, if you start to listen to the usual doom’n’gloom lyrics of the Levellers then you’ll catch lots of sad stuff. However, keep on listening because the message grows more positive. In this way, I think “The Player” was the best possible chaser to the depressing “Julie”. It doesn’t try and slap some happiness into you; it brings you up slowly. “There is hope yet in the rain \ And a voice in the distant thunder.”
“Belaruse”
One of my favourite songs on the CD... and it is ruined by a cheap trick. The song is great, intelligent lyrics and top class instrumental work. All the different talents of the band are brought into full swing and you are left at no doubt as to the quality of your purchase. The cheap trick is the extended period of silence that is tacked onto the end of the song! B*stards! There is some annoying nonsense in the last few seconds of it that is not worth listening to.
Sadly ironic that the band decided to conclude its CD with the annoying commercial trick of the time the album was pressed.
Despite that, I would encourage anyone and everyone to give this album a go. It remains one of my favourites.
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