Voices Electric
I have no idea how this record landed in my collection. My copy is a promo, so my first thought was I found it at the bottom of a radio station discard box. But, it was released in 1995, after my radio career was done, so it’s a puzzle. It might’ve been in a goody bag somewhere at SWSW ’95.
I recall listening to it a few times but never getting much further than their cover of Richard Thompson’s Galway to Graceland. Thompson’s version is fine, but I’m partial to their more heart-wrenching interpretation. The stark, a capella arrangement sets alive the story of the woman’s travels from Ireland to Memphis.
Richard Thompson – Galway To Graceland
Plainsong – Galway To Graceland
I wasn’t aware that Plainsong has been around since the early 1970′s. Apparently, the group was formed by Iain Matthews after he departed from Matthews’ Southern Comfort. Their very first album, In Search of Amelia Earhart, was a critical success (and the requisite commercial failure) and is now quite a rarity. Plainsong has been an on-again, off-again project that Matthews most recently revived in 2003.
This record, as noted, was released in 1995, having been recorded in Austin, TX the year before. Most of the songs (save for the Thompson cover and their take on Gene Parsons’ Gunga Din) were written by Matthews, Andy Roberts, Julian Dawson or Mark Griffiths).
We listened to it on the way to school today and, along with Galway To Graceland, found these to be our favorites. Steel That Beat found particular favor with my folkie-in-training kids.
