A little over twenty years ago I was at Witchfest in Croydon to see the mighty Legend, but there was another band playing that night who I was incredibly keen to see as I had heard so much about them, Mediaeval Babes, and I came away mightily impressed. Now here we are in 2019, and I am playing their ninth album, which was conceived and recorded over a five-year period by leader and musical director Katharine Blake. It contains 29 nursery rhymes, all given the MB treatment, so much so that they take on a new life all their own yet due to their very nature are instantly recognisable. These are the traditional rhymes I grew up with, no “Wheels On The Bus”, but rather “Ride A Cock Horse”, “Oranges and Lemons”, “Who Killed Cock Robin?” etc.
Blake began work on the arrangements back in 2013 with her partner and collaborator Nick Marsh (Flesh For Lulu, Urban Voodoo Machine), the father of her two children. However, just a few months into the work and Marsh was diagnosed with cancer, eventually passing away in June 2015. Blake says of her ordeal: “Throughout the whole process of caring for Nick and my two young daughters, I continued work on ‘A Pocketful of Posies’. Throughout the tragic trajectory of my personal journey I came to rely on music, more than ever, as a form of escapism. The increasingly dark and psychedelic entity that the project was manifesting into was a perfect outlet for the dark and uncertain world that my life had become.”
One is immediately taken not only by the incredible vocals, but the care and attention which has been given to the arrangements, and how there are times when no instruments are needed, while at others they are complex. Acoustic, with traditional instruments in abundance, this album is in many ways quite simplistic while at others it is massively over the top. Blake enlisted the help of many singers and musicians, including Baebes multi-instrumentalist Charlie Cawood, and frequent collaborator Kavus Torabi (Knifeworld, Cardiacs, Gong). The dense vocal harmonies feature Mediaeval Baebes members past and present, as well as guest vocalists such as Marcella Puppini.
Although this could well be regarded as an album for children, just be warned that songs such as “Bessie Bell and Mary Gray” are incredibly dark, and the arrangement and instrumentation drives home the subject matter, with a sense of despondency and wailing throughout. Joyful and bouncy it certainly isn’t but rather is dark and unsettling. Charlie Cawood (saz, pipa, zhongruan, daruan, liuqin, hammered dulcimer, zither, lyre, gothic lap harp, hurdy-gurdy, acoustic guitar, acoustic bass) arranged for me to hear this album, and the first time I played it I told him the arrangements were “Delicious”. Now I have had the opportunity to listen to it a great deal I still feel the same, but while some like “Old King Coal” are bright with wonderful harmonies, others contain far more foreboding and menace.
It is an incredible album, one which can indeed be played to children, but is also one which adults may well want to keep for themselves. If ever an album deserves to be played on headphones wit the world shut out then it must be this. I can guarantee this will be in my Top Ten for 2019 at the end of the year as the more I play it, the more I find to love.
Rating: 10/10
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Track list:
1. Lavender’s Blue
2. The Jabberwocky
3. Hey Diddle Diddle
4. Ride a Cock Horse
5. Bye Baby Bunting
6. Bessie Bell and Mary Gray
7. Baa, Baa, Black Sheep
8. Old King Cole
9. Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary
10. Humpty Dumpty
11. Sing Ivy
12. Georgie Porgie / Girls and Boys
13. This Old Man
14. Little Boy Blue
15. Little Miss Muffet
16. Oranges and Lemons
17. Hush-a-bye Baby
18. There Was a Crooked Man
19. Who Killed Cock Robin?
20. The Grand Old Duke of York
21. The North Wind Doth Blow
22. The Lion and the Unicorn
23. Ring a Ring O’ Roses
24. See Saw Margery Daw
25. Pop Goes the Weasel
26. Sing a Song of Sixpence
27. Little Bo Peep
28. London Bridge Is Falling Down
29. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
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Links:
https://www.mediaevalbaebes.com/
https://www.facebook.com/bellissimarecords/
