I don’t believe there has been any artwork released for this single, so instead here is part of the cover of ‘Read The Sky’, the album from which it has been taken. It is the first studio album of new material since 2014’s ‘Diamonds on the Water’ and will be available in March. This is a call to action, about what we need to do to save the planet we all inhabit. Songwriter Ian Telfer says he had most of the words years ago, with Alan Prosser adding the music not long afterwards, but he kept changing the lyrics as he wanted it to be current until the rest of the band convinced him to stop messing about it and just record it. He also says that if he had waited until COP 26 then he would probably have been much angrier!
Any lover of folk rock will have Oysterband albums in their collection. For some reason I never got to seeing them play in concert, something I dearly regret, and I guess if I ever want to catch them then it will mean another trip to the other side of the world but listening to the sheer quality of this song then it would be worth it. Next year will be five years since I travelled from NZ to Cropredy, so perhaps another trip is called for. This is commercial, full of passion, and is going to be a massive singalong at gigs. There is a demand for us all to play our part, all brought together with strong guitars and cello driving the band forward (it is indeed strange to realise the cellist is none other than Adrian Oxaal, who used to be guitarist in James). It is Fairport wrapped in Richard Thompson wrapped in Celtic styles wrapped in classic Oysterband all bundled up with commercial rock and is a delight from start to finish. If this is an indication of what the new album is going to be like, then I can’t wait as surely it is going to be a huge triumph. Oysterband are back.
Rating: 10/10
