Incredibly this release on their own Running Man label marks the thirtieth anniversary of the formation of Oysterband. Since then they have become a unique force in British music fusing traditional song forms, rock energy and sharp social comment whist maintaining a fierce spirit of independence. They have never sat on their laurels and in 2008 they remain as vital and committed as ever, still developing musically and possessed of an energy that would put many younger bands to shame.

The group began as a loose congregation of musicians at Canterbury University initially dedicated to playing ceilidh music.

In the 80’s the group solidified around the core of John Jones (melodeon, vocals), Alan Prosser (guitar) and Ian Telfer (violin)  all of whom remain with the band to this day. These three began to write their own songs and the band turned professional, eventually signing to the Cooking Vinyl label.

Much of their early work now sounds rather dated, due in part to eighties production values. However a seismic shift was to occur in the early 90’s when a new rhythm section comprised of bassist Ray “Chopper” Cooper and drummer Lee Partis joined the song writing axis of Telfer, Prosser and Jones.

Lee and Chop brought a mighty rhythmic punch to the band and with Jones having now matured into an assured and charismatic lead vocalist they were ready to take on the world. Initially the new quintet recorded the best parts of their back catalogue for the cut price compilation “Trawler”. The definitive versions of Oyster classics such as “Hal And Tow” and “Another Quiet Night In England”  are to be found here.

They followed this with a quick fire salvo of indispensable albums, “Deserters” (1992), “Holy Bandits” (1993) and “The Shouting End Of Life” (1995). Each album built upon the other and this trio of albums alone represents a formidable body of work. The band came across like a more literate Levellers combining poetic but politically incisive lyrics with uplifting choruses, swirling ceilidh style instrumental breaks and a raw rock power courtesy of the new rhythm team. The chemistry was right at last and this line up was to stay together for fifteen years.

Live the new Oysterband was like a well oiled machine and even allowing for Jones’ messianic presence as a front man each member of the band developed their own musical personality and Chopper’s cello became an increasingly important factor in the band’s sound. I’ve seen the band literally dozens of times and never bored of the experience.

Following their acrimonious departure from Cooking Vinyl the band’s first release on their own Running Man label was the live album “Alive And Shouting”, sadly long since deleted, which presented material from the “trilogy” with added live “oomph”. Wonderful. The quality of the albums and the excellence of their live shows has won the band an international cult following.

“Deep Dark Ocean” (1997) and “Here I Stand” (1999) showed the band honing their song writing skills in more personal fashion and lacked the visceral power of their immediate predecessors. However “Rise Above” (2002) and “Meet You There” (2007) marked a return to form with the group recapturing some of the righteous anger of their early 90’s heyday as the New Labour dream turned sour.

For all the power of their electric shows the Oysters never entirely abandoned their folk roots. They toured twice with other, mainly younger artists in a kind of folk review styled as “The Big Session”.
Eliza Carthy and Seth Lakeman were among those to benefit from the Oysters patronage and in time a “Big Session” album appeared featuring Carthy, June Tabor, Jim Moray, Show Of Hands, The Handsome family and The Oysters plus combinations thereof. It was awarded the prize of Best album at the BBC Folk Awards.

From this grew an annual Big Session Festival held each June at Leicester’s De Montfort Hall. Curated and headlined by the Oysters it represents a platform for emerging folk artists allowing them to be heard by a knowledgeable and listening crowd. More established acts are featured too and the whole event represents great value for money. Oysterband have certainly put something back into the British folk scene.

2007 saw the band’s first line up change in many years. Drummer Lee Partis took a sabbatical to work as a counsellor in the British prison system. He has now decided to pursue his new career on a permanent basis and his last official engagement with Oysterband will be on the final date of their 30th anniversary tour at the London Forum, Kentish Town on December 12th 2008.

Partis’ replacement is Dil Davies, an accomplished and powerful player whose stick to skin skills have ensured that the changeover was almost seamless. There has been no reduction in the energy levels of the band’s electric live shows and selected gigs have featured the thrilling sight of both drummers working in tandem. 

One constant factor throughout the band’s career is their willingness to revisit and re-interpret their own material. This is one of the factors that has made them such an irresistible live act over the years. “The Oxford Girl And Other Stories” is the latest example of this. Released to mark the group’s thirtieth anniversary the album is available only from the Oysterband website or at gigs.

It represents an acoustic retrospective of the band’s career covering material from most of their albums but not always the obvious “hits”. The Oysters have toured and recorded acoustically before but seldom in such a pared down manner as this. In this sense “Oxford Girl” is a return to the band’s roots in traditional English folk song. The emphasis here is very much on the singing. Prosser and Chopper are both accomplished vocalists who have lent their harmonies to the group over many years. Partis’ distinctive high pitched voice has also been heard to good effect.

“Oxford Girl” marks the Oysterband’s only recording as a sextet. Both Partis and Davies appear on the new record and the group is also augmented by their producer Al Scott who weighs in with additional guitar, bass, accordion and bouzouki.

With the emphasis on vocals and with the instrumentation centred on acoustic guitars and related instruments Prosser and Chopper are very busy boys. Jones concentrates solely on singing, his is a voice that has developed over the years and is now stronger and more soulful than ever. The percussionists and even word smith and violinist Ian Telfer keep a relatively low profile in this incarnation of the band. 

“Oxford Girl” comes complete with informative and entertaining liner notes penned by this most literate of bands. The record kicks off with “The Early Days Of A Better Nation” one of the band’s long neglected songs from the eighties given a new lease of life for this project and aired extensively on the recent tour. I’ll admit that it’s still not one of my favourites but the new version is still a marked improvement on the original.

“When I’m Up I Can’t Get Down” is a rip roarer of a song and a perennial live favourite. It was even a mega hit in Canada and the US in a slowed down version by Newfoundland group Great Big Sea.  The Oyster’s new take on the song owes as much to the GBS version as it does to their own. Driven by Prosser’s banjo and Telfer’s fiddle plus subtle percussion the vocal delivery has something of the feel of a sea shanty about it. “When I’m Up” is just a great, life affirming song that sounds good in any format.

Next we come to the two most stunning transformations on the record. “By Northern Light” and “Blood Red Roses” both appeared on 1995’s raging “The Shouting End Of Life Album”. In it’s original incarnation “By Northern Light” surged along utilising a chord sequence borrowed from Iggy Pop’s “Passengers”. A live mosh pit favourite for many years the desperate romance of the lyrics was in sharp contrast to the power of the music. This new stripped back, slowed down version of the song totally re-invents it and brings out the fragile beauty of the words. It’s almost like another song. I have to say I love both versions of this, each has equal validity.

Ditto “Blood Red Roses” which was originally powered by a bass riff that wouldn’t have disgraced Black Sabbath. The Oysters have given this tune the acoustic treatment before (in 1998 on “Alive And Acoustic) but never has it been pruned back as severely as here with harmony vocals underpinned by taut pressure point acoustic guitars. Like “By Northern Light” the romantic lyric was at odds with the initial electric arrangement. Once again both version are equally valid and I love them both.

The anthemic"The Soul’s Electric” opened the “Rise Above” album and the live shows of that time. It is re-imagined here with the emphasis on layered harmony vocals rather than the rock dynamics of the original. The mood is still celebratory, driven by Telfer’s fiddle and insistent hand clapping.

The new version of “The Oxford Girl” was to prove the springboard for this project. One of the group’s earliest attempts at song writing it has proved to be one of the best loved and longest lived items in their repertoire. Hardly the most raucous item in their back catalogue in the first place it has been reduced to the bare minimum here, essentially voices and acoustic guitar. Again the quality of the writing allied to a simple and memorable chorus make this a classic in any incarnation.

“Little Brother” must be the just about the only song written about autism. The song originally appeared on “Deep Dark Ocean” but the uncomfortable subject matter meant that it’s shelf life as a live item was short lived. This kind of project was just the place for the song to be revisited, the sparseness of the new arrangement and a powerful vocal performance from Jones adding to the gravitas of the words.

The accapella hymn “What Wondrous Love Is This” is (I think) a previously unrecorded item. The group have often closed their shows with an accapella item such as “The Old Triangle” or “Bright Morning Star” so this comes out of that tradition. This traditional tune dates back to the 1640’s and has spawned many interpretations. This is a worthy addition to the canon and I’d love to them tackle this one live.

Next we come to a trio of songs that have never quite acquired classic status or become essential items in the Oyster live repertoire despite being perfectly acceptable(the Oysters exercise a high level of quality control, they don’t do “filler”).

“Angels Of The River” dates back to “Deserters” and is a little too repetitive to rank amongst the band’s best songs. An imaginative new arrangement that incorporates Chopper’s mbira, massed harmony vocals and fiddle breathes new life into the song.

“After The Rain” from “Here I Stand” originally featured jingly jangly electric guitars that borrowed from indie rockers like The La’s. I rather liked the original but seemed to be at odds with most of the fan base. The song didn’t remain in the live sets for long but I always felt it was a strong song in it’s own right. The courtly new arrangement complete with violin and buzzing cello is rather splendid. Welcome back.

“Shouting About Jerusalem” initially appeared on “Rise Above” but I don’t find that the self consciously eclectic new arrangement with harmonica and barbershop style harmonies very convincing. This is the one item on the record that fails to either build on the original or present a viable alternative interpretation.

“The Lakes Of Cool Flynn” is far more successful. A traditional ballad brought to the band by Jones this tune has crept in and out of the live sets over the years. Sympathetically sung by Jones accompanied by Prosser’s guitar and Chopper’s plangent harmonica this is a quiet delight.

Another traditional tune “The False Knight On The Road” first appeared tucked away on the B side (are there still such things?) of the single “This Is The Voice” back in 1999. The 2008 version is a more overtly “folk” take on the song than the earlier “band” version with voices more to the fore.
All in all an improvement I think.

“Put Out The Lights” from “Shouting End” is another song that has been a live staple for many years, usually as an encore. It has always been a quiet haven in the maelstrom of noise and energy the band are capable of summing up live. Over the years the arrangements have become more sparse and of late the band have been performing it entirely without mics or other amplification. Led by Chopper’s melancholy cello and Alan Prosser’s acoustic guitar chording the latest edition also includes a brief delightful solo from Mr Telfer’s violin. Simple but irresistible this is another solid gold classic that sounds great in any manifestation.

“The Oxford Girl And Other Stories” is clearly aimed at the band’s incredibly loyal fan base and in that sense is for completists and collectors only. However this is no mere cynical marketing exercise, the care that has been lavished on the arrangements and the recording plus the inherent quality of the writing ensures that this is a record that stands up in it’s own right. My only quibble would be their failure to take the opportunity to record “The Rocks Of Bourne”, a memorable traditional song that featured in live sets around five years ago. It’s a powerful song and would have fitted ideally into this format.

“Oxford Girl” is relatively atypical and is not a release that I’d steer first timers towards-I’d direct them to the latest studio album “Meet You There” or one of the 90’s classics, either “Holy Bandits” or “Shouting End”. But for long term fans such as myself this is a worthwhile document and it may also hold some appeal to folk purists who find the full on electric Oysters a bit much, amazingly there are a few people like this out there.

“The Oxford Girl And Other Stories” is only available from http://www.oysterband.co.uk or at gigs. Take the chance to celebrate with the band at The Forum on 12th December, see the site for details. Otherwise it’s a long wait, they’re taking six months off after a very busy year and are unlikely to be seen again until The Big Session Festival at De Montfort Hall, Leicester 19/20/21 June 2009.

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