William D Drake and his Briny Hooves

It's getting close to that time of year when music journalists, bloggers and other people who just can't keep quiet start publishing their infernal Lists, the TOP TEN ALBUMS or this-or-thats of 2007! Fair enough, everyone loves a LIST; it might be a valid way of putting the year in context, or something - it's fun to stand in judgment of these lists and say, No. Bullshit. Boring. Yes. Never heard of it. Meh. Never heard of it. Don't want to know. Okay maybe. etc.

For my TopTenAlbumList, since I am a caring blogger, I am going to do away with the filler, the latest by the old favorites, the albums that made me feel temporarily happy or fashionably hip for a week or two, and just skip from ten through two right up to (ta daa) numero Uno:

This is one you may not have heard of at all, unless you live in England and keep up with the cultish rumblings of Cardiacs and their associates; and that is a real shame, because this album seems to me an instant underground classic, one of those curious, evergreen things like Edward Gorey's books, Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast novels, or (distant relative of William) Nick Drake's albums, that will go on being discovered and cherished by certain individuals for years to come - until 'Seahorse' is finally used in a car commercial or something, and the larger world finds out about it.

(Bill with Cardiacs)

Some background, WD Drake was the keyboardist for Cardiacs for a few years, some hairsplitters might say their best years, contributing songwriting and playing the impossible parts written for him by Tim Smith with great aplomb. In fact, after he left in 1990 or so there hasn't been a replacement, Cardiacs perform live with taped keyboards instead (the "Bill-in-a-Box"). As well as being in Cardiacs, he was a part of the celebrated Sea Nymphs, a side project consisting of Tim and Sarah Smith and himself, their self-titled album is highly recommended.

Since leaving the band, he has worked with various groups, produced one self-titled solo album in 1997 - hard to find now but not impossible; worth seeking out, especially if you like 'Briny Hooves' or anything I've mentioned so far. In February 2007 Drake came out with two albums simultaneously, this one and 'Yew's Paw" - an album of quasi-classical piano instrumentals which is mind-boggling and very satisfying even for the non-pianistic listener(me). There is a new e.p. of songs coming out from Mr. Drake soon, live performances, even rumors of a NYC gig in the coming year.

On this album, Mr. Drake sings and plays piano, harmonium and various keyboards, and assembles a large group of people playing mostly acoustic instruments, for a set of full bodied pop tunes that also seem out of time, containing bits of medieval and madrigal music, creaky old church hymns and sea shanties as well as psychedelic rock and pop tunes. The term "Anglo-noir" was coined by someone, and is helpful, somehow. At various times I'm reminded of Robert Wyatt, Burt Bacharach, Harry Nilsson...the lyrics have a distinctly hoary but hearty and solid Jacobean feel, they are sometimes William's own, or else lifted from Palgrave's Golden Treasury of Verse! I can imagine people who like Joanna Newsom's or Tom Waits' hermetic sound-worlds might find their way into this one.

From the first song, 'Wolves':

"The wolves did howl the night you threw it all away

No-one can quite believe the brutal way you chose your own decay

well we'd all heard the ghostly rumours from your lips

that's what we thought they were just never felt that it could come to this

~

So here we are now, standing at the grave

Trying so hard to best behave

Lightning strikes but once they say

In your case It was everyday"

(You can listen to this tune, for the time being, at WDD's MySpace page)

For a song with such a sombre subject, shock at the (self-inflicted?) death of a friend, it's a jolly sort of uptempo funeral march, the deathly strings, croaking ravens and tolling bells are offset with surprised good humor, 'trying so hard to best behave' in the face of the horror and absurdity of it, life, death, love, fate, - you have to laugh!

And I love the way Bill revs his voice up with each successive "...it was

E-E-E-E-E-V'RYDAY"!

Most of the songs have the same sort of positive, joyous message coded in the music and lyrics, it makes you feel inexplicably happy to listen to these perfectly blended voices and instruments, whether you're paying close attention or just have it on in the background, you will be tapping your foot and humming along and wondering why more music isn't like this.

The piano playing on 'Hooves' is uniformly marvellous, Mr. Drake was classically trained (whatever that means) - though apparently, he went off the rails and started playing in groups as soon as he was no longer required to take lessons! The wheezing reedy sound of harmonium is a sort of signature Drake sound, also very much present here. (This sound containing, for me, the spirit of the late Ivor Cutler, another fine eccentric of the British variety, there's a lot to be said about him...)

I'm hard pressed to pick out individual favorite songs, this is my album of the year you know, and they're all so tasty...but the singalong with chimes and sleighbells 'Seashell Song', followed by the simply beautiful 'Sweet Peace', followed by the bombast of 'Requiem for a Snail' is a great sequence of tunes. And the one that follows that Snail, 'Seahorse' is a majestic full-sailed thing, that starts big and gets bigger, quoting from the reviled/revered Moody Blues classic 'Nights In White Satin' - it has that sort of feeling, an eternal spiralling upward on waves upon waves. Fooking lovely.

YOU have to hear it.

(and http://www.amazon.co.uk/ seems to be a good way to go)