THE WYNNTOWN MARSHALS -
THE END OF THE GOLDEN AGE
2015 - Blue Rose Records
It would be nice to think this is the sort of album the Eagles could have made before veering away from anything edgy and unpolished into world superstardom and consequently, blandness. It's a shame, because everything was in place and they could have been great but then I suppose their millions of fans think they are.
This album is classic country rock but what makes it remarkable is the fact that this is not a Californian band but a five piece band of Scots who are based in Edinburgh. Just as remarkable is the fact that there is no dating in their take on the style, that is now arguably half a century old, and there is a freshness and vitality to every song on the album. Those songs range from often dense up tempo rockers to an easy going mid tempo and slow moody ballads that whilst echoing the sound of fifty or so years ago also have an appealing modernity in the makeup.
Fortunately for fans of the edgier side of 'country rock' the Wynntown Marshals have continued, with this their third studio recording, to release albums that are incredibly melodic, incorporating great songs, excellent playing and vocals that are tailor made for this music. And yet, there is always that underlying 'edginess' that gives the music a 'real' feel that lets the listener know this is not a band that are caricaturing the music. I saw them perform live at last year's Maverick festival and was hugely impressed by not only their music but by the fact that they are at least as good live as they are on record with Keith Benzie's vocals never struggling for the melodic quality that is so essential to this 'brand' of music.
The band lineup is Keith Benzie on lead vocals, guitars, percussion, glockenspiel and harmonica, Iain Sloan plays lead and rhythm guitars, pedal steel and backing vocals, Murdoch MacLeod, bass guitar and backing vocals. Kenny McCabe is on drums and backing vocals and Richie Noble on a variety of keyboards. The songs are all band originals with seven being written by Keith Benzie, two by Murdoch Macleod and one, a co-write between Richie Noble and Keith Benzie, with every song being beautifully conceived, written and arranged. When the lyrics and melodies are completed, the band then work together on the music and arrangements, helped out on Being Lazy by Craig Smith.
There is not a lot of joy in these tales of difficulties in relationships, lost love and death but the songs are beautifully literate and quite engrossing, with the playing not only excellent but also incredibly sympathetic. Of course it helps that Keith Benzie's vocals have a raw melodic texture that could have been made to sing in and around the country rock sub-genre. The scene is set for the remainder of the album on the opening tracks lovely melodic chiming guitars getting There Was A Time underway before the evocative warmth of Keith Benzie lead vocals come in. There are excellent harmonies, keyboards, drums and bass on a song that is a classic big country rock ballad that tells of the stresses and strains of relationships. Being Lazy is a gorgeous slow moody ballad about a forsaken lover who struggles to find much left in his life. The song gradually builds to a gentle climax with the intervention of lovely steel guitar and aching harmonies deepening the atmosphere of hopelessness. Red Clay Hill is an excellent mid tempo country rocker, this one centered upon a hill that dominates the landscape and the hero's life. The gorgeous steel guitar and harmonies heighten the emotions and the chunky electric guitar sound raises the song to its climax on this gorgeous tale. Talking of gorgeous; Idaho is as beautiful a ballad as you will hear anywhere. It is a brilliantly conceived and arranged song that genuinely tugs at the heartstrings and contains a hugely evocative atmosphere. The closing track The End Of The Golden Age is an incredibly literate tale, this one reflecting on an old lost love on a classic mid tempo country rocker.
The defining quality of this band is that they take what can now almost be described as a classic style, 'country rock,' and update it for the new century without ever losing the thread of that style, the uplifting melodies, believable stories, great arrangements and playing and perfect for purpose vocals, without ever sounding dated. They are absolute proof that the ability to convincingly play what is predominately an American music development is achievable as long as the depth of feeling, and of course talent, is there. There is no American country rock band that I can think of who would not be forced to tip their hats to the quality that the Wynntown Marshals bring to the genre, although that is only to be expected from Britain's finest exponents of the style.
http://www.thewynntownmarshals.com/
It would be nice to think this is the sort of album the Eagles could have made before veering away from anything edgy and unpolished into world superstardom and consequently, blandness. It's a shame, because everything was in place and they could have been great but then I suppose their millions of fans think they are.
This album is classic country rock but what makes it remarkable is the fact that this is not a Californian band but a five piece band of Scots who are based in Edinburgh. Just as remarkable is the fact that there is no dating in their take on the style, that is now arguably half a century old, and there is a freshness and vitality to every song on the album. Those songs range from often dense up tempo rockers to an easy going mid tempo and slow moody ballads that whilst echoing the sound of fifty or so years ago also have an appealing modernity in the makeup.
Fortunately for fans of the edgier side of 'country rock' the Wynntown Marshals have continued, with this their third studio recording, to release albums that are incredibly melodic, incorporating great songs, excellent playing and vocals that are tailor made for this music. And yet, there is always that underlying 'edginess' that gives the music a 'real' feel that lets the listener know this is not a band that are caricaturing the music. I saw them perform live at last year's Maverick festival and was hugely impressed by not only their music but by the fact that they are at least as good live as they are on record with Keith Benzie's vocals never struggling for the melodic quality that is so essential to this 'brand' of music.
The band lineup is Keith Benzie on lead vocals, guitars, percussion, glockenspiel and harmonica, Iain Sloan plays lead and rhythm guitars, pedal steel and backing vocals, Murdoch MacLeod, bass guitar and backing vocals. Kenny McCabe is on drums and backing vocals and Richie Noble on a variety of keyboards. The songs are all band originals with seven being written by Keith Benzie, two by Murdoch Macleod and one, a co-write between Richie Noble and Keith Benzie, with every song being beautifully conceived, written and arranged. When the lyrics and melodies are completed, the band then work together on the music and arrangements, helped out on Being Lazy by Craig Smith.
There is not a lot of joy in these tales of difficulties in relationships, lost love and death but the songs are beautifully literate and quite engrossing, with the playing not only excellent but also incredibly sympathetic. Of course it helps that Keith Benzie's vocals have a raw melodic texture that could have been made to sing in and around the country rock sub-genre. The scene is set for the remainder of the album on the opening tracks lovely melodic chiming guitars getting There Was A Time underway before the evocative warmth of Keith Benzie lead vocals come in. There are excellent harmonies, keyboards, drums and bass on a song that is a classic big country rock ballad that tells of the stresses and strains of relationships. Being Lazy is a gorgeous slow moody ballad about a forsaken lover who struggles to find much left in his life. The song gradually builds to a gentle climax with the intervention of lovely steel guitar and aching harmonies deepening the atmosphere of hopelessness. Red Clay Hill is an excellent mid tempo country rocker, this one centered upon a hill that dominates the landscape and the hero's life. The gorgeous steel guitar and harmonies heighten the emotions and the chunky electric guitar sound raises the song to its climax on this gorgeous tale. Talking of gorgeous; Idaho is as beautiful a ballad as you will hear anywhere. It is a brilliantly conceived and arranged song that genuinely tugs at the heartstrings and contains a hugely evocative atmosphere. The closing track The End Of The Golden Age is an incredibly literate tale, this one reflecting on an old lost love on a classic mid tempo country rocker.
The defining quality of this band is that they take what can now almost be described as a classic style, 'country rock,' and update it for the new century without ever losing the thread of that style, the uplifting melodies, believable stories, great arrangements and playing and perfect for purpose vocals, without ever sounding dated. They are absolute proof that the ability to convincingly play what is predominately an American music development is achievable as long as the depth of feeling, and of course talent, is there. There is no American country rock band that I can think of who would not be forced to tip their hats to the quality that the Wynntown Marshals bring to the genre, although that is only to be expected from Britain's finest exponents of the style.
http://www.thewynntownmarshals.com/