Popular music never survives long without deep breaths of folk song. And without new treatments and new audiences even folksong can flicker and pale.
So when a meticulous, knowledgeable and creative young man like BENJAMIN WETHERILL gets hold of a hairy old classic like "The Derby Ram" there really can be no losers.
It's closer to The Waterson's version than to A.L. Lloyds (a very good thing too). But in keeping it down to six verses (rather than The Waterson's nine) there is more space in the generous three and half minutes to fill the air with a bewitching fantasy band of medieval inspiration and freak-folk mould-breaking.
There are ancient sounding reeds, pre-jug band percussion, bass, and handclaps (at least). On the choruses (just sing along) there are subtly added voices, softening WETHERILL'S distinctively light purity. And right in the middle there is the wonkiest electric guitar solo you are ever like to hear on a great single. It pings and falters like a rickety Prior on Buckfast Mead. Inspired I would say. Mournful, delicate, mind-altering.
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It steps out on vinyl in company with a more exuberant 4 chord ukelele thing that dances sings and amuses like nobody's business. It’s called "I Would Love To" and very many surely would. It’s infectious, cheerful but still neatly perverse. It jauntily shows off some perfect plinky piano and daringly deploys some tuneful whistling. It’s the very best comedy - born of a deep love for Music Hall origins, and played with an unerringly straight bat.
www.benjaminwetherill.co.uk
www.onthebonerecords.com
www.last.fm/music/Benjamin+Wetherill
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