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OysterbandMeet You There (Westpark)
The 2007 studio album by the Brit folk-rock legends
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More music from Oysterband
Tracks:
From their press kit:
Once the bad boys of folk and rock, Oysterband have grown over the past five years into
the role of musical custodians and godfathers of folk. Collaborative tours with rising young
stars under the banner of The Big Session; a Big Session “live” album with June Tabor,
Eliza Carthy, The Handsome Family, Show Of Hands and more; and finally a Big
Session festival, now in its third year, which hasn't yet failed to sell out. And there have
been gongs, awards, nominations...
The 'house band' role Oysterband played for part of these years drew on the group's
formidable musical skills, rather as The Last Waltz did once upon a time for The Band.
And it made them re-evaluate themselves. "We had to go back to the essential impulse
that's kept the band kicking for almost 30 years - making new songs for ourselves," says
Ian Telfer. “We put a PA system in a village hall on the Welsh border and got down to
some serious playing. It's the doing it together that unlocks it for us," he insists. "It's the
only way the songs can grow and breathe, of course. But also, we've always believed that
creativity is a collective thing, and that's helped shape the band's politics. Not that we
agree about everything, by a long chalk...but hey, that's the spark."
Once new song structures were licked into shape, Oysterband took the best ideas to The
Premises in Hackney ("Europe's first solar-powered studio") to work on the voices and
acoustic instruments. Some late ideas were added in Brighton and at cellist Chopper's
house in Sweden.
"I think the long, sustained preparation has enhanced Meet You There enormously,"
says Telfer. "The singing - everybody's singing - is better than it's ever been. The raw
rush that used to take us out on tour with The Pogues etc has evolved into something
more measured, more powerful. We listened to it all back when we'd finished and we all
thought: 'Yes! Strong. Rooted.' (And then: 'Cop that!') Literally, it's been refreshing - it's
renewed our self-belief."
Meet You There certainly delivers a fresh perspective on 'folk'. Check out the lovely
mbira introduction by Chopper to the opening song Over The Water, and the stinging
rockabilly guitar beat of Someone Somewhere for contrast. For the singing, check out
Over The Water again, Where The World Divides, The Boy's Still Running, the dreamy
anthemic Dancing As Fast As I Can. For the politics, the acid, knowing take on
globalisation (over a cheery jugband backing) on Here Comes The Flood.
"We were lucky to work with a really intuitive photographer too, Judith Burrows. Not
only did she get us some very strong shots for the packaging, she got the whole mood
and idea of what we were doing from listening to the tracks. In a funny way, doing the
shoot helped us crystallise our feelings about what we'd written."
"Meet You There is the most consistent thing we've done as a grown-up band," says
Telfer. "It has what I like to think of as Oyster trademarks - a folk ear for a great vocal
tune; strong lyrics; wry politics; and a sort of deep-down musicality that can afford to
take itself fairly lightly. It's essentially acoustic, essentially folk-based I suppose. But we
try to put it over with big dynamics and a sense of musical theatre."
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