Monday's Long Song

Back in October I posted Tannis Root, a folky instrumental by Matt Deighton that appeared on a Moonboots Balearic compilation. Matt was in 90s Acid Jazzers Mother Earth, played with Paul Weller in his 90s bands and briefly filled in when Noel Gallagher walked out of Oasis. As well as all of that though, he's recorded several solo albums that I was aware of but hadn't heard. Someone said I should start with his 1995 album Villagers, handily re- released by Acid Jazz in 2021. 

Villagers was Matt's debut solo album and in many ways an album out of time. Folk wasn't a big deal in the mid- 90s. Matt's influences on the album- Nick Drake, John Martyn, Bill Fay, Davy Graham- were largely unre- discovered. The album has a distinctive magic to it- folk guitars, low key, beautiful songs sung beautifully, some flute, all gentle and unassuming, and with the odd bit of Mod soul/ funk creeping in (you can hear why Weller employed him, especially on opening song Good For Us- but Weller was slightly folky too at this point too, not least on Wild Wood's title track). It's crossed the decades very nicely- thirty years since its release and the folk sound of Villager has come around, gone again and come back. This song, two songs really but played together as a medley, is as good as anything on it, ten minutes of bucolic English folk with a weariness to the tune and the words but with the hint of better days to come. You can listen to and buy the remastered Villager at Bandcamp. 

Villager/ Bone Dry Boat