Once a semi-finalist in Young Folk Musician Of The Year, David Collins returns to music after a break with his debut album, Sundown. David is a singer-songwriter with a strong feel for traditional songs who combines the two strands on this album and whose own songs could easily be mistaken for traditional. His subjects lend themselves to this style, solo performances with just an acoustic guitar.
The title track which opens the set tells of young love sometime in days of yore – think of the milieu of ‘The Hiring Fair’ and you won’t be far off. It’s a clever song built on a delightful guitar accompaniment. In complete contrast, the traditional ‘Young Randall’ is probably the darkest version of the story that I’ve heard and there are very many. In this short telling which cuts out much circumstantial detail, Randall is poisoned by woody nightshade, allegedly by his lover who is hanged for the crime.
‘The Father’s Song’ is by Ewan McColl and Peggy Seeger and recorded in the 1970s, a song about a father comforting his young son frightened by the dark. This being McColl there is an edge and a political message in here. ‘Darkest Night’ is Collins’ reworking of a night-visiting song (supernatural version) – a good story that merits re-telling with an original twist. ‘Brown Beret’ tells of the thoughts of a young man about to leave for the army. The timeline is unspecified but I’d like to think it is set in the Great War simply because ‘Noel’ recounts Kerstbestand – the Christmas truce.
‘Common Land’ visits a shameful episode of English history, the enclosures, and specifically the enclosure of Epping Forest and the resistance of Thomas Willingale against the sneaky tricks of the land-owning classes. Nothing much changes, does it? Willingale was partially successful and the forest is now protected. Finally comes a favourite of mine, ‘Annachie Gordon’, a song I can’t listen to without hearing Nic Jones and Collins admits to leaning on Jones’ arrangement with added passion. “The day that Jeanie married was the day that Jeanie died” is one of the great lines in traditional song.
Sundown is a sophisticated debut album but David Collins is no newcomer and it’s only a shame that he waited so long to record it.
Dai Jeffries
Artist’s website: www.davidcollinsmusic.co.uk
‘Home’ – live:
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