Spirogyra – St. Radigunds
If there’s four words guaranteed to strike fear into the hearts of those of a nervous disposition, assorted woodland animals and my good self, they are The Incredible String Band. I have previous with this particular band of “musical” ne’er-do-wells and it wasn’t pretty, so imagine my horror when reading the liner notes of Spirogyra’s 1971 debut, St. Radigunds, and their name cropped up as a major influence on guitarist, vocalist and songwriter, Martin Cockerham.
It’s enough to turn a man to drink but fear not, for although there are occasions when Cockerham’s voice does sail dangerously close to the tuneless whine often heard emanating from the vicinity of the ISB’s Robin Williamson, he manages to keep it together, ensuring a listening experience that isn’t likely to leave you reaching for the bleach as a pre-bedtime nightcap.
Spirogyra also featured Barbara Gaskin on vocals, Steve Borrill on bass guitar and providing a particular lynchpin to the band’s progressive/acid folk rock sound, Julian Cusack on violin and keyboards. Whereas The Incredible String Band sounded like a particularly inept bunch of world musicians falling down a particularly steep flight of stairs, Spirogyra can play their instruments as well as hold the note they’ve just committed themselves to singing. Particularly effective is the aforementioned Cusack’s omnipresent violin, which is menacing, sinister and eerily evocative in turns.
Barbara Gaskin’s voice hits the musical spot throughout, following in the fine tradition of such ethereally toned sirens as Judy Dyble and Jacqui McShee, while acting as the perfect foil to the urgency of Cockerham’s vocal style.
St. Radigunds is lyrical storytelling at its best, seeded in the opening track, ‘The Future Won’t Be Long’, with its tale of death at home and abroad during World War II, and culminating in the epic closer ‘The Duke of Beaufoot’.
Throughout the album there are moments of whimsy, strangeness, the fantastical and Olde English romanticism, tempered by an undercurrent of left-wing political protest. A tick against each box of the “good list”, so far as HFoS is concerned. There’s even room for what sounds like Michael Palin doing a Pythonesque northerner on ‘The Future Won’t Be Long’ – though it evidently isn’t. The Repertoire reissue also offers the jaunty anti-war rant and single ‘Dangerous Dave’ as a bonus.
As with the best folk music – prog, acid, or otherwise – a listen to St. Radigunds renders a swirling mist of lilting melodies and haunting vocal arrangements, bringing to life a world that exists slightly parallel to our own, but grounded in the same harsh realities.
Don’t let any comparisons with the sonic ear-buggery of The Incredible String Band sway your judgement. Spirogyra’s strain of aromatic folk music will neither frighten the Hamster nor strip the paint from the walls.
St. Radigunds by Spirogyra is reissued by Repertoire and available to buy from Amazon.co.uk
Don’t just read and applaud. Subscribe to the rather splendid RSS Feed
Recent Comments