|  See
edinburghfolkclub.org.uk
Review by Tom Harland
Wednesday 13th June saw the Edinburgh Folk
Club in the Pleasance invaded by 23 budding songwriters,
all bidding to walk away with the prestigious 1st prize
at the annual songwriting competition. 23 songwriters, 23
egos, 23 sets of entirely original lyrics for the beleagured
judges to wade through. It may sound like some people's
idea of hell, but the night proved entertaining, even if
at times excrutiating.
Overseen and organised (as ever) by the
irrepresable Paddy Bort, I'll begin as he did by introducing
the 3 unfortunate souls responsible for making 1 new friend
and 22 new enemies over the course of 1 evening: The judges.
Legendary Edinburgh songsmith Nancy Nicholson seemed to
top the bill of the judges, having the credentials of her
name on the cup for 3 past competitions. John Jesoman was
the Folk Club committee's sacrificial lamb, and relinquished
his treasury duties for the night to David Ferrard. Last,
but by no means least, the Garden Sessions very own Jack
Foster stepped into the firing line (one from the vaults
of Paddy Bort's wee black book!).
The experience of listening to 23 original
songs back to back was a bit like panning for gold in the
Water Of Leith, yet nevertheless the occasional nugget emerged
from the stoor. Bob Knight had the unenviable task of kicking
proceedings off, with his touching 'My Dear Old Frien',
a well crafted lament to the words passed between two old
travelling people, including some evocative, rustic lyrics.
Last year's winner, Scott Renton, unusually combined military
references with a love song for his lady to little avail,
while the first female singer of the night, Hazel Forsyth,
pinched the lyrics of a runaway slave written in 1862. Frank
Reynolds 'The Pearl Fisher' would have benefited from less
repetative references to "Kingfisher's" and "Pearlfisher's"
which made the song a tad confusing.
Rising out of the general malaise of the
1st half was Neil Paterson's 'Miss Blackwood', a cleverly
crafted love song which on closer inspection proved to be
about his temporamental bagpipes. Tom Clelend's 'Etive Mor'
had evocitave lyrics, yet suffered from an overly lengthy
and grizzly introduction.
The 2nd set was of a generally higher standard.
Both Mary McCann and Anne Renshaw sang touching song respectively
about the Water Of Leith and a woman's efforts to stop her
lover from straying. Colin Crombie's introduction to 'Himalaya
High' was well scripted yet poorly executed, which was a
shame because the a' cappela number was both powerfull and
mystical. Next up would have been the reviewer's choice
for the top prize, Iain Thomson's 'The Old Country' nicely
counterposed a driving riff in drop D, with emotional lyrics
describing a man's desire to return to Argyle following
many years in exile in the New World. Tom Fairnie flapped
then tapped his way through 'Prada Heels', while Trish Santer
should realise that using diseases such as TB and HIV as
rhyming words in 'Doctor Beat' surely removes much of the
seriousness which should be associated with these illnesses.
Last year's audience favourite Stevie Palmer did not dissapoint
with a song about the Forth Rail Bridge describing the human
suffering involved in it's construction, and included some
interesting rhythmic changes.
Finally, to the victors. In 3rd place the
judges selected Penny Stone's 'Victory?', a powefull a'
cappela anti war anthem, which was well thought out and
delivered. 2nd prize went to Dave Spittal's entertaining
'Only a Man', a self/male - depreciating song which suggested
men tend to think about "sex and sex and sex and sex
and cars" in one lyric. Sex yes, cars no. The winner
as decided by the judges was Chris Roger's 'Miss Wilmott's
Ghost', a catchy number written around the obscure subject
matter of a mad 18th century woman with a penchant for planting
a little known sea holly in peoples gardens.
One of the best features of the competition
was that the audience were allowed to cast a vot, and this
year the people spoke, for father and son combo Lee and
Nile Patterson's 'Mary Queen Of Scotch'. The interplay between
the two was comic and the performance value was high. Pianist
son Nile played a beautifully moody melody which matched
the glare he shot at his dad following a quip that that
he was the better looking of the two! Father Lee (pictured),
was an enthusiastic (if Tom Waits-esque) singer who wrote
some inspired lyrics such as:
"When You dig out my grave make
it long make it deep, put a bottle of whisky at my head
and my feet, ring out the bells, release jamesons, grouse
and drown me in sheep dip when you lay me down."
which had the reviewer in stitches on several
occasions. A worthy popular choice.
Overall, the night was entertaining, although
the standard of both songs and performances tended to sway
like a drunk at a ceilidh! The nuggets though, when they
came, made the evening a worthwhile showcase of the talent
on offer on the local songwriting circuit, and the event
was a tribute to the organisation of P. Bort and Edinburgh
Folk Club.
<< Back to REVIEWS
page
|
