Offa Rex is The Decemberists joining forces with English folk singer, songwriter and musician Olivia Chaney. If you recall I’m a real Decemberists fanboy, obsessive some might say. Head Decemberist Colin Meloy is a big fan of traditional folk music, particularly the British folk singers of the late 50’s and early 60’s, the likes of Shirley Collins and the Ian Campbell folk groups. 

“The Queen Of Hearts” is a mixture of arrangements of traditional folk songs (the title track, “Blackleg Miner”, “Flash Company”, “Willie O' Winsbury” and others) alongside more modern folk songs by Ewan MacColl (the wonderful “The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face”), Steeleye Span (“Sheepcrook And Black Dog”) and Lal & Mike Waterson (“To Make You Stay”). It’s a folk album, OK, if you have trouble with that then you may want to avoid this, or you could read/listen on and have your mind changed ? As we have discussed before “folk music” covers a multitude of styles, it is music of the folk, music that the folk perform, I’ve even heard an argument that Punk Rock could be considered folk music.

This record was released in 2017. The Decemberists were quite the name in Indie-Rock circles by then having just finished the world tour for their 7th album “What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World”. Olivia Chaney had released her debut album, “The Longest River”, in 2015 (it received rave reviews not just in the folk world but from the rock press too). Colin Meloy, as a fan, had started a conversation with Chaney on Twitter that eventually led to support dates on a Decemberists tour and finally spawned the question “Have you ever thought of having a backing group? We’ll be your Albion Dance Band”.

It’s not all mandolins, fiddles and finger in the ear earnestness, it is The Decemberists after all so there’s definitely a twinkle in the eye of the performances and some of these songs have strident political messages, it is music of the folk remember. Olivia Chaney is quite the singer which becomes very obvious on opening song “The Queen Of Hearts”. She’s obviously steeped in traditional British Folk music, with echoes of Sandy Denny and Shirley Collins, but this is a confident and soaring voice not a folk tribute act. Colin Meloy has that cheeky lilt in his voice as he sings “Blackleg Miner” which is quite the thing considering he’s singing a song advocating violence against strikebreakers ! To also hear an American sing in a Northumberland dialect is quite amusing, he really isn’t confident on the line “So divvent gan near the Seghill mine” (the song originates from the miners lockout in Seghill, Northumberland in 1844, a lockout which was broken by scab labour. It was revived during the 1980’s Miners Strike).

That’s one of the last times we hear Mr Meloy’s voice on the album. He does return briefly later (backing vocals on “Bonnie May” and something else we’ll get to) but honestly did intend for The Decemberists to be Olivia Chaney’s backing group. Their version of “Flash Company” really does channel their inner Fairport, both via Chaney’s voice and Chris Funk’s guitar work. “Constant Billy/ I'll Go Enlist” is 2 minutes of wild Hootenany-tastic, Accordian driven traditional dance music arranged by Jenny Conlee. 

Where the sound of The Decemberists makes it self most obvious is on the final 2 songs “Sheepcrook And Black Dog” and “To Make You Stay”. The two segue into each other led off by a Proggy guitar riff by Chris Funk (Prog-Folk anyone ?) reminiscent of earlier Decemberists songs like “The Island…” (https://www.whiterabbitrecords.co.uk/blog/read_203773/2023-albums-thing-098-the-decemberists-the-crane-wife.html). Olivia Chaney takes the lead on “Sheepcrook…”, Colin Meloy takes over on “To Make You Stay” which could very easily have been lifted from a Decemberists record. The two songs together set Folk music in a very contemporary frame.

I bloody love The Decemberists, there’s something about Colin Meloy’s voice and singing style that I find endlessly fascinating. I’m sure this was a labour of love for him (fortunately, unlike a certain Brummie “Reggae” group, he hasn’t been tempted to make Vol.2 or 3 or…) and the love of this music shines through on this album. There was folk music of this type around the house when we were kids, my Dad had a connection with the folk musicians of Birmingham as a young man via his politics and at one time worked with and befriended The Dubliners Luke Kelly (we have the pictures to prove it) so this album rings a bell for me. Britain (sorry I really mean England as Scotland, Ireland and Wales have no such difficulty) does have a problem with its own Folk Music, how many of you would run screaming from a Morris Team or an Arran jumpered “finger in the ear” singer in a pub ? I’ve seen it suggested that Colin Meloy and The Decemberists were trying with this album to make British Folk music cool…I’d suggest, if you know anything about the band, that they couldn’t believe that it wasn’t cool anyway.

Sheepcrook And Black Dog - https://youtu.be/XRRyIfC1Hvc?si=SRf_SDAvs0iAZNXE

I had one of those six degrees of separation connections to Sinead O’Connor. My friend and ace Irish singer-songwriter Damien Dempsey is managed, produced and drummed for by John Reynolds who was at one time married to Sinead. That’s not even six degrees, it’s two, right ?

Not only was Sinead a singer of great beauty, power and skill, alongside being a great songwriter she was the kind of righteous, committed, fierce Woman this world of ours needs many, many more of. I’m always in awe of her appearance at the Bob Dylan Tribute Concert shortly after she had torn up a picture of the Pope on US TV. The audience was boo-ing her continuously, she stood strong for a full 2 minutes and stared them down. Kris Kristofferson walked out, put his arm around her and whispered “Don’t let the bastards get you down”, still she stood and stared down a braying mob. Her band tried to start playing and she stopped them…twice. Suddenly she launched into an unaccompanied recitation of the lyrics from Bob Marley’s “War” (based on the speech by Emperor Haile Selassie to the United Nations in 1963) spitting the words at the audience who were quieted by the force of her alone “Until the philosophy which holds one race, Superior and another inferior, Is finally, And permanently, Discredited, And abandoned, Everywhere is war, Me say war”. 

This, her second album,  is full of great great songs, particularly "The Emperor's New Clothes", "I Am Stretched On Your Grave", "The Last Day Of Our Acquaintance" and of course her incredible reading of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U”. I was doing a DJ gig outside at a local pub the weekend after she tragically passed away and, not expecting any reaction, I played this as my last record of the night, more for me than anything. Almost the entire pub emptied out into the garden and sang along, it was a beautiful thing. 

The world needs more Sinead O’Connor’s and if there is peace to be found after this life, I hope she has found whatever it is that she needed. I try not to link to the most obvious track from an album in these posts, but…

Nothing Compares 2 U - https://youtu.be/0-EF60neguk?si=sKUyB0UXqG4w30hW

War - https://youtu.be/y4fVxcT00Sc?si=m_XZZLwaxU6Z5sRW

Laura Nyro was a singer and songwriter from New York. The 5th Dimension had hits with her songs (“Stoned Soul Picnic”) as did Blood Sweat & Tears (“And When I Die”) and Barbra Streisand (“Stoney End”). Ironically Nyro’s best selling single was a cover of Goffin and King’s “Up On The Roof”. Much of the appreciation for her has come posthumously as she succumbed to cancer is 1997.

Hers was a name I’d heard but I knew absolutely nothing about her until one of my regular customers, Nigel, asked me one day if I’d heard her song “Eli’s Comin’”. I had to admit I hadn’t. Nigel offered that as a soul fan I should have a listen. So I did, the first 40 seconds didn’t exactly endear me to it being in the main the dreaded vocal gymnastics (why sing one note when 27 will do !) but then in it bangs and suddenly we have soulful dancefloor shaker which I’ve played out when DJ’ing often and very often to a reaction of “WHAT IS THAT !”. There was actually a copy of this album in the shop at the time I first heard “Eli’s Comin’” and, as a quick search revealed, 7” copies change hands for 4 figures that album now lives at home with me.

The rest of the album is all written by Nyro. It features possibly her best known song, “Stoned Soul Picnic”, (a US #3 hit for the 5th Dimension as I mentioned earlier). It’s an album that has a lot of elements of soul about it but it’s not Soul music. There’s parallels with Joni Mitchell, I’m guessing Tori Amos is perhaps a big fan and I can’t help thinking of Steely Dan when listening to this. I don’t mean this as a criticism but this is grown up music, this ain’t something you’re going nuts over when you’re 14, I needed to be older before I even got close to understanding music like this. There’s soul and blues and jazz in here, crazy tempo changes and a lot of vocal gymnastics but I find it strangely attractive. 

Eli’s Comin’ - https://youtu.be/SaFD-s66VG8?si=kKAz3QsIy1rC2mSd