Mighty river of song by The Watersons
by Ian Simmons
[ cdreviews ]
Rarely has a collection been so aptly named. This sumptuous boxed-set documents the torrent of marvellous music that has flowed forth from the Waterson family for over 40 years now, and mighty it is indeed, with four discs and a DVD containing a fascinating 1965 documentary catching the group in their early prime. While often compared to that other folk-singing family, Sussex's venerable Copper Family, they are a very different creature. Whereas the Coppers are steeped in tradition through family history and have remained quintessentially traditional in approach throughout, the Watersons came to Folk anew via skiffle in the late Fifties and virtually invented their own tradition. They have also ranged wider then the Coppers: the current generation's leading representative, Eliza Carthy, ventures into rock and New Age-inclined stylings; and her mother does not shirk from covering Grateful Dead songs.
Coming out of Hull, Lal, Norma and Mike Waterson reinvented English folk music. Their songs are largely traditional, many collected from Yorkshire by the band because of the lack of a recorded local folk tradition. Though their execution may sound traditional, it is, in practice, far from it. While contemporaries such as The Young Tradition stuck to rigid harmony parts, The Watersons did not; the apparent harmonies in their songs are generated by the rich interplay of a group of voices in intuitive sympathy with each other. The Watersons's activity has been erratic, but at the times when they have been performing and recording regularly, their commanding presence on the folk scene has inspired and driven a vast number of other musicians to create much of today's British folk music. Without the Watersons and their close friend Anne Briggs, our musical heritage would appear very different. The breadth of music - ranging from deeply traditional pieces, such as the many wassailing songs, to music hall comedy and anti-Thatcher political polemic and on to spirituals and modern folk rock - is breathtaking. The sheer variety of combinations in which they have recorded is amazing too; solo, in various combinations, with spin-off groups like The Waterdaughters and Blue Murder, picking up Martin Carthy when he married Norma and so on. This band cum family are a musical tradition in their own right, and - as is made clear by the enclosed booklet - have remained pleasant and unaffected throughout. Long may the dynasty continue!
