This song will be played on Women of Substance Radio, as shown on the image below, from May 15th to the 19th
I submitted it to the station when songs about Mothers were being asked for
The bird I was talking to was in the trees alongside THE PEOPLES PALACE in GLASGOW GREEN as I was walking to work in the East End of the City The phrase, hello singing bird, is one I repeat frequently to other birds singing in other places at other times - usually early in the morning
Not sure what an 'emerging' artist should feel like but for now I can exaggerate and say it reminds me of stepping out of a warm sea onto a warm beach and being wrapped up in a warm towel by a warm lover And if I refrain from exaggerating I can say that it feels good - almost as good as the 'stranger' experience For anyone who has not heard of this before it refers to the pleasure of discovering that a total stranger has come across one of my tracks - has liked what they heard and has then told me so I can also admit to getting a bump from seeing Where the Pebbles Grind and Scrape under the heading Bumper Music It is all a bit much to accommodate on an otherwise ordinary day in Glasgow Also, how I came to be getting aired on this station was not engineered, as far as I know, by me
The description which follows was taken from their site at http://www.coasttocoastam.com Coast to Coast AM airs on more than 600 stations in the U.S., as well as Canada, Mexico and Guam, and is heard
by nearly three million weekly listeners. With hosts George Noory, George Knapp (weekend), and guest weekend hosts, it is
the most listened to overnight radio program in North America. PS The song is the second track on the album MORE LIKE A RIVER THAN A ROAD and it can heard on Bandcamp at https://sheilakcameron.bandcamp.com/album/more-like-a-river-than-a-road
The sixth re-issue of the series gathers together a selection of very different tracks They will complete for now the task of presenting something of the range of material which has been produced during a lengthy involvement with the preoccupation of song writing
With a few
exceptions they also represent what can happen when the help of others is
sought for the purpose of enhancing some relatively sparse acoustic recordings
They do have in common the lyrics which are all by the same writer
Some of the
tracks were initially included in much earlier attempts to get the songs heard
and there was some uncertainty about including them in this selection The
deciding factor was simple It was felt that they were worthy of a hearing and
they would be more likely to get one, if given a second chance, on this later
and more professionally produced album.
The musicians who contributed to the album, including those who mixed mastered or
arranged the tracks, were Geoff Allan, Jennifer Clark, Miles Jackson, Brian McNeill, Mags Russel, John
V Saich, Fraser Spiers and Brian Young
An old Bunny review recently discovered and a new one only discovered when trying to relocate the old one
Blues Bunny, for anyone who knows nothing or not much about them can be found at the following link And for anyone who would like to know more about the music being made and played in Glasgow and thereabouts this is the site to visit
Title: More Like A River Than A
Road Catalogue Number: Glalell Records Review Format: Compact Disc Release Year: 2016
Perhaps it is a sign of
the times but I don’t often get to describe any musician as individual or, for
that matter, unique. Sheila K Cameron can, however, only be described by using
those two adjectives with “More Like A River Than A Road” reflecting seven
songs from a copious catalogue of songs on to the mirror of today.
Sheila K Cameron is not
one to follow trends or seek critical favour and her songs, perhaps
unsurprisingly, tend more towards the poetic than the lyrical. She also has
this rather addictive habit of stopping her songs before the finish as if
leaving the listener in limbo gives her some perverse joy. Some may well find
that irritating but, as with all things that require concentration to achieve
appreciation, her alternative approach ultimately proves entrancing.
It is, for example,
impossible for your heart to argue with the perfectly poised sentimentality
that warms “The House with the Windows” or, indeed, the poetic construction of
“Somehow” as, at the very least, they provide evidence that you can intermix
language and emotion without becoming maudlin or confused as to actual intent.
Sheila K Cameron is
unique and that, my friends, is all you really need to know.
Title: Run Through Side A Catalogue Number: Glalell SKC1705CD Review Format: Compact Disc Release Year: 2017
Like most things
regarding Sheila K Cameron, this CD just sort of appeared as if blown in
through the door by the random breeze that is the Post Office these days. No
announcement of intent, no marketing blurb, no hint of purpose. Just a CD
called “Run Through Side A” and a piece of paper that managed to generate
obscurity through honesty.
So what is on the actual
CD? Sheila K Cameron is a true character and she always seems determined to
both avoid any accusation of seeking adoration and to weave the spell that only
those with the soul of a poet can. Therefore these songs, all performed
acoustically with the very minimum of musical backing, are lyrical obscurities
in themselves with even my familiarity with her catalogue of curiosities
confused by the rambling stream of consciousness that transcends the
conventionalities that would be expected by even educated to the point of
pretension audiences.
Purpose? Who knows?
Nonetheless, Sheila K Cameron remains someone that even the battle hardened
would want to hear.
Love is a very
strange beast, we think back with fondness at those that have taken us for
granted, we adore the rose tinted glasses we wear when we think of those that
have let us down and we despair at the thought of those that we have left in
search perhaps of a greener field or those that left because they could not
bear us; modern love is all the rage butPast Lovesare the ghosts
that spur us on and define our actions in the present.
Past Lovesare important, it matters not how long they were in vogue, how much time
was spent, they all add to the story of the individual and in some cases can
make that person sparkle with energy and triumph, knowing deep in their heart
they have done something at least once that made that old lover smile. It is a
sentiment carried with great passion by Sheila K. Cameron in her albumPast Loves.
In what is
described as a one off performance, Ms. Cameron takes on songs that she has
sang with great affection over the years and now, with a timbre in her voice
and a resonating smile at her disposal, she takes the memory of love down a
path, one that shines a light through the canopy of trees, past the bird song
and asks it to rest a while with the image of a corn stalk spritely hanging in
the corner of a meadow and the love daring to be kissed.
The tracks also
have the edge of bending the appreciation of the words, the use of gender
within them, the sense of the woman speaking perhaps not to a lover but to her
sex, the call of women all over the world who have been let down by a single
person and still for some reason carry a torch that shines brightly in the fog
and darkness for them. Like a lighthouse hugging the dangerous rocks of a
Cornish cove and coast line, it suggests that the skipper of the previous
relationship can still see the call of safety, but woe betide taking advantage
for the rocks can also, like a woman scorned, kill with a single look.
In tracks such
asGolden Slumbers,
Oh The Summertime Is Coming, Every Night When The Sun Goes In, But Black Is The
ColourandDrink To Me Only, Ms. Cameron takes on the world, she gives her love in the spirit of
the song and sends it into the world knowing, that like a giving and sensual
lover, it will always be remembered fondly and with passion.
In the previous post are comments about my response to Ian Hall's review of RUN THROUGH SIDE A And what I wrote then is similar to what I thought and felt when I read Ian's review of PAST LOVES, another recent re-issue
Both of these albums are small and were intended mainly to contribute to what I thought I was doing i.e tidying up all the material I had lying around and getting it out there more professionally presented and attired than I had managed with my earlier attempts They were also meant to illustrate something of the range of the material I had produced That task is ongoing and the possible sixth re-issue is in the making But only when it is complete along with a selection of spoken word tracks will I consider I have got anywhere near to that original intention But, as the plan was unfolding along came this guy who did exactly what I had needed For some reason which may be a defensive one - although it does not feel like that(and I have said this many times now) I can be delighted, relieved and overall artistically satisfied to receive positive comments about my work from a total stranger Some words entitled A ROUND OF CLAPPIES comes close to explaining my attitude to this whole pre-occupation of song writing Perhaps I will post them sometime soon Now Ian was a desirable stranger when I first read his comments about RUN THROUGH Now however he is not so strange! And what is stranger and contradicts what I have just said - I am responding to his second review with as much delight as I did for the first one Impressed then by the way he writes - and doubly impressed of course that he has written so beautifully about my recordings - I have overcome my previous reticence and will post his review in full And rather than do so along with these comments it will be given its own place in the next post
The Ian
is Ian D Hall and he has written a splendid review of RUN THROUGH SIDE A and it is so special I am
choosing not to copy and paste it here It is too good for me Have you ever had that rare feeling? Well I've got it now
Of all
that might have been said about this small album Ian has revealed his truly
poetic nature and commented in ways that take me beyond the known me to a
different me For now I intend to hang on to it and try not to do anything to
scare it away
The
review could have only been written by a poet and in a previous post, on this
site, in response to Ian's review of MORE LIKE A RIVER I had said
'Fulfilling
the oft mentioned desire to discover that some of my songs had been heard and
liked by a complete stranger - along
came Ian D Hall - and this is surely the best liking I could have hoped for!'
Below is
his photograph and below that is a link to a review for Ian Hall's recently
published book Black Book: An Anthology, 2003-2015
Here are some comments from the News from Nowhere: Liverpool's Radical and Community Bookshop
An anthology of work
collected from the writing and performances of poetry by Ian D. Hall
Liverpool has always nurtured distinctive voices in its poetry, music and art. In this collection, Ian Hall - poet, performer, reviewer of film, theatre and music, founder of 'Liverpool Sound and Vision', graduate of English, and all-round local legend - sounds his voice with distinction, joining it to the city's resounding chorus of talents. Black Book moves us from the Armitage-like wit of 'One Day in Crewe' to the dark protest of 'Who's to Blame'; from Crosby beach in 'The Seagull' versus the Iron Men' to the American, Bourbon-scented whirl of 'Kerouac Dreams'. The versatility and range of these poems will take you and shake you, shifting from sonnet to free verse and back again, and from the poet's profound love for a Morris Minor to the deep myths of Eve and the Devil, Echo and Narcissus. To borrow a telling line, each poem is a 'sculpture of passionate sentiment: delicate yet enduring, often poignant yet also ruggedly tough.'
"Read on. Enjoy. May the music of this poetry fill you, every note." (Dr Michael Davies, University of Liverpool)
"Ian puts all the write words in the right places to produce profound poems." (John Gorman)
"Words build emotional bridges and skyscrapers. Poet Ian D. Hall uses the tools of his trade to convey past and future experiences. He has a solid foundation of work to build upon. A distinctive, sensitive voice using light, shade and colour to maximum effect." (Peter Grant)
The hoot was on hearing the backing for a new track entitled
ITS THAT TIME OF MY LIFE - AGAIN At the time I thought it was a hoot but no
longer know why I thought that
It may soon get an airing on Bandcamp or somewhere else
The codswallop was on reading a review of the re-issues of
PAST LOVES and RUN THROUGH SIDE
A This was by someone who had omitted to read the text on the digi sleeves and
was also making inaccurate assumptions about why I had even considered
re-issuing these particularly small albums
Believe me, had he just said they were rubbish and he did
not like them I might have wept but it would have been for a few brief moments
and I might have had something more interesting to say in this post
Now I can admit to having wondered myself for a while about their
release But there were reasons - the main one being the intention to present
something of the range of my recordings
And these two examples were meant to make a contribution
It may well have been misguided but, as I discovered on
reading the reviews of the book BALANCING THE REQUEST TO BE GOOD they often
tell you more about the reviewer than the book And on reading this guy's review
(and believe me I think only a man could have written it) the word which best
suited the occasion was codswallop
I do not as yet have an image to go with this text but hope
one will make an appearance soon
The words below the image were written on the morning of March 31st 2017 They came from seeing the photograph of 'Wendy Bread' aka Wendy Riley who ran the cafe and bakery on Haida Gwaii know as Moon Over Naikoon In a while i expect to record them and add them to a selection of other spoken word tracks which belong with my long ago and more recent days on the islands
Following on fast from PAST LOVES comes a spruced up RUN THROUGH SIDE A with the subtitle 'another one -off ' And rather than implicating strangers in my decision to re-issue this particular selection the culprits on this occasion are good friends And this is in spite of having tried very hard never to be swayed by their opinion But for this album, an almost thirty minute run through of eighteen unrehearsed tracks, those long adhered to restraints have been discarded and as a consequence it has become the fifth re-issue in the series Also, along with it, has come the discovery that the most enjoyable aspect of preparing the re-issued tracks for release may be the designing of their new attire
For me yesterday, and after days of messing about with the images, it was a delight to see the graphics completed and ready for the printer It felt like the equivalent of standing back as a child to admire a carefully made and well decorated sandcastle And for the album, rather than shells, stones and bits of grass, i had needed images Those which were used for this album are from the same source as for previous versions of RUN THROUGH - a painting entitled THE FALL BY THE DUCK POND But, as I think will be evident when it has been released (and the image above is only part of the 'picture') there are distinct differences The album is now available to be pre-ordered from Bandcamp at https://sheilakcameron.bandcamp.com/album/run-through-side-a-2 The image below is a copy of the therapeutically influenced back cover of the digi sleeve in which the CD will reside
In many ways the songs on PAST LOVES are no more than
remembered remnants from a past life And, with GO AWAY FROM MY WINDOW, it is
difficult to know if I ever knew more than the two verses I sing on the album
However, in preparing the track for release it became
necessary to locate the composers of the songs and that task brought me to the
door of John Jacob Niles
I suspect he is very well known to folk singers throughout
the world But as I have never really been one I knew nothing about him until
now Of course I wish I had known about him sooner and I would very much have liked to know the complete lyric
GO AWAY FROM MY WINDOW has been recorded by many others but
I would recommend the very real performance of this superb song by the man who
wrote it
There's not much to say about my own bit performance but I
will feel better about it if it becomes in any way responsible for introducing
others to JOHN JACOB NILES
Below the image is more information about him and the song It was taken from Wikipedia
Composer, collector, and balladeer John Jacob Niles, was
born in Louisville, KentuckyApril 28, 1892.
Niles
came from a musical family. His great-grandfather was a composer, organist, and
cello manufacturer; his mother, Lula Sarah Niles, taught him music theory. In
1904, Niles's family moved to a
farm in rural JeffersonCounty
where John Jacob began collecting folk music. By 1907, Niles composed his first
song, "Go 'Way from My Window," based on a line of song collected
from an African American farm worker.
Concerning "Go 'Way From My Window," John Jacob
Niles wrote:
"In 1908 my father had in his employ a Negro
ditch-digger known as Objerall Jacket. As he dug, he sang, "Go way from my
window, go way from my door" -- just those words, over and over again, on
two notes. Working beside Jacket all day (I was sixteen at the time), I decided
that something had to be done. The results were a four-verse song dedicated to
a blue-eyes, blond girl, who didn't think much of my efforts. The song lay
fallow from 1908 to 1929, when I arranged it and transposed to a higher key.
"Go 'way from My Window" was first sung successfully in Berlin,
Germany, in 1930. It has
gone a long way since. The lyrics for the song are on the next post and the link is http://sosaidthesap.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/jjniles-lyrics-for-go-way.html
The fourth album in the series of re-issues is PAST LOVES It will be re-appearing in a newly designed digi sleeve
The encouragement to make this the fourth in the series came again from a preferred source - unsolicited comments from strangers
It will be available as usual on BANDCAMP but this selection and the previous three re-issues will soon also be accessible on itunes and Amazon The official release date will be March 7th 2017 but it is now available to be pre-ordered at https://sheilakcameron.bandcamp.com/album/past-loves-2
Yesterday, late in the day, I added IN PRAISE OF LOVE to the words I had posted for St Valentine's Day They have all now gone back into hiding The 24 second spoken word recording on BANDCAMP has also been removed and will hopefully re-emerge another time The image is being allowed to stay
There is a - what will I call it - can't find the word - review on www.folking.com I was made aware of its existence this morning and after an unsettling read I have been wandering around, no wondering aloud - again - if it has anything to do with me! But it has and I feel very honoured to have someone write such positive things about what I do It can be found at http://folking.com/sheila-k-cameron-alone-on-the-road-glalell-skc1703cd/ The comments in the review also fully recognize how much the tracks are indebted to GEOFF ALLAN, master sound engineer, BRIAN MCNEILL who contributed in many ways to the tracks - including the chorus of the song Alone on the Road, FRASER SPIERS the incomparable player of the blues harp and BRIAN YOUNG, owner extraordinaire of the CAVA SOUND STUDIOS GLASGOW who has patiently dealt with my often idiosyncratic requests with good grace and much expertise for several years now
The title of this post is taken from the last paragraph of the review and I am smiling somewhat awkwardly as I reproduce it 'Sheila K Cameron is a unique artist whose work deserves a wider audience. Her songs cry out to be heard and will no doubt be reinterpreted by singers of the future. This album is a little treasure trove for lovers of the quirky, the downbeat, the blues'. Su O’Brien
There have been several different versions and mixes of the song BENEATH THE APPLE TREE and the latest one has acquired the differentiating title used in this post It is unlikely to stick but for now it suits present purposes Also, putting it out today is another example of my 'jumping the gun' The longer term plan is to include it in a selection of the songs which were not included in the three re-issues completed so far However, this new mix is fresh from the mastering magician and the tendency to get a newly completed track out there is not being resisted And there is another reason Since I rediscovered this version several weeks ago it has refused to leave me alone and this might rescue me from it The link to the song on Bandcamp is https://sheilakcameron.bandcamp.com/track/beneath-the-apple-tree-2 and it will be free there for a while
Vaguely resembling the writer and the singer of the song
The image is a mock up which has been contrived from a painting called THE BARE TREE And, in the original painting, the tree is bare This image has been used and altered numerous times for other purposes A print taken from the original is featured on the home page of the GLALELL site at www.glalell.com The apple was added to this version of the image long ago There have been times when it did not merit a place but whenever it has made an appearance it has always been cherished - for as long as it has stayed around
AMAZING! It was either in search of an image to use on BANDCAMP alongside Joan Ure's song EVERY TIME NOW* - or it was a search involving the words Dangerous Women (more about this another time) that I came across the following link
It will take you to a page entitled THE DANGEROUS WOMEN PROJECT The image below is also from that site
I have read only two articles about Joan Ure's work: this one and Jan McDonald's entitled ‘Is it not possible to have a Poem made out
of Theatre?’ An assessment of the dramas and dramaturgy of Joan Ure This can be
accessed using the link below
For anyone who would like to know more about Joan Ure's work I would recommend both * A rough acoustic only version of the song Everytime Now can be heard on Bandcamp at https://sheilakcameron.bandcamp.com/track/every-time-now
SHEILA K CAMERON with ALLAN, MCNEILL, SPEIRS and YOUNG
The enigmatic Sheila K Cameron has her mojo in full flow for Alone On The Road, which is the third in a series of reissues of her work. The 16 tracks which make up the album have been given more than a boost by Geoff Allan, Brian McNeill, Fraser Spiers and Brian Young.
Sheila K Cameron
Cameron's Cohenesque style of singing comes straight out of the speakers over the top of Spiers' blues harp which sets the tone for what is a real thumper of an album.
There's An Old Sadness in Me is a wonderfully ponderous 12-bar song on which Cameron keeps a tight rein and allows the gobiron of Spiers to have the last word.
This gives way to I Looked Alright This Morning which has a retro feel about it, with the production sounding similar to the rawness of the early days of blues recordings.
The song has more of a travelling cadence with a deep rumbling and almost menacing beat underneath her words which is once again accented by the blues harp. It's a song which almost defies you not to get into stomp mode.
The single strumming of the guitar accompanies Cameron as she sounds like she is standing too near the mic in a small and cramped studio to record Baby How Long.
Cameron's dour and understated way of singing adds a depth of character in the same way someone such as Bessie Smith did.
I'll Play You Sweetly is a great song where Cameron and co pick up the beat and it's one of those where you just can't sit still until she puts the handbrake on in the middle. Her call and refrain with the dancing sound of the harmonica is just a sheer delight to hear.
When The Sun Rose This Morning goes back to the most recognisable strain of the blues with the slow wave of the music and the repetition of the lines. Cameron's voice manages to sound both world weary and menacing at the same time.
It cannot be overstated how much the superb blues harp underneath so many of the tracks add such colour and character to her songs.
She Put My Baby In The Draw is one of those blues songs which is bordering on the nonsense rhyme, where the story is just a simple tale and never intended to be taken seriously. Cameron uses a stripped-back version with just the simple strumming of the guitar to accompany her repetitive verses.
Stay With It Baby runs more like a poem and, once again, that world weary sound Cameron does so well seems to be almost reluctant to move along to the sound of the harmonica.
Fraser Speirs. Pic Glasgow Herald
Like the previous track, When I Say You Owe Me Nothing is from poet Joan Ure, which was the pen name of Elizabeth Thoms Clark.
Cameron puts some real grit into the song and the way she crams the words to fit in with the rhythm moves close towards rap. It's the type of song which you could easily see Seasick Steve hammering out on his three-string guitar.
Things lighten up slightly for Bluebird Outside My Window which has more of a New Orleans' club feel to it. You can easily imagine a band passing under the balconies through the streets of The Big Easy.
I Don't Believe You Care brings back the world weary sounding Cameron with the blues beat once again lit up with the occasional incidental from the bone playing.
There is a softer and sadder tone to Cameron for Goodbye Baby Blues where she moves into speech and sounds more like a beat poet of the fifties than a blues singer.
Fortunately the blues harp brings her back into the mojo where she adopts an almost lazy and reluctant style of singing.
Motherless has more of an ethnic beat to it and feels like it wouldn't be out of place in Buffy Saint Marie's repertoire. The echoed blues harp underneath gives it the character of a film noir soundtrack. This gives way to the slightly out of sync Mr Moon: I'm Working Against Time which comes across as more of a doo wop than anything.
It's probably the most luxurious track on the album and Cameron gives it the feel of a torch song. This carries on with You Don't Know My Mind, where you can almost see Cameron behind a big lozenge-style microphone in a smoky night club where the customers are hidden in the half shade of small table lights. The slightly lazy sound of the blues harp is almost hypnotic behind her voice which has shades of the legend Billie Holiday.
Sounding more contemporary and carrying the electric sound of the Chicago blues makes When I Was Bad Girl stand out from the other tracks.
The third of the reissues
The combination of the faster pace, the electric guitar and driving percussion makes it feel like is has moved over into rock 'n' roll.
The final and title track keeps that more modern feel which tones down the blues elements.
You can still feel the 12-bar beat but the use of electronics muddies the waters so you are never such which camp the song is supposed to be in.
Cameron has been hidden away for too long and albums such as this one where she puts her own stamp on the blues style deserve to be listened to by a wider audience.
Anyone who has even a passing interest in the genre should listen to it and if you can keep your feet, hands and head still all the way through the album then your probably don't like the blues anyway.
Alone On The Road is available now online and through bandcamp
This is Danny And I have never met him He may have not heard the track that fell off the road but he has obviously listened to all of them on ALONE ON THE ROAD That in itself is an honour and a delight But more than that - he then piles in with comments that had me wondering if they were anything to do with me
I intend to contact him and ask if he agrees to being on the SAP blog - I can appreciate that not everyone would like to be associated with such a title But I am assuming he will not object and in the meantime, as I wait for his response, here is a link to his blog http://folkall.blogspot.co.uk/
Danny also uses the following image on his site
His detailed comments about the album can be found on the next post entitled Never Had a Mojo
A hint of what you'll find there can be found in the paragraph below
'The enigmatic Sheila K Cameron has her mojo in full flow for Alone On The Road, which is the third in a series of reissues of her work. The 16 tracks which make up the album have been given more than a boost by Geoff Allan, Brian McNeill, Fraser Spiers and Brian Young'
