On Alasdair Roberts' 2005 album No Earthly Man, there is a stunning version of Lord Ronald, a chilling song is of a weary man close to death from poisoning. It is both dramatic and strange, old yet unquestionably of the now.
On Traiveller's Joy by a fellow Scot, Emily Smith, the same song is all but unrecognisable and not only because Ronald has become Donald. Smith has a clear, resonate voice but her version is clean, polished and entirely soulless. The essence of the song is diluted in a way that strips it of its character and depth.
It is just one of a number of traditional songs that have been sanitised for a mainstream, easy listening audience. Any doubt that this is the case are dispelled by the inclusion of a glossary of Scots terms in the sleeve notes. Some words may be less familiar but surely even those with a rudimentary knowledge of Scots would know that Lass means girl/woman and bonny means beautiful/pretty. If, however, this information is new to you then Traiveller's Joy could just be the folk album you've been waiting for.
Child Ballads The Gypsy Laddie and The Elfin Knight are given the same glossy treatment, renamed as Gypsy Davey and Sweet Lover of Mine respectively. On these, Alun Doherty plays some irritatingly jaunty flute beside Smith's pure yet passionless vocals.
Two more recent songs are the title track, a tale of unrequited love written in the 1950s by Scottish poet Helen Fullerton and a bland cover of Richard Thompson's Waltzing For Dreamers. Both have a tripping cheeriness quite at odds with the sad subject matter.
|
The album also has four of Smith's own compositions written mainly while touring in Australia and New Zealand (with the exception of Butterfly which was written in Canada). These maintain the record's broad theme of travelling; none of them are sung in Scots and traditional instruments are used sparingly. The best of these is the graceful and melodic Still We Dance On.
Smith's previous album with husband Jamie Mclellan ('Adoon Winding Nith) was an anthology of songs inspired by the poetry of Robbie Burns and I have no doubt that she and her band have a deep respect for Celtic traditions. But this fact does little to improve a collection where the prettified makeovers of the traditional songs have the same insipid feel as the more contemporary tunes.
Emily Smith's Website
|
