Search - Nightingales :: In the Good Old Country Way

Mojo UK Review-Keith Astbury December 05

Mr. Jw Kertland | Shrewsbury UK | 01/19/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"IN THE GOOD OLD COUNTRY WAY - The Nightingales (Caroline True Records)







Whilst `In The Good Old Country Way' is normally a phrase sure to inspire terror in music lovers everywhere, it's also the title of a Nightingales album from 1986 that has just been re-issued on cd. And what an album - there might be some country influences here with (there's certainly lots of fiddles going crazy!), but this is ultimately the sound of one of Britain's best 80's bands coming up with some of their strongest material whilst trying out a slightly different sound. Robert Lloyd is obviously a man of wide tastes - the Nightingales can flit from Glam Rock to Beefheart in the blink of an eye - and unlike the rest of us he obviously has a genuine love of country music (indeed the first single that the reformed Nightingales released last year was Black Country Song). Ultimately, however, no matter what the influence, they always sound like the Nightingales, and you can be assured that a wordsmith as bonkers as Lloyd isn't going to tell us to `stand by our man' - even the most country-ish song here is called I Spit On Your Gravy. This isn't an album filled with weepy tales about dead dogs, and truckers who left their loved one for their cousin; it's Pigs On Purpose with violins!







Fans of that album - itself re-issued on cd last year - will find a lot to love here. Down In The Dumps brings to mind the ramshackle speedy feel of Paraffin Brain, whilst Leave It Out is a much more subdued affair with violins weaving their way around Lloyd's heartfelt vocals. And then there's Coincidence which - bizarrely! - reminds me of progrock monsters Gentle Giant, Comfort & Joy, a repetitious, almost hypnotic track that slowly beckons you in, and the excellent Part time Moral England, which - with its `We love T.Rex' line - is sure to appeal to the Bolan fan in me.







The centrepiece of the album though is How To Age, an extraordinarily great riff-laden track that lasts some six and a half minutes, and features Lloyd extolling his words of wisdom before indulging in a spot of screeching that wouldn't sound amiss on an old rockabilly record. It's worth the admission for this track alone!







The cd also includes lots of bonus tracks - notably the It's A Cracker and What A Carry On singles and a live Crafty Fag. The sleevenotes are worth a read as well as they include the NME's rave review from '86 which ends with "Trade your Pigs On Purpose and Hysterics for this". Whilst I wouldn't trade my copy of Pigs on Purpose for anything, I know what they were trying to say.



In a nutshell...







Buy...











*****



Keith Astbury

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