John Tams – An Introduction to John Tams
Topic Records – 27 April 2018
John Tams’ career covers six decades in just about every performance medium including the stage, television and film. During this time he has received seven BBC Folk Awards and contributed to over sixty albums – his discography reads like a Who’s Who of the British folk music scene. This Topic release includes material from four of these albums, Unity (issued in 2000 and, astonishingly perhaps, his first solo album), Home, and The Reckoning, all released on the Topic label, and one issued on Feldg’ling Records, Alright Jack with Tams fronting Home Service. There are 13 tracks in all, all of which feature Tams’ powerful vocals with a rich collection of other musicians giving a powerful, ‘folk-rock’ sound to be savoured.
The collection opens with two tracks from the Home Service album Alright Jack including the title track. Tams has never been afraid of writing lyrics that address social issues and Alright Jack is no exception, pointing the finger at those who act only in their own best interests whilst Unity (Raise Your Banners High) – part of the production ‘Six Men Of Dorset’, a play about the unionisation of Dorset farm workers in 1834 and written in 1934, for which Tams was the musical director – builds on the theme of unity as strength. Tams was delighted that it was sung on the picket lines during the Miners’ Strike saying that, “it was about as big a tribute as could be paid to anybody, to be so incorporated – that was enough for me.”
Clearly, the miners’ strike was an inspiration for Harry Stone (Hearts Of Coal), also from the album Unity, a tale of a miner and his family and their engagement with the strike and the pit closures that followed it. Here again, Tams tells their story with simple, straightforward lyrics given added ‘atmosphere’ by the involvement of members of the Lindale Silver Band in the recording. He returns to the 1984 miners strike with A Man Of Constant Sorrow. It opens with the lyrics that are so familiar from the traditional song collected in Kentucky (coincidentally(?) a part of the USA famous for its coal mining) but soon evolves into another take at the impact of the strike on the communities that were hardest hit by its aftermath. Tams’ version has a mournfulness about it which captures the moment, reinforced by Steve Dawson’s elegant flugelhorn playing.
All the songs on this collection are credited to John Tams which demonstrates his extraordinary abilities as a songwriter and musical arranger, being able to write memorable songs about a wide variety of themes, all with strong and varied melody lines. There are, of course, no songs directly associated with the two pieces of work for which has become outside the folk music world, namely the Sharpe television series and the wonderful War Horse which has been such an international success (read the interview with John in which he talks about the songs from that production which were released as ‘A Garland for Joey’ on Fledg’ling). There is one track here however which relates to Rifleman Sharpe and his exploits – Spanish Bride– which opens with snatches from Over the hills and far away and blends deftly into words from Spanish Ladies. He performs a similar rearrangement of a traditional theme with his version of the carol Bitter Withy. Here the melody is some way different from the more well-known version but his simple and more mournful treatment is perhaps more suited to the theme of the song itself.
Whilst this sampler can be but a snapshot of John Tams work over the years and can only hint at his polymathic talents, it is a timely reminder of what a powerful songwriter he is and what a significant contribution he has made over the years to the world of folk song in general and folk-rock in particular.
Out now via Topic Records. Order it here.