Jim Causley – Devonshire Roses
Hrōc Music – 26 February 202
With lockdowns making urbanites like me wonder whether we should be living somewhere less crowded with more green space… And home working proving it’s possible to do some desk jobs from just about anywhere, the pull of the countryside has never been so great. And relocation to Devon – with its beaches, moors and tranquil woodlands – has had serious consideration in the Shaw household…
But it’s pretty clear we’re not moving anywhere right now, for obvious reasons. So Devonshire Roses by the ever-upbeat Jim Causley is a welcome soundtrack to close your eyes and dream of cream teas, cloudy cider and Plymouth gin… (All in moderation, of course, depending on how we’re faring with the horrors of homeschooling…)
The accordionist and singer is in familiar territory having included Devon songs on his previous albums, Fruits of the Earth (2005) and Dumnonia (2011) and A Causley Christmas (2018). Dumnonia, in particular, is a collection of lesser-known Devon folk songs. This album is the flipside, as Devonshire Roses showcases better-known songs with connections to the county. And, although quite a few here are familiar to this listener, Mr Causley has unearthed some hidden gems as well as giving us unfamiliar arrangements of the more well-known tunes.
As well as his own authentic roots (and accent, laid on thick or thin depending on the requirements of the song), Jim has brought in a wealth of local musicians: North Devon fiddle duo Nick Wyke and Becki Driscoll and Matt Norman from Okehampton on banjo, mandolin and mandola. TikTok fans will welcome the sound of the South Zeal shanty crew who add rousing choruses and harmonies. Recorded well before the seafaring song craze, you can’t accuse Causley of jumping on the shanty bandwagon…
Particularly as around half of the (generous) 20 songs on the album are early 20th-century humorous music hall songs. The others are largely folk songs collected by The Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould. The Devonshire-born Anglican Priest best known for writing Onward, Christian Soldiers, as Jim points out in his sleeve notes, probably would have considered songs like What About a Little Drop o Cider, The Mallard (a nonsense tongue-twister about eating roast duck) and calypso-flavoured (yes) Fremington Great Meat Pie as ‘worthless drivel’.
And I must admit that on first listen, I was much more drawn to the more serious and haunting songs from the Baring-Gould collection. But the jolly sing-along music hall fare is so warm-hearted and charming that it’s hard work not to want to belt out the choruses… Imagine hearing these rousing sing-alongs on a cold night by a roaring fire in a packed inn on barren Dartmoor, or on a windswept seafront pub in Sidmouth. Just imagine. Sigh…
And to Jim Causley’s credit, he throws himself as much into the upbeat songs as the more traditional folk tunes. From these, highlights for me include The Blue Flame/ Queen of Hearts, with Causley setting an appropriately spooky tone for the first ghostly tale, and then admirably evoking the heartbreak of unrequited love in the second.
As well as the music of the county, there are hints of the Devonshire atmosphere including locals applauding at the end of Out Stepped Mother and Me and appropriate caws from a conspiracy of corvus corax on the sombre Blackingstone Ravens.
Glorious Devon is the county’s equivalent of Rule Britannia, and may provoke quite a strong reaction from natives of neighbouring counties (one in particular). But it’s all in great spirits, whichever side of the jam/cream, cream/jam debate you espouse (Please don’t write in). Possibly the most famous Devonshire song, Widecombe Fair, features in two guises, the one that every school pupil of a certain age will know, and an earlier version, Old Cobley. Both bring new life to an old standard.
You can’t see the joins, but the whole album was recorded at each of the contributor’s homes. Although it sounds great, I am sure these fine musicians would love to have been in the same room playing together. Another sad thing to note from these crazy times is the song Bampton Fair. It’s a song about the Bampton cattle market that can be traced back before the 13th century – and has taken place the last Thursday in October ever since. But was cancelled in 2020. Sad times. But thankfully artists like Jim Causley are here to help us through…
By any reckoning, Devonshire Roses has a sweet bouquet of evocative songs. All Devonshire life is here: meat pies, witches, cider, smugglers, ghosts, Old Uncle Tom Cobley and all.
Out on 26 February, you can pre-order the album now via Jim’s website which we encourage you to do: https://www.jimcausley.co.uk/shop/devonshire-roses/
Catch Jim tonight (3 Feb at 8pm) on GREEN NOTE Online Concert with Jack Rutter and Grace Smith – http://www.greennote.co.uk/production/jim-causley-jack-rutter-grace-smith/
Plus: Online Album Launch for Devonshire Roses on Friday 26th February on Facebook at 8pm (UTC): https://www.facebook.com/events/2852217231656375