In 2007 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, Marry Waterson and Oliver Knight of the legendary Waterson folk dynasty performed one of their mother Lal’s most famous songs Fine Horseman. While that moment left a great expectation of more to come from the sibling duo, it wouldn’t be until 2011 that we got to hear their album The Days That Shaped Me. As Billy Rough said in his review of the album, The Days That Shaped Me is the result of nearly four years musical collaboration but is ultimately the result of a lifetime of experience…
It was worth the wait: Guests on the album included Eliza Carthy, Marry and Oliver’s cousin, James Yorkston and Kathryn Williams. Billy concluded:
“Richly layered, its poetic atmosphere, haunting melodies and understated accompaniment colour the album with an entirely timeless quality. A beautifully subtle work…”
The album received praise from across the music press for its touching and intimate lyrics, diverse influence behind Knight’s guitar work as well as the obvious and honest presence of loss.
On June 18th One Little Independent Records celebrate the ever poignant ‘The Days That Shaped Me’ with a Record Store Day reissue on vinyl for the very first time, alongside live band recordings and new songs.
‘The Days That Shaped Me’ is full of beautiful, evocative, mysterious songs that include collaborations with Kathryn Williams, who provides harmony on ‘Father Us’ and ‘Secret Smile’, both of which she co-wrote, James Yorkston duetting on his co-composition ‘Yolk Yellow Legged’, as well as (cousin) Eliza Carthy. On this special anniversary record, collaborations also include multi award-winning musician Andy Cutting on new track ‘Middlewood’ as well as Emily Scott of chamber pop quartet Modern Studies on ‘Fine Horseman’, lead single ‘Moira’s Mae’ and ‘Purple Polka Dot Linen’, for which she also holds co-writing credit.
The album’s majesty is intrinsically linked to the ease at which Marry and Oliver explore various themes and ideas, at the same time uplifting and ethereal as well as haunting, ‘The Days That Shaped Me’ utilizes the best in jazz and rock as well as the folk stylings they know so well.
Marry Waterson tells us; “That first album ‘The Days That Shaped Me’ is for me indeed an album of firsts. Crafting poetry into song, discovering the joy of singing to Oliver and him playing back to me and forging a path down the middle. Those songs were the stone thrown into a pond reaching out to collaborators who became my life-long friends. The waters rippled on into a world of new connections and creative possibilities, which ten years later still shape me.”
For some time, the anticipated collaboration seemed suspended, for the best part of a decade after Lal Waterson’s passing in 1998. The breakthrough came when the Waterson family were booked to appear at London’s Royal Albert Hall in 2007. When, accompanied by Olly, Marry stepped forward to sing one of her mother’s most celebrated songs, ‘Fine Horseman’, which affected both them and the audience profoundly.
‘The Days That Shaped Me’ exists in its own genre-blending, unique world. Marry Waterson was at the time vocal about tackling her personal experiences in her writing, about childhood memories, parenting, love, death as well as PMT in ‘Curse The Day’. It received praise from some of the industry’s most prestigious outlets as well as being nominated for a BBC Radio 2 Folk Award. A second album by the siblings, ‘Hidden’, was released in 2012 (reviewed & interview here).
In 2013, Waterson curated a tour with The Barbican bringing ‘Bright Phoebus’, by Lal and Mike Waterson, to the stage for the first time. She performed with a cast which included Jarvis Cocker and Richard Hawley amongst others. In 2013, Waterson designed and produced ‘Teach Me to Be a Summer’s Morning’, a book and CD celebrating the works of Lal, released on the Fledg’ling Records folk imprint.
In 2015 Waterson released her third album, ‘Two Wolves’, this time collaborating with guitarist David A. Jaycock (nominated for two BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards), this was followed by ‘Death Had Quicker Wings Than Love’ which was released in 2017 and produced by Portishead’s Adrian Utley. Her last album ‘A Window To The Other Ways’ featured award winning singer Emily Barker.
On ‘The Days That Shaped Me’ we’re offered the opportunity to revisit an original and gracious collaboration with sentiment and emotional breadth that’s as impactful now as it was 10 years ago.
Watch the video (by Marry) for the previously unheard single ‘Moira Mae’s’ below (feat’ Emily Scott & Reuben Taylor):
The Days That Shaped Me Tracklist
- Father Us
- Revoiced
- The Gap
- Curse The Day
- The Loosened Arrow
- Windy Day
- Sleeping Flame
- Yoke Yellow Legged
- Rosy
- If You Dare
- Angels Sing
- Another Time
- Run To Catch A Kiss
- Secret Smile
- Fine Horseman
- 14th February
- Moira Mae’s
- Middlewood
- We All Stumble
- Purple Polka Dot Linen
- Uneasy Lover
Photo credit: Lou Hughes
Art credit: Pete Manley & John Harrison