Merry Hell
Let The Music Speak For Itself
Merry Hell Records
12 May 2023
“Moderation in all things” might well be the long-held advice the Greek poet Hesiod and the Roman dramatist Plautus gave. Still, their aphorisms are found sadly wanting when discussing the music of Merry Hell, which can surely never be too much of a good thing.
Assembled some 12 years ago, like an executive tour bus, from WN post-code spare parts salvaged from the remains of folk-punk legends The Tansads, and following the release of 6 studio albums, two live ‘lockdown’ CDs, various CD EPs, two DVDs and hundreds of live concerts, Wigan’s finest, Merry Hell release a 28 track retrospective collection, available as a 2CD set or digital download.
Let any ideas that Let The Music Speak For Itself is simply a ‘Best Of’ collection be scotched immediately; however, not least because with a recorded output which is so abundant in musical riches, this would prove to be an impossible task. Instead, it is a timely chance to pause and reflect, and, as the group told Folk Radio recently, for “renewing our vows and our commitment to what we do and to each other.” This post-Covid period, along with the relatively recent introduction of new members Colin Foster and Simon Swarbrick, also heralds the fact that “the compilation album is not the beginning of the end, it is simply the end of the beginning!!”
In essence, the 28 tracks cover Merry Hell’s history, offering newcomers a fulsome overview of their music. Having been present on many occasions witnessing the group’s merchandise mandarins, Julie, Michael and Denise at work, I can attest that the most frequent question asked of them is “Which album should I buy?” a virtually impossible question to answer, apart from the obvious “All of them”, given the fact that live performances have always drawn from all of their releases available at that moment time. Simultaneously, this compilation is offered as a propitious reminder and refresher to those familiar with Merry Hell as the foremost proponents of “joyful folk-rock with a message of hope for troubled times”.
How then to distil from a catalogue more than 70 recorded songs? For the group, this was a simple issue to address. Firstly, they asked their audience, via social media, which songs defined the essence of Merry Hell for them, and which one song they would choose to introduce the band to other people, and secondly, each of the five song-writing members of the band was asked to choose one song of their own to include.
All of the tracks on Let The Music Speak For Itself have been previously released (yes, even Nobody Knows Me and the live version of The Baker’s Daughter/ Soldier’s Joy, see later). This was a deliberate policy to eschew the common marketing ploy of including several ‘previously unreleased’ songs, and no re-mastering or further studio trickery was applied to the songs that appear, as Folk Radio was told, “… we were happy to release them the first time – we are still happy for them to be heard as they first went out.”
Given earlier comments relating to this release covering the history of Merry Hell, it is perhaps surprising that the 28 tracks are not sequenced in chronological order. By not so-doing, however, the band could be credited with pulling off a cunning act of Baldrickian proportions. Each of the two CDs plays as if replicating a complete live performance, with the order of the songs reflecting the ebb and flow of tempo, mood, emotion, energy and volume experienced at a live Merry Hell show.
CD1, somewhat appropriately, opens with prime Merry Hell. Bob Kettle’s raucous, roistering Drunken Serenade, the first song recorded by the group, the first song they ever played live and the first track on their first album, BLINK… and you miss it. The high tempo is maintained with both the humorous Let’s Not Have A Morning After (Until We’ve Had A Night Before), featuring the late Dave Swarbrick, uncle of the aforementioned Simon, and Loving the Skin Your In, before Bury Me Naked and John Kettle’s Lean On Me Love, show how adept the group are at creating totally engaging audience-participation sing-alongs. The latter track, along with Rosanna’s Song, also shows what an incredibly powerful voice Andrew Kettle possesses. Similarly, we get Stand Down from 2016 and the much more recent We Are Different We Are One, from Emergency Lullabies, as with so many others, songs which carry a message without proselytising.
Contrasts with the high-energy songs are present with tracks such as the previously mentioned Rosanna’s Song, Over The Border and the magnificent paen to refugees and their plight, Coming Home Song. The rousing live version of The Baker’s Daughter/Soldier’s Joy, taken from the recording of The Grand Night Out DVD and also available on the Stay Alert, Wash Your Hands, Enjoy Music Live In Northwich socially distanced lockdown CD set from 2020, presages the final track on this CD, the lilting Pendle Hill, coincidentally the closing track from their first CD.
For those completists who are maybe querying the 11th track on this CD, Nobody Knows Me; this was initially released as Nobody Knows Me Like You on The Ghost EP that came out to promote 2015’s The Ghost In Our House and other stories CD. Written by Virginia Kettle, this was her choice for her track on this compilation.
Likewise, the running order of CD2 presents very much as if at a live MH show. The anthemic opening two songs We Need Each Other Now and Come On, England!, followed by the electrifying There’s A Ghost In Our House, feed the high-energy rush, with more recent songs highlighting environmental issues, such as Neil McCartney’s Leave It In The Ground and Bob’s Emergency Lullaby (Wasting Time), with the magisterial music of Lee Goulding on both Man Of Few Words and The Gentle Man underscoring his compositional talents to perfection. Virginia contributes further with both the music-hall humour of Violet and the probing, questioning lyrics of Three Lions and Rage Like Thunder, whilst Bob’s Sailor is another poignant, emotive piece.
The provenance of three further tracks, all absolute gems, may need explanation. When We Meet Again appeared on an EP of the same name, whilst No Place Like Tomorrow and the reprise of Drunken Serenade, this time featuring The Banshee Reel, both feature on the Bury Me Naked EP.
For some, there may be surprises in certain songs appearing on this compilation, or indeed some disappointment over omissions. For this writer, however, this is merely a reflection of the song-writing ability within the group and the superfluity of quality material available, which in turn provides for a thoroughly entertaining range of music which encompasses the melodic, energetic, tender, thoughtful, provocative, unifying and, ultimately, heartwarming.
Merry Hell are a seriously entertaining group with songs that can strike a chord, uplift and engender feelings of well-being. Let The Music Speak For Itself is a retrospective collection that does so much more than merely ‘speak’; it positively roars.
For tour dates and more, visit: http://www.merryhell.co.uk/