Name: The Men They Couldn't Hang
Album(s): Night of A Thousand Candles~, Silvertown*
Year(s): 1985~, 1989*
Style: Celtic Folk, Roots Rock
Similar Bands: Black 47, Pogues, Levellers, James, Bluebells, Midnight Oil
"One-Word" Review: Celtic Hoe-Down On A Prog-Train
Based Out Of: London/Southampton England
Label: Demon~, Imp Records~, Jive*, Silvertone*, RCA*, BMG*
Night of A Thousand Candles - Cover & Record
Night of A Thousand Candles - Back & Record
Silvertown - Cover & Record
Silvertown - Back & Record
Night of A Thousand Candles (1985)
- The Day After 2:41
- Jack Dandy 2:24
- A Night To Remember 3:14
- Johnny Come Home 2:26
- Green Fields of France 6:29 /
- Iron Masters 4:11
- Hush Little Baby 4:22
- Walkin' Talkin 2:25
- Kingdom Come 3:09
- Scarlet Ribbons 5:55
Silvertown (1989)
- Rosettes 3:34
- A Place in the Sun 3:07
- Homefires 4:02
- Diamonds, Gold & Fur 2:39
- Company Town 5:42 /
- Lobotomy Gets "Em Home 3:22
- Blackfriars Bridge 4:06
- Rain, Steam & Speed 3:56
- Down all the Days 2:41
- Hellfire & Damnation 2:42
- El Vaquero 2:38
Album Rating (1-10): ~6.0
*6.5
Members & Other Bands:
Tom Keane - Bagpipes~ (Pogues, Clannad, Clancy Bros, Nomad)
Shanne Hasler (Bradley) - Bass, Flute~ (The Launderettes, The Nipple Erectors, Wreckless Eric, The Chicken Family)
Chimp Carver - Design, Artwork~
Jon Odgers - Percussion, Drums~* (Catch 22, Swill & The Swaggerband)
Nick Robbins - Engineer, Mixing~
Graham Sharpe - Guitar~
Paul Simmonds - Guitar, Bouzouki, Keys~Mandolin* (Catch 22, Liberty Cage, Naomi Bedford, Swill & The Swaggerband, Lob)
Tony Poole - Management, Producer~
Tim Young - Mastering~
Harold Burgen - Production~
David Howell - Photography~
Phillip Chevron - Producer~
Lindsey Lowe - Trumpet~*
Stefan Cush - Vox, Guitar~*(The Feral Family)
Philip Odgers "Swill" - Vox, Guitar, Tin Whistle, Melodica~* (Catch 22 Liberty Cage, Swill & The Swaggerband, Crash Alley)
Tom O'Grady - band name
Mick Glossop - Producer, Engineer*
Nick Muir - Piano, Accordion, (Fire Next Time, Bedrock)*
Ricky McGuire - Bass (UK Subs, Swill & The Swaggerband, Fits)*
Bobby Valentino - Fiddle (Fabulous Poodles, Mike Oldfeld, Any Trouble, Nick Lowe, They Style Council, Billy Bragg)
Phil Smee - Sleeve Design*
Keith Morris - Photography*
Kris Heuer - Crest Design*
Unknown-ness: I had never heard
of these guys before buying these two albums, independently of one another. I
liked the cold, industrial artwork on the first album I bought (which was their
first album), and before listening to it, I found the other album, picking it
up because of the name recognition. Both albums make the band seem to be a real
blue collar, working man’s band, and I imagine the contents to be something
close to Big Country.
Album Review: The band really
broke out onto the music scene in 85 in a big way with their first album, and a
strong supportive backing from John Peel. They have basically been active ever
since, with a few lineup changes, and a few breaks, but they have recently put
out a new album based on fan supported pledges. They will co headline festivals
in the UK, as they are still a somewhat well-known act.
“The Day After”
starts with a pulsing, driving drum beat, and grows into a folky hoe-down,
complete with banjo. It reminds me a little of James. In the chorus, there is a
chanting group of vocals supporting the lead.
“Jack Dandy”
begins with more jangely guitars, and grows into a driving Celtic drinking sing-a-long.
The bouncy bass line really drives the
song home in the end.
“A Night To
Remember” was a single from the album. And it begins with a more country-ish
tone in melody and vocal inflection. The acoustic guitar carries the rural,
mountainside atmospheric song. This song too, becomes quite jangely towad the
end.
“Johnny Come Home”
is a bouncy three acoustic chord stomping ballad, employing punk rock start and
stop time signatures (I Fought The Law).
“Green Fields of
France” is a cover of an Eric Bogle song, and is a slow, side-to-side traditional (drinking?) sounding Celtic song
that reflects on a World War 1 victim. The vocals become doubled as the song
gains emotional steam. It cycles back for a second verse with a bit more
frustration behind the vocals.
“Iron Masters”
was a single from the album, which had to be edited for radio play in the UK
because it referenced Margaret Thatcher in poor taste at the song’s end with “Oh
that Iron Bastard, She still gets her way.” It begins quietly, with just the
guitar and story sung vocals. The marching drums come into the song, and the
bold, proud Irish sounding chorus takes over. The tempo grows to a sprint, and
the song finds a second life rather quickly as an aggressive barn dance. There
is a bit of a breakdown with trumpets before it regains its pace and drive.
“Hush Little Baby”
begins with the acoustic guitar quietly being played for the first minute. Then
a drum crashes down and a melodica accompanied oompa/gypsy beat picks up with
an altered, yet familiar Hush Little Baby melody. The song is a bleak and dark
interpretation of the nursery rhyme.
“Walkin' Talkin” starts
off with a rollicking vocal melody that can only be categorized as a bit of
Irish Rockabilly. The song just charges on forward non-stop through the entire
hoe-down of a song.
“Kingdom Come”
features the same deep chorus of vocals, but this time, they are filtered
through an echo, cave-like effect. From there, the song takes on a traditional,
driving Celtic sing-song melody.
“Scarlet Ribbons”
begins with a flute, and is followed up with a mandolin, and the song
progresses like a renaissance era minstrel story-ballad. But the vocal style is
that of a nationally proud battle crier. This falls into the emotional remembrance
genre of song.
“Rosettes” begins
with twinkling sounds from a mandolin, then blasts off in some sort of dark
Celtic Punk, that actually sounds a little like Midnight Oil. The vocals are a
little angrier.
“A Place in the
Sun” was a single. The vocals are a little calmer and clearer. But there is
still a very strong Celtic musical backbone to the song. The song does not
sound all that particularly catchy or stand out-ish. It feels like an original track
from a band headlining a small town Irish festival.
“Homefires” steps
back from the angry, energetic vocals and is a memorial/roots song. The
marching tempo picks up after a little bit, breathing more life and multiple
vocals into the song, but it is has become a traditional sounding drinking sing-a-long.
“Diamonds, Gold
& Fur” starts with a fast drum beat, and a piano that takes a page out of
Squeeze’s playbook, but this is a bouncy honky-tonk produced pub rock song. The
song employs a harmonica for the short instrumental break. The song sounds like
a combination of the best parts of the Blasters, and a little like John Wesley
Harding (Wesley Stace).
“Company Town”
steps back into the Celtic roots culture with a slow ballad as it beginning. It sings of corporate rule over blue collar
life in a small, company owned town. The mood of the song is both longing,
nostalgia and hatred in the same breath. The pace of the song slowly picks up
from the beginning, but it never becomes too crazy nor stays quiet. This is a
solid, respectful song, and is explanatory of where the band excels best:
capturing life and sentiment from the oppressed working class
“Lobotomy Gets
"Em Home” starts with a bass hook as the cement of the melody. If the song
was produced differently, it would be a straight forward punk song with its
rollercoastering bass line. But with the style of the era that the band was involved
in, this song is just a rollicking, driving folk song. Even the vocals are
angry and energetic.
“Blackfriars
Bridge” is another slower, historical Celtic roots song. This one feels much
more airy and it starts out as new age. Like all the similar songs before it,
the band is never just ok with leaving a song as a quiet ballad. They always
bring up a rock element, and kick in extra energy and emotion. And this song in
particular builds up in vocal and instrumental stress to the very end.
“Rain, Steam
& Speed” was a single from the album that keeps its roots in Celtic melody,
but with a slightly funky bass line. The verse is a little quiet, but the formulaic
chorus holds the harmonizing hooks. The song, like many hints on this album are
very prog oriented, although there can be a fine line between Celtic style
music and prog rock.
“Down all the
Days” begins with a jangely guitar, then like a chugging train, the song takes
off, fueled by the drum beat. These songs are simple tempos to carry out fun
barn dances or hoe-downs as banditing passengers recalling better times on a cargo
train.
“Hellfire &
Damnation” is a Kinks-like swampy, staggering southern tinged brass-jug band’s
alcohol dream. It features stand out horns akin to Dixie-land jazz. And the
vocals are again similar to Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze. As if it were played in
a nearly empty barroom, a trickle of applause stumbles in at the end.
“El Vaquero” ends
the record with a wispy, rainy moonlit graveyard anthem for a minute and half.
Then the music transports the listener to a 1800’s vaudevillian bar for a few
paces, until it reaches the back room for a brief moment, where a sinister
Dracula character lays. The listener is then returned to the graveyard, to plod
along through to the end of this very visual instrumental.
Stand Out Tracks: ~
The Day After
*
Diamonds, Gold & Fur
Links:
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