Magna Carta
Album: Seasons
Label: Talking Elephant
Tracks: 6
Website: http://www.magnac.com/

This is the latest of what must be half a dozen different reissues over the years (I've lost count!) of this seminal part-Concept Album, which is now celebrating well over four decades of longevity. It was recorded in 1970 by the trio of Chris Simpson, Glenn Stuart and Lyell Tranter, under the production guidance of the late Gus Dudgeon and with arrangements by Tony Visconti no less (involving the presence of guest musicians Rick Wakeman, Davey Johnstone, Tim Renwick and the full LSO!). This was released on the new Vertigo label, complete with lavish gatefold sleeve - quite a contrast to their debut LP, a distinctly home-made late-1969 offering! This right-place-right-time development was the direct result of a series of gigs on the then-burgeoning crossover folk scene where their special, close-knit brand of weaving acoustic guitar lines and tight vocal harmonies - and high-quality original songwriting - struck a chord with audiences.

For contemporary listeners' keen receptiveness to the fruits of Chris's strong self-belief in the creative art of combining words and music led to enthusiastic embracing of the Concept Work, the side-long (22-minute) Seasons suite, which ambitiously conjoined poetic soliloquies with a continuous procession of songs which linked oh so naturally, the central thesis being that "the seasons of man are as the natural seasons: a living, birthing, dying and rebirthing cycle there since the dawn of time". Seasons itself can be appreciated today as both of its time and ahead of its time: a period piece, but a thoroughly attractive one that doesn't really date. Its melodic facility, comfortable melange of musical styles within the broad acoustic spectrum and tight, expertly arranged performances, will always find an appeal with attentive listeners, although personally I do find I have to be in the mood to listen to the whole suite through in one sitting nowadays, gently thrilling a creation though it undoubtedly is. It was always thus with me, and I've tended to blow hot and cold over its delights. Even so, individual passages such as the beautiful Winter Song (with its delicious Simon & Garfunkel-harmonies), and Spring Song (more harmonies, this time gliding over a chirpy country-flavoured backing) will always continue to charm.

The second side of the original LP presented a variable and only intermittently satisfying musical menu of six disparate songs which ranged from the beauteous, stately courtly-love-song Elizabethan, the affectionate Scarecrow, the episodic Ring Of Stones and the genial sitar-scape of Give Me No Goodbye to the wistful, if more determinedly commercial "hit" Airport Song and the disposable cheery sunshine-pop of Goin' My Way (Road Song).

Finally a note on the presentation of this latest CD incarnation of Seasons. It would have been most useful if the individual sections of the suite were separately banded on the disc itself; but, more obviously pertinent perhaps, I do wish that Talking Elephant had managed to supply the original lyrics (ideally in a separate booklet, I guess) within the repro-gatefold digipack, which is otherwise very appealing and contains a brand new liner note by Chris Simpson himself.

David Kidman