Land Of Hope And Fury
Album: Land Of Hope And Fury – A Compilation Of Contemporary Protest Songs
Label: Union Music Store
Tracks: 16
Website: http://www.unionmusicstore.com

7th May 2015 Election Polling Day – "We set our gazes higher, stood proudly on the line, against encroaching darkness, and for a better time. When peace would be the watchword and fairness would abide".

8th May 2015 – "Well today that dream is fading, as we wake it’s thrown aside!".

As usual Jamie Freeman’s succinct words nail it in one! The high hopes, the bitter disappointment and the betrayal of the disenfranchised, those in need, and yes, even the working class, are the very reason that this album came into existence.

"We decided to turn to the proud tradition of the ‘protest song’. If our votes counted for nothing, then at least we could still make our voices heard", so say Jamie and Stevie Freeman of Union Music Store, explaining the rationale behind this astonishing piece of work and organisation.

"We decided to put together a brand new album of contemporary protest songs, featuring some of the finest artists from the roots music scene. Within days we had 16 songs, ten of them written and recorded in direct response to the election result. Land Of Hope & Fury was born, making it a truly unique expression of political feeling".

Personally speaking, I was too young for Guthrie. I was too young for Dylan. My baptism into discovering music as a bona-fide method of galvanising opinion and speaking out against oppression came in the form of The Clash’s "Career

Opportunities", Chelsea’s "Right To Work", and culminated in The Beat’s anthemic "Stand Down Margaret". Land Of Hope & Fury draws firmly on that self-same spirit. And it’s that spirit that is at the very core of each and every song that graces this album. Don’t expect love songs. Don’t expect prevarication. Don’t expect middle-ground. Expect opinion. Expect truth. Expect solutions. Expect great songs.

Mark Chadwick takes one of his own Levellers songs, "No Change", and what was originally a sad lament suddenly becomes fired up with righteous anger. That anger is an energy. "Can you hear the sound of the crowds in the street crying for better days? And you’ve seen it all, been promised it all, but tell me what has changed?". Written 25 years ago whilst there was still a tory government in power, but proving to be as prophetic now as it was then, as the cyclical change of the ruling parties continues unabated to little or no effect, except to the swelling bank balances of those with the power and the means.

Danni Nicholls follows the directly opposite approach with her own "A Little Redemption", proffering what she believes in, what we all really should believe in. The line "A little more giving, a little less greed" particularly hits home as news of chancellor Osborne’s avoidance of capital gains tax on a profit of £748,000, comes to light. The solutions proposed by Danni are summed up as she rightfully opines "a little more we, and a little less I". The eternal optimism of the lyrics are set beautifully to an exuberantly bright, rolling melody that cleverly blends country pickin’ with a driving Bhundu-style beat.

Land Of Hope & Fury is indeed a veritable musical treasure chest. There are gems to be found wherever the listener looks. Moulettes "Lullaby" is literally that! A lullaby for the next generation. A lullaby for the forgotten generation. Their trademark luminescent harmonies embrace one very important sentiment – "we are many, they are few".

And The Jamie Freeman Agreement take that attitude one step further in "Homes For Heroes" with a clarion call for us all – "today I pull my laces tight, today I start to kick!". Freeman is a vastly underrated songwriter. He has the uncanny ability of blending an acerbic and sometimes startling lyric with the kind of Americana pop sensibility that has seen others garner major success. This song is no different, with its tub-thumping beat, insistent acoustic riff and snarling electric guitar.

There are some surprising musical curve-balls thrown in to good effect too. Chris T-T proves to be a Gilbert O Sullivan for the 21st Century (!) with a lyrical abrasion reminiscent of Weller’s "Mr Clean" class war paean. Will Varley’s "The Sound Of The Markets Crashing" takes a more traditional line in classic 60’s protest song style. Very Dylan-esque in terms of feel and just that simple acoustic guitar, but that simplicity is coupled with a mature lyric of sorrow, despair and great depth. "This land is not ours to keep, because borders they are nothing except a fence around a hole where the thieves keep all of the jewels that they stole. And the walls of Westminster they are painted with blood and they shine with the sons of the slaves we robbed". Stirring, powerful and evocative art indeed.

The Mountain Firework Company unashamedly bring a little old-timey to the party with "Filthy Lucre". Devilishly train-a-rollin’ banjo and fiddle, with a chorus that is guaranteed to have you singing along, posing the age-old question that we all wonder about – "where does the money come from, where does the money go? Where’s all the money gone? I don’t know!".

With MP’s pegging public sector wage increases (including nurses!) to 1%, whilst simultaneously voting themselves a whopping (backdated) 10% rise, it would seem that we really AREN’T all in this together after all. Amongst all of the hard hitting yet eloquently presented opinions none hit harder than Phil Jones (of Hatful Of Rain), as he takes on board the demise of the working class in his wonderful "New Homes".

Phil explains, "My hometown, Aberdare, was a bustling vibrant town when I was a kid. 17 pits and virtual full employment. Then the tories decided to destroy the working class and pave the way for unbridled market capitalism. Now employment is around 36% and there are no pits".

"Homes are places where people live, love and bring up children. They are places they return to when they are ill, tired or in need of comfort. They cannot be bought and sold. Houses can. New homes were being built, but let’s face it, these places are not really even houses. They are places for the financial institutions to lend against. In the de-regulisation of the financial markets, house prices shot up and lenders got richer and borrowers got poorer. Combine this with the right to buy, and you have the nightmare scenario of the people in Aberdare buying houses which were almost immediately worth less than they paid for them! People were either getting their properties re-possessed or walking down to their local branch of whatever and handing back the keys! These were people with secure council tenancies in communities where they could have more or less happily lived out their days. There are houses on the outskirts of Aberdare that you can buy for less than a thousand pounds! To advertise and sell "New Homes" seems a crime to me!".

The song itself is built solidly around a simple but deceptively contagious chorus, with banjo, double bass and harmonica carefully added into the mix alongside lush harmonies. You can hear the irony and bitter contempt as he sings "New homes, a promise of new homes for all. We’ll be happy in our new homes. Can you hear the money call?". The song questions the innate basis of human kindness, in all it’s forms. These are questions that we all need to ponder on, and ultimately come up with answers that offer hope and solutions to all when this government have had their 5 years of divide and rule.

Land Of Hope & Fury is in essence a remarkable achievement on so many levels. The speed with which it was expertly organised and assembled was in hindsight crucial to it’s existence. The songs needed to be written and sung whilst the feeling of defeat and subjugation was still raw, and undiminished by the passing of time. And the quality of the songwriting on display throughout is genuinely top notch - I’ve mentioned a few of the tracks in order to make salient points, but in all honesty I really could have picked any of the 16 songs on offer.

An artistic triumph then, as well as a logistical one. But more importantly a moral triumph, a beacon of decency that shines brightly. This album is the voice of reason. This album is the voice of the people. And for that reason it should and will be heard.

Tracklisting:
Luke Jackson - "Forgotten Voices"
Mark Chadwick - "No Change"
Emily Barker - "Doing The Best I Can"
Moulettes - "Lullaby"
Lucy Ward - "Bigger Than That"
The Jamie Freeman Agreement - "Homes For Heroes"
The Self Help Group - "Funeral Drum"
Dreaming Spires - "Follow The Money"
The Mountain Firework Company - "Filthy Lucre"
Phil Jones - "New Homes"
O’Hooley & Tidow - "The Hum"
Will Varley - "The Sound Of The Market Crashing"
Chris T-T - "A-Z"
Plumhall - "Never Forget My Name"
Grace Petrie - "If There’s A Fire In Your Heart"
Danni Nicholls - "A Little Redemption"

All profits from Land Of Hope & Fury will go to campaigning group 38 Degrees.

Ken Brown
www.squarerootspromotions.co.uk