Vic Shepherd & John Bowden
Album: Still Waters
Label: Hallamshire Traditions
Tracks: 14
Website: http://www.hallamtrads.co.uk

A 33-year gap between album releases is something of a record! This charismatic folk duo released their debut A Motty Down (on vinyl) back in 1982 on the small independent Burlington label, and the album was reissued a couple of years ago by Paul Davenport's Hallamshire Traditions label. Not that Victoria and John had been inactive for the past three decades, for their duo work had continued on through, complemented by playing in dance bands, membership for 7-8 years of Sheffield maritime song purveyors Sheafknot, and guest appearances on other folks' albums! Importantly though, the resurgence of interest occasioned by the timely reissue of A Motty Down seems to have provided an impetus to get down to recording a followup album. And glory be - here it finally is!

Still Waters is a superb collection of songs linked by the sea, and encompasses forebitters, shanties, sea ballads and some more reflective material with a maritime bent. All of which, of course, is very logical (hmm…), since Vic and John are based in Sheffield; moreover, the final incarnation of Sheafknot (Janet Brown, Steve Flude, John Fowler and John Horsey) was "voluntarily pressganged" into service to form the sterling support crew on fully half of the album's tracks (these having been taken from the crew's second CD Far From The Shore). Further carefully-judged instrumental and vocal augmentation is provided by Vic's brother Dave (lately fiddle player with Blowzabella), talented Bowden offspring Lizzie, Nic and Rich, and ex-pat Texan singer Linda Lee Welch. Happily, none of these extras subsume the vigorous, enthusiastic performances of Vic and John themselves - although it must be said that the whole album feels to be somewhat less of a strictly duo set (per se) than its predecessor (it's more like "an evening - or session - with Vic and John and invited friends" - not that I'm objecting!…). The new album also benefits from its typically clear-sighted and nigh-impeccably-balanced Brian Bedford production (so what more could you want?). This can be deemed a quality product, even before one takes on board the excellent choice of material, uniformly insightful performances and authoritative, supremely well-researched background notes.

It's good - and refreshing - to hear less-often-performed versions of maritime staples such as Bold Riley, The Fireship and Go To Sea No More, while Shallow Brown turns out to be the shanty collected by Cecil Sharp from Watchet's "Yankee Jack" (John Short) that bears no resemblance to the commonly-heard outward-bounder which has an infinitely wider currency. The sturdy a cappella vocal trio combo (Vic, John and Linda) delivers two selections (The Merrimac At Sea and Roll The Woodpile Down), while favourites Jolly Roving Tar, Deep Blue Sea and The Bold Benjamin are especially well dispatched (notwithstanding an isolated instance of incorrect lead vocal attribution in the booklet credit for the latter). Vic's delightful account of My Johnny (learnt from the singing of Cecilia Costello) is another of the disc's highlights, as is John's dramatic, unaccompanied, less-is-more solo rendition of The Banks Of Newfoundland and his lovely Sheafknot-backed performance of The Outside Track, Gerry Hallom's brilliant setting of Henry Lawson's wonderful poem which has in recent times deservedly become something of a repertoire standard. A jaunty small-ensemble treatment of The Banks Of Green Willow works well, as does that given to the eerie broadside ballad The Nightingale, although the latter is arguably over-bedecked with percussion effects that distract just a touch from the storytelling. The last-mentioned is the only very slight miscalculation in the entire programme here, and even that isn't of any great consequence in the overall scheme of things on what is a well-rounded and desirably-presented disc of maritime songs that will also greatly appeal to the non-specialist - who will learn much in the listening and assimilation of the fine performances of Vic and John and their collaborators.

David Kidman