Search - Matthews Southern Comfort :: The Essential Collection

Music of its time - but with a timeless quality also

Colin Spence | Formby, UK | 08/04/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This 19-track compilation features songs from the first 3 (and only?) albums by Matthews' Southern Comfort, plus 'Scion' (which I can't quite place) and their UK No.1 hit single 'Woodstock', which was never on any of the original vinyls (although it has since been included on the CD version of 'Later That Same Year'). The track sequence is rather odd (not in release date order, but not random either) - for a full track listing, visit amazon.co.uk; and the liner notes give me the impression that they were cobbled together as an afterthought - and there are no lyrics or musician credits either.



The music is a mixture of folk-rock and country-rock - although the 'rock' element is fairly subdued on most songs, and the distinction between 'folk' and 'country' is sometimes blurred. Iain Matthews has a truly beautiful voice - a dulcet high tenor, often with a haunting-plaintive quality; also, many of the songs feature close harmonies which would give Crosby, Stills and Nash a good run for their money. The playing is centred around guitars (acoustic, pedal steel and occasional electric guitar) plus bass and drums/percussion - and it's all tastefully executed. I particularly liked the delicate acoustic guitar playing (Mark Griffiths, I think) and Gordon Huntley's luscious, yet understated, pedal steel playing. Other instruments played include piano, Hammond, sitar, banjo, mandolin and fiddle.





About half of the songs are written by Iain Matthews - it is the poignant melodies, and dreamy, faraway sounds of his slower tempo songs that I usually prefer; and half are covers of songs by other writers - these tend to follow closely the original versions (those that I've heard), with only some subtle changes to the arrangements, and having an overall sound that is a little softer.



My favourite tracks are : 'Thoughts For A Friend' (Iain Matthews), 'And Me' (Iain Matthews), 'Brand New Tennessee Waltz' (Jesse Winchester), 'Road To Ronderlin' (Iain Matthews), 'Woodstock' (Joni Mitchell), 'Blood Red Roses' (trad. arr. Iain Matthews), 'Darcy Farrow' (Steve Gillette/Tom Campbell), 'Something In The Way She Moves' (James Taylor) and 'Scion' (Iain Matthews). Much less to my taste is 'Ballad of Obray Ramsey' (Iain Matthews) - an up-tempo country hoedown; also, 'Colorado Springs Eternal' (Steve Barlby) is a disappointment - it's a good enough song, but I think the instrumental accompaniment overpowers Iain's vocals and the high-pitched pedal steel seems out of context.



Other song-writers, represented on this album, are : Richard Thompson, Al Anderson, Neil Young, Gerry Goffin/Carole King and Sylvia Fricker.





There are only 4 songs from the band's eponymous debut album - so the compilation's balance might have benefited from the inclusion of a couple more songs from that album. Nevertheless, I'm more than happy; apart from 2 or 3 songs, 'The Essential Collection' epitomizes all that attracts me to the music of Iain Matthews - his skill as a songwriter, his knack for choosing fine songs by other writers, his choice of musicians and, of course, his voice.

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