Liberty Horses >> And it's a long reign in the long rain

xxx Liberty Horses - "King Of A Rainy Country" xxx
† (Rough Trade / Rhino Records, 1992) †

I bought this CD, Joyland, on a total whim for a dollar two years ago, because it was on Rough Trade and because the band name and song titles seemed pretty evocative.  Yeah, I use that word a lot... I like things that are evocative.  Provocative things can be good, but evocative things are always good.  I learned that this band evolved out of an '80s Britpop band called The Bible, who apparently had some cult classic songs in a Smiths-esque vein back then.  So I checked them out, but wasn't too impressed.  The band featured Neill MacColl and Calum MacColl, brothers of famed chanteuse Kirsty MacColl; sister Kitty MacColl also sings backup on two songs on the album, including this one.  The lead singer's voice has a beautifully fornlorn quality without sounding too much like an old wizened mariner or something.  I love how he never specifies what country the protagonist rules, so I can pretend that he's singing about my rainy part of the U.S.  Every aspect of this song is flawless, but I think its secret weapon is the seductively propulsive, and deceptively funky, bassline, which steps to the forefront at the 2:45 mark.  I think that if this song had come out 5 years earlier, rather than in the dance- & grunge-oriented early '90s, it would've been a huge hit.  Amazingly, this song was not even released as a single.  Wow.  Nice job there, Rough Trade.  Hence I am doing what they failed to do, which is to publicize this song and make it into an international sensation.

Here's a review by Martin Aston of Q magazine, printed on the back of the promo version of this CD: "Formed by ex-members of pop sophisticates The Bible, Liberty Horses' leading lights are Neill and Calum, sons of Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, brothers of Kristy [sic].  Their tradition of sombre, bittersweet folk ballads runs deep through Joyland.  The irony starts as early as the album title; Neill's world-weary timbre only accentuates the frayed despair expressed throughout.  It's an everyday urban love-it-hate-it daymare, then, and it's beautifully expressed.  Fraternal harmonies, arresting lyrics, and a band that really swings too; Joyland is a joyful exorcism all round."


Literally a few minutes after posting this entry, I found the video for the single "Shine," which I never knew existed until minutes ago.  (It's not on YouTube.)  It's my first time ever seeing what the band looks like, in fact.  It takes a while to load, but here it is, another LH song that was a hit in an alternate universe:

From Kim Jong-Il Looking At Things

Planets with similar climates: Crowded House - "Weather With You" (1988), Tears For Fears - "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" (1985), The Smiths - "The Boy With The Thorn In His Side" (1986), The Church - "Tear It All Away" (1981) & "Ripple" (1992), The Comsat Angels - "Be Brave" (1981), The Go-Betweens - "Streets Of Your Town" (1988), Peter Gabriel - "Red Rain" (1986).


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