Country Life is the eleventh studio album by English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands. Released in 2003, it marks a departure for the band, with stronger socially and politically lyrics than the duo's previous albums, as well as showcasing the duo exploring a larger musical palette. Some of the album's lyrics concern rural issues which Knightley had taken to heart in previous years, including in the aftermath of their previous lyrical album Cold Frontier (2001). Prior to the release of Country Life, the duo had released an instrumental album named The Path. Both The Path and Country Life were released close together. The album was packaged in a lavish set which included a bonus disc of demo versions and other bonus material. The album's title track was also promoted by the band's first music video.

The album received a positive reception, with praise greeting the album from the likes of Tom Jewsbury of the BBC, Iain Hazlewood of Spiral Earth, and Jane Brace of The Living Tradition.

The album ranked at number 22 in the "Devon's Top 50 Albums" poll organised by BBC Radio Devon in April 2004 to find the all-time favourite albums of Devonians. The duo toured in support of the album from 2003–2005.

Background and recording

After completing and releasing their eighth studio album Cold Frontier (2001), Show of Hands embarked on a nationwide tour in which they played a great deal of unreleased or "rare" material. The band's live album Cold Cuts (2002) was drawn from material from the tour. The tour coincided with the start of writing material for the album. Both the recording of Cold Frontier and the subsequent tour were in an era of several social and political concerns for Knightley, culminating in the more "heavy" lyrics that landed on the album. With a focus on rural issues, Steve Knightley of the duo named the album Country Life. The duo had been commissioned by the National Trust and English Heritage to record an instrumental album to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the South West Coast Path. The resulting album, The Path (2003), was quickly recorded as the duo were preparing for their next canonical album. As such, the duo entered a busy in period in which they were working on two albums. The Path was released on 14 April 2003, by which point Country Life had been recorded at Riverside Studios in Exeter in the early part of 2003. The album was co-produced between Mick Dolan and the duo.

Music and composition

thumb|left|The album's title song is about the desecration of British country life.

At the time of release, Jane Brace of Living Tradition described Country Life as the duo's "most ambitious, exciting and keenly awaited project to date". The song examines rural poverty and social exclusion from the experiences of an extended family, "Hard Shoulder" is followed by "Suntrap", featuring Spanish guitar playing from Beer, and the poignant and gentle "Smile She Said", which tells of the journey of a relationship in five "exposures". The bonus disc also contained other CD-ROM bonus material, namely the music videos for "Country Life" and their older song "The Train", a photo slideshow set to "I Promise You", a lyrics section set to "The Exe Estuary" from their previous album The Path, live footage from their 2001 performance at the Royal Albert Hall and a downloadable screensaver.

In April 2004, less than a year after the album's release, it was ranked at number 22 in the "Devon's Top 50 Albums" online poll organised by BBC Radio Devon which listed the all-time favourite albums of participating Devonians. Singer and double bass player Miranda Sykes joined them on their Autumn Tour 2004, which spawned the live album As You Were (2005). The title track of Country Life has continued to be played live by the band, it was nominated for "Best Original Song" at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2005, and featured on the corresponding compilation album. The song became something of a breakthrough recording for the band, bringing them a wider audience.

Track listing

All songs written by Steve Knightley, except where noted.

  1. "Country Life" – 3:58
  2. "Hard Shoulder" – 5:17
  3. "Suntrap" – 3:31
  4. "Smile She Said" – 3:52
  5. "Reynardine" (lyrics Trad.) – 3:55
  6. "Seven Days" (Knightley/Jenna Witts) – 4:05
  7. "Tommy" (Kelly Joe Phelps) – 5:39
  8. "Be Lucky" – 5:08
  9. "Drake" – 3:13
  10. "I Promise You" – 3:54
  11. "Adieu, Sweet Lovely Nancy" (Trad arr. Knightley/Phil Beer) – 4:08
  12. "Red Diesel" – 3:35
  13. "Don't Be A Stranger" – 5:10

Many copies come with a bonus 'promo disc' which features demo versions to three of the songs on the album.

  1. "Country Life"
  2. "Hard Shoulder"
  3. "I Promise You"

Personnel

  • Steve Knightley - vocals, mandocello, bass guitar, concertina, cuatro, guitar
  • Phil Beer - vocals, cuatro, fiddle, guitar, mandocello, melodeon, percussion, slide guitar, Spanish guitar
  • Matt Clifford - keyboards, piano
  • Mick Dolan - shaker, vocals
  • Jenna Witts - vocals, piano
  • Paul Wilson - melodeon (track 1)
  • Roy Martin - drums (track 1)
  • Brian Dickenson - harmonica (track 1)
  • Mike "the landlord" Burch - harmonica (track 10)

References