Lie of the Land is the fifth studio album by English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands. Following the live band setting of the band's previous album, 1994's Beat about the Bush, the duo sought a simpler sound that featured just themselves, with the duo trying to capture their live sound, which included experimenting with DI units and making the maximum use of pick-ups and pre-amplifiers. The album was produced by Gerard O'Farrell, who by this point had become the band's manager, and recorded in July 1995 in Bredon, Gloucestershire.

It was released in 1995 by Isis Records, before being re-rereleased by the duo's own label Hands on Music re-released the album in 1996 after the original version went out of print. The album was a turning point for the band, featuring major press attention from magazines such as Mojo and Q, the latter naming it "folk album of the year". Oldies.com note that the album was "considered one of that year’s finest folk releases."

Background

After folk musician Phil Beer left The Albion Band in late 1990, it allowed he and Steve Knightley to treat their project Show of Hands as a full-time musical collaboration. The duo briefly entered a hiatus as Show of Hands to allow to form the Anglo-Chilean band Alianza with Dave Townsend with three Chilean musicians, exploring world music. They released a self-titled album in 1992, becoming Knightley and Beer's first CD release. During the Alianza project, the duo recorded a performance from 8 June 1992 at Bridport's Bull Hotel, working with engineer Mike Trim and released it on The Road Goes on Forever in 1992 as Show of Hands Live, the duo's first CD, but by the time of its release, the band's previous three albums were out of print.

The duo recorded their first, and only, studio album for TWAH! Records, Beat about the Bush, in January 1994, and it was released the following month. Produced by Trim, due to his successful work on Show of Hands Live, he and the duo aimed for an "elusive "radio friendly" folk/roots album that retained the band's live sound whilst adding a rhythm section. Whilst the album did not attract much radio attention as the duo had wanted, it helped make the duo more popular and built upon their fan base. The duo left TWAH! Records and signed to Isis Records, the label which saw the original release of Lie of the Land.

Recording

thumb|The duo made maximum use of their instrument [[pre-amplifiers (acoustic guitar pre-amp pictured).]]

Lie of the Land was recorded in July 1995 at Free for Good Studios, Bredon, near Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, a studio which belongs to Dave Pick and whose name is often initialised to FFG. There are two traditional tracks on the album and ten Knightley compositions, including a re-recording of "Exile", one of the duo's earlier songs which had featured on their first album.

The album was produced by Gerard O'Farrell, and displays a simpler, stripped-down folk sound, as opposed to the full-band set up that the duo had used on their previous album, Beat about the Bush, which the duo did not see as successful as wanted. On this album, the duo tried to capture their live sound by recording all the instruments using a DI unit. The band had originally hired O'Farrell, an engineer/producer, for their live shows, following the release of Beat About the Bush. By the time he produced Lie of the Land, nonetheless, he was now the duo's manager.

Release and reception

The album was released in October 1995 on the independent record label Isis Records. Later, after releasing the duo's compilation album Backlog 1987–1991, it became was their first studio album to be released on the duo's own label Hands on Music, having re-issued the album. Their debut album, Beat about the Bush, was originally released on TWAH! Records before it was re-released on Hands on Music in 1999. The album cover was designed by Rob O'Connor, who also designed the cover for their previous album, Beat about the Bush. It features John Carpenter, who worked post-retirement teaching Latin at the nearby Beaminster school, with a bird sat on his arm.

The album was seen as a turning point, as it was given attention by major publications who gave it praiseful reviews. Bradley Torreano of Allmusic later noted that the album "finally got them noticed by the British press". Mojo said the album created "a powerful, fresh sounding music with both integrity and widespread appeal", while Q magazine called it a "startlingly good" album and went one step further in voting it their "folk album of the year" in 1996. "The Man in Green" was included on the various artist compilation album The Best of British Folk (2000).

Track listing

All songs written by Steve Knightley, except where noted.

  1. "The Hunter" – 5:03
  2. "Unlock Me" – 3:43
  3. "The Well" – 3:50
  4. "The Keeper" – 5:03
  5. "Captains" – 4:04
  6. "Weary" – 2:01
  7. "Ratcliffe Highway" (Trad arr. Knightley/Phil Beer) – 4:52
  8. "Safe As Houses" – 3:19
  9. "The Man In Green" – 3:38
  10. "The Preacher" – 4:29
  11. "M Ferguson" (Trad arr. Knightley/Beer) – 2:10
  12. "Exile" – 5:22

Personnel

  • Steve Knightley - vocals, cello-mandolin, concertina, cuatro, guitar
  • Phil Beer - vocals, bass guitar, cello-mandolin, cuatro, fiddle, guitar, mandolin, viola
  • Sarah Allen - whistle
  • Matt Clifford - keyboards, piano
  • Nick Scott - pipes

References