Iain Matthews - Valley Hi

Elektra Records

Among the legions of folk musicians to come out of the late sixties, Iain Matthews is one of the most overlooked. Originally starting out as a member of British folk-rock group Fairport Convention before leaving to form the short lived group Matthews' Southern Comfort, which only scored one hit with their rendition of Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock". Afterwards, Matthews would embark on a prolific solo career with well over a dozen albums. One of these albums was "Valley Hi".

"Valley Hi" opens with much more country influence then you would expect with a song titled "Keep on Sailing". The piano part in the song has a nice poppy feel to it, and Matthews doesn't shy away from using his vocal talent to convey one of the most common emotions in folk rock: ever-present sadness. The song is stripped back, with a darling little solo in the middle. The song also features some nice imagery and memorable lyrics: "I could always say so I told so/but I know you've never tried", "Brother, can't you feel the deja vu/going through your bones?"

"Old Man at the Mill", the second song on the album, is a reworked traditional and has a nice beat. The double tracked harmonies and addition of fiddles are fresh are entertaining, and the slight aggression in Matthew's singing is strangely compelling. That's all there really is to it with this one, though it is a notable deep cut out of Matthews' discography.

Written by Richard Thompson, "Shady Lies" continues to be reminiscent of the Eagles (or, more accurately continues to show where the Eagles got their influence from) by starting off with a guitar part that in another world would've been written by Glenn Frey. "Shady Lies" continues with the themes of depression and lost love that is oh so common in folk rock and yet continues to remain effective. It is a simpler song, though still manages to be weighty. Unfortunately, despite the fact that it is a good song, "Shady Lies" is not one of the best on the record. 

A rendition of Jackson Browne's "These Days", which has been covered by numerous artists over the years, is what follows. The song opens with a very poignant set of chords, and Matthews does an excellent job of adding his own style to the song. It also continues the previous lyrical themes of endings, failure, and resigning yourself to a fate you never wanted, and Matthews' voice conveys the emotion of the song extremely well. The instrumentation further adds to the middle-of-the-road angst, the build up of which coalesces at the end of the song in a brief but beautiful moment of acapella singing. Matthew's version of "These Days" has to be one of the best there is. 

"Leaving Alone" has a slow, sobering feel to it with jaded lyrics that return to the topic of lost love and moving on when there is nothing left for you. Unlike in songs written by contemporary singers, however, the narrator of "Leaving Alone" doesn't want to leave at all. He longs for the youth of his younger days before his life went to the dogs, and the numbness to the world in this song is palpable. 

The follow up to "Leaving Alone" is another cover song. Originally by Steve Young, "Seven Bridges Road" opens with stunning harmonies that could stop anyone dead in their tracks. The vocal harmonies from this version of the song were also "borrowed" by the Eagles during live renditions of the song on their own tours. The guitar part is the most similar to that of the American folk scene on the record and does a fantastic job of complimenting the vocals. While Matthews is hitting the high end of his range, he still sounds wonderful and manages to continue giving the lyrics the same pained & strained tone as always, continuing the bleak sadness and throwing in a nice instrumental break. "Seven Bridges Road" would've made more sense as the closer to the album, but that's neither here nor there. 

"Save Your Sorrows" starts off with a good groove and a hint of jam band in the deceivingly happy-sounding and more upbeat instrumentation than on the previous tracks, but this is highly contrasted by the ongoing theme of things coming to an end and Matthew's tone coming off in a way that could be read with the sadness present in so many of his songs, or as the final thoughts of a man on his deathbed. Either way, the song is one of the most interesting on the record, from an instrumental and lyrical standpoint. I only wish it was much, much longer. 

Following the brighter instrumentation on "Save Your Sorrows" is the slow, jazzy bar tune feel of "What Are You Waiting For", written by Randy Newman. This is another break-up song, but instead of dealing the aftermath of such an event, the song deals with the inner turmoil brought on by waiting for the inevitable. This has been coming for a long time, but neither of them have the guts to finally rip the band-aid off. The numb feeling in Matthews' voice is aided by the blues tinges, panning effects and a nice bit of steel guitar. As lovely of a song as it is, it does begin to drag towards the end. 

On a different end of the love song spectrum is the delightful "Propinquity", originally by Michael Nesmith of Monkees fame. In a Neil Young-esque change of pace, "Propinquity" deals with the feelings of regret for wasting time ignoring someone instead of taking the time to be with them, most prominent in the lyric "I've known you for a long time/but I've just begun to care". The song has a good beat, and like "Save Your Sorrows" only suffers from not being longer. 

Unfortunately there isn't much to be said about the last song on the album, "Blue Blue Day", written by Don Gibson. While it has an interesting guitar part and easy relatable lyrics that continue the sadness that plagues folk singers, is rather catchy and memorable the song doesn't stick out very much against the background of the previous tracks, though that doesn't keep it from being a good song in it's own right. 

Iain Matthews' "Valley Hi" is one of the forgotten gems of the seventies British folk scene, overshadowed by contemporary albums of folk and non-folk artists. The recurring lyrical themes in this album help it remain consistent over its barely thirty-six minute runtime and the instrumental work on each song is something to be admired for its effectiveness. Matthews' voice adds further depth to the songs in a way that is uniquely his own that would take quite a long time to tire of. 

Rating: 5/5