At the age of 63, poet, songwriter, composer and visionary
Robin Williamson shows no signs of slowing down on
The Iron Stone, his third set of recordings for
ECM. The title, of course, comes from the song of the same name that
Williamson and
the Incredible String Band first recorded on the
Big Huge album in 1969.
"The Iron Stone" appears here with another of the
ISB's classic tracks,
"The Yellow Snake" from
Big Huge's 1968 predecessor,
Wee Tam. But this is no reinterpretation of
ISB tunes, nor is it a summation of
Williamson's career. If anything,
The Iron Stone is a logical next step in the direction he has relentlessly pursued with
ECM. Whereas his first disc for the label, 2001's
The Seed-At-Zero, explored the work of
Dylan Thomas and other Welsh writers in songs and improvisational poem songs that he performed solo, the second set, 2002's
Skirting the River Road used
William Blake and
Walt Whitman as its muses, and employed the talents of
Ale Moeller,
Mat Maneri, and
Barre Phillips, as well as
Paul Dunmall.
Moeller,
Maneri and
Phillips return here; and
Williamson and
Moeller play all manner of flutes, concertinas, Mohan Vina, harps, whistles, jaw harps, and drums between them. The feeling of continuity remains as
Williamson and his musical collaborators set the works of
Sir Walter Raleigh,
Ralph Waldo Emerson,
Thomas,
Wyatt and
John Clare to music that is equally composed and improvisational. In addition, there are originals. Is this
folk music? Yes and no. It is organic music, played upon
folk instruments, and much of the source material comes from the lineage British Isles tradition.
The spirit of adventure is more prevalent here than it was on the two previous outings.
Williamson has grown increasingly comfortable with t something approaching the free
jazz idiom and its reliance on close listening, dynamic, and the uses of space and texture -- which, in its way, derives from
poetry itself. The tenderness and gentleness of the songwriter's heart are ever present, as is his wondrous sense of humor, that comes as much from sound itself as it does centuries-old linguistic study. Whether it be in
traditional songs such as
"Sir Patrick's Spens," Turlough O'Carolan's
"Loftus Jones," or the pastoral, wicked humor of
"Political Lies" by the songwriter, the sense of centering around the music's thematic idea is paramount. Adventure is nigh on
"Emerson's Baccus," with its Eastern motif and striated vocals, and
"There Is a Music," with its dissonance. The two
ISB tunes are done here very differently, yet contain their original strangeness and charm.
The Iron Stone is the farthest afield of the artist's
ECM records, but also the most focused and collaborative.
Phillips and
Maneri, who are improvisers by trade, and
Moeller, who began as a "
folk" musician, have all been stretched by their experience with
Williamson. In turn he has added depth and dimension to his already staggering musical background. Together they have extended the languages of
folk and improvisational musics. In doing so they have created a work at once immediate and timeless, full of warmth, wonder and vision. It's hard to imagine any but the most cynical of listeners not being delighted by the wide array of colors, tones and textures on offer here.
The Iron Stone is
folk brought back to the hearthstone (perhaps it feels this way in part because it was recorded in an 18th century mill house) in order to embrace the future. ~ Thom Jurek
![The Very Best of Peter, Paul and Mary [Warner/Rhino]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0081227316129_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "The Very Best of Peter, Paul and Mary [Warner/Rhino]")
![Songs of the Civil War [Folkways]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0093070571723_p0_v3_s90x140.jpg "Songs of the Civil War [Folkways]")
