The music of Jones Cooper Scott

Having rested after 3 weeks on the road, and before I write about the tour, I want to write some comments on the music.

I only came across Oysterband around 2005, on their Big Session tour when I went to see Show of Hands, their support act. I was immediately captured by their music and on-stage performance. I saw them many times after that and, in particular, got to know Ray Cooper and became his tour manager, and then took on organising the walking tours for John Jones. So, before this tour, I already knew their music quite well.

The trio arrangements of many familiar songs was refreshing – a term used by quite a few people on this tour. As John says himself, you can hear the lyrics more clearly without an electric band on stage. The set introduced me to some Oysterband songs I’d never really heard before. It was a privilege to watch how they developed the set over the course of the tour. John has an amazing ability to sequence a set – and then sometimes vary the second half according to how things are going. Of course, playing with such accomplished musicians such as Al and Ray enables him to do this.

‘Native Son’ began the first set every night, opening with the cello and the first verse sung in welsh. This is very much John’s own introductory song.

The set is a mix of songs. ‘River Runs’, ‘Spirit Of Dust’, ‘Henry Martin’ and ‘Newlyn Town’ were familiar from John’s walking tours. ‘Over The Water’ and ‘Diamonds on the Water’ are familiar Oysterband songs. There are less familiar Oysterband songs such as ‘Drunkards Waltz’, ‘Sail on By’ and ‘This House Will Stand’. Ray contributes his own solo songs: ‘My Compass Points To North’ and ‘The Unknown Soldier Has A Name’, which they have rearranged to perform as a trio. Ray also led on ‘This Town’, a song he wrote and gave to Oysterband many years ago.

If you ask me to pick my favourite number from the set list then I’d have to pick two, neither of which I had heard before this tour. First I’d pick ‘The Story’ whose lyrics by Ian Telfer are poetic and exceptional. The verses are sung in turn by Ray, then Al and finally John, with an acapella chorus before the poignant ending of the song. My second choice is ‘A Time Of Her Own’ with the haunting sounds of organ and voice.

The audience gets a number of opportunities to sing along, the main one being John’s song ‘This House Will Stand’. The voices at Greystones and Nettlebed stand out in my memory.

Al Scott starts many of the songs and anchors all of them on guitar. In the second set, he got to sing by himself: ‘Thunderclouds’ accompanied by Ray on piano.

In May, the second half of the tour started at Cecil Sharpe House in London which gave the trio the opportunity to introduce ‘Hal A Tow’ to finish the second set. This is a rousing song and lively instrumentals which had audiences clapping and stomping in time with the music.

Each show finished with the acoustic ‘Newlyn Town’ with the musicians walking out of the venue leaving the audience humming the tune. A lovely way to round off every evening.