Music Arcades: Alasdair Roberts: No Earthly Man

At the first of two fantastic 2009 Alasdair performances at The Goose is Out, I was so thrilled just to be there, and only ten minutes' walk from home, that I fancied buying something to celebrate — this was available and fitted the bill.

I'm coming to appreciate the album more. I'll always prefer Alasdair's original songs to the traditional ones, but the arrangements and production are probably my favourite of any of his albums. Credit to Will Oldham for that — and to John McCusker for some great fiddle work, Alex Neilson for imaginative drumming.

Coming back to the album, two and a half years after the the last time, I was prompted finally to take my copy of Bob Stewart's Where is St George? Pagan Imagery in English Folk Song, mentioned in the sleeve notes. First impression is that Stewart is mostly a savvy guide to tradition and imagery (this, of course, the verdict of someone decidedly non-savvy). My reservations being, first, his references to "racial groups" as though their boundaries were discrete and non-problematic, and, second, the sparsity of citations and evidence to support some interpretations, which leave them in the interesting-but-highly-debatable category. The case of The Two Brothers, quoted in Alasdair's sleeve notes, is one such case:

A clear [?] link connects this ballad with the early ritual practice of the Sacred King and his Tanist Brother and Successor. Although actual practices in specific times and places are known to have varied enormously, the general pattern was this: at a certain time of the year, one chosen man superseded the present 'king' usually by killing him. The victim represented the light part or waxing year, his successor the dark season or waning year."

Stewart draws the connection betweeen The Two Brothers and Edward, that I struggled with this very day last year. An almost uncanny coincidence, given the recent switch to the waxing year.

This line of enquiry sent me off to get the free Kindle sample of the Child Ballads to find out more. And so begins another foraging expedition, another extension to the ever-expanding reading list.