Sand In Your Shoes

This album was a featured album of the week on BBC Radio 2, it has some superb material on it. Most people will only know Ralph McTell for Streets of London. The sad thing about his success with that song is that he has produced so much good material over the years, but that's all he is known for. This album contains some excellent material, the lyrics are great, each song tells a different story and the music on each track is very different but goes so well with the words. There are 14 tracks on the album, here are comments about my favourites; "The Islands" - This was written for the TV program 'World Tour of Scotland' for his good friend Billy Connelly and tells a tale of the Shetland Isles through the years. "Care In The Community" is on a similar theme to 'Streets of London' but a very different style of music. He was spot on with his predictions about the mentally ill being discharged from hospitals into the community ending up taking other's lives. This all may sound a bit serious but the album contains some great tunes, it's not all doom and gloom, even though I will go on to tell you that the next 2 favourites of mine are about ethnic cleansing and the holocaust. I will defy you to not be moved by Ralph's performance in "Peppers and Tomatoes" which tells the story of a family in a village, happy in a community, where they shared crops with their neighbours until the politicians sent in soldiers and divisions between neighbours were created . Tension builds up throughout the song and you get a chill down your spine as it climaxes with the words 'I am watering my garden, when I smell the cigarette smoke, and turn round in the dust. I see the glint of rifles, but I can not see the faces, but I recognise the voices that say "You Must Come With Us!" The next track is a slow quiet track that relaxes you after the tension of 'Peppers and Tomatoes', but only for a while because it tells the tale of a suitcase and it's travels. But you then learn that the although the case has accompanied it's owner on some pleasant holidays in Austria, blue skies, pine trees and lakes, it has now made it's way to Jerusalem without it's owner. It's a true story and the case is now on show in the holocaust museum. It's sad but beautiful,"The Case Of Otto Scwartzkopf" is another composition and performance by Ralph McTell at his best. The next track really does relax you, totally different in style to anything Ralph's done before, but it works very well. It's a 40's style song called "Daddy's Whistling home". Hear it a few times and you will want to play it again and again. "Still In Dreams" is a beautiful gentle song with delicate guitar playing. It tells the tale of an old person, who is feeling delicate and sleepy in the morning, having had pleasant dreams looking back on happy times with his wife and dreaming they were young again. "An Irish Blessing" tells the story of a couple recognising that their children have grown up and need to live their own lives, make their own mistakes but know that their home is always there for them to return to. I'm not a religious person, so the track "Jesus Wept" took a bit of getting used to, but it is a very strong song which makes powerful statements. It considers what Jesus may have been thinking about when he was on the cross; "In his dream he saw the crusade and all wars that would follow, Declared in his name, When he thought he'd been direct, Love thy neighbour, do not Kill and turn the other cheek, That's why Jesus wept" It's a strong tune as well as excellent lyrics, it will become a favourite of yours. Ralph McTell is a modest guy who didn't want all the false lifestyle that went with being a 'Pop Star', so when he had the hit 'Streets of London' he dropped out to rethink what he should do. Since then he has continued to produce some excellent material but on his own record label and played the small circuits with a very low-key profile. But the world is missing out on a talented musician. Do yourself a favour and buy this album, you will be very pleased you did. The musicianship is excellent, his voice is great the compositions are unique, his guitar playing is superb.