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Product Description
CD Description
Their most innovative studio album to date – Show of Hands as they’ve never been heard before. All the Show of Hands trademarks are there – intelligent lyrics, startling melodies, a plethora of instruments and impeccable presentation. But WITNESS marks a confident new direction for the band - more melodically adventurous, edgier and assured. Over a year in the making, it gives a new twist to the Show of Hands sound - the result of an inspired collaboration with Grammy-nominated producer Simon Emmerson and Mass (Simon Massey) of Afro Celts fame. Says Simon Emmerson: "Show of Hands have an uncanny ability to create fresh, contemporary music that is also deeply rooted in the traditional music of England and the West Country, and Steve Knightley is without doubt one of England's finest song writers - a storyteller of passion and integrity." Tracks: Witness / Roots / The Dive / The Falmouth Packet, Haul Away Joe / Undertow / If I Needed Someone / Innocents’ Song, Gwithian / Union Street (Last Post) / The Bet / Ink Devil / Scratch / All I’d Ever Lost.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This latest album from SoH is an excellent mix of traditional folk songs and ballards telling stories of modern day life in England. The highlights for me are "The Dive", "Undertow" and the stonking "Roots" which will have you yelling along as Knightley gets more and more angry about the state of the country. The Cd hasn't been out of our stereo for 2 weeks now. If you're a Show of Hands fan you need to get hold of this one now! If you're new to the band or to the folk scene in general then this would be an excellent introduction...highly recommended.
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Phil Beer and Steve Knightley(and the Afro Celt production team Emmerson and Mass, and Miranda Sykes) have produced a fabulous album that blurs a lot of musical boundaries.
Witness is likely to be bought and enjoyed by any fan with open ears and an interest in folk music or the wider world of rock, world music or Americana. It may seem controversial for folk purists because it doesn't always sound like folk music, and with politicans and other people who see the world in pure black and white terms.
It reminds me of some of REM's softer rocking moments, of Richard Thompson's best early work. And if you liked Seth Lakeman or Kate Rusby and the Afro Celts you should like this
It's a difficult task to produce music which spans the range I've described, but they pull it off. As the album runs from the rhythmic acoustic power and depth of ideas of Witness, Roots and the Falmouth Packet/Haul Away Joe medley to the quieter emotional stories of the Dive and Union Street(Last Post), there is the consistency of well written music and great singing .
The songs sound fully developed, mostly honed in live performance, and lifted from the acoustic sound of two excellent musicians by intelligent sympathetic production and overlaying in the studio .
And there are quirky gems:
-Innocents song/ Gwithian mixes original poetry (Charles Causley) with an overdubbed fiddle sound that could be the Velvet Underground
- ironically, when Bruce Springsteen is trying on folk for size, SOH have produced "Undertow", a perfect West Country song that Springsteen would be very proud of if he had been born in Cornwall.
If this goes on much longer, even a broadband modem will give up - listen to some samples and make up your own (broad)mind
Witness is likely to be bought and enjoyed by any fan with open ears and an interest in folk music or the wider world of rock, world music or Americana. It may seem controversial for folk purists because it doesn't always sound like folk music, and with politicans and other people who see the world in pure black and white terms.
It reminds me of some of REM's softer rocking moments, of Richard Thompson's best early work. And if you liked Seth Lakeman or Kate Rusby and the Afro Celts you should like this
It's a difficult task to produce music which spans the range I've described, but they pull it off. As the album runs from the rhythmic acoustic power and depth of ideas of Witness, Roots and the Falmouth Packet/Haul Away Joe medley to the quieter emotional stories of the Dive and Union Street(Last Post), there is the consistency of well written music and great singing .
The songs sound fully developed, mostly honed in live performance, and lifted from the acoustic sound of two excellent musicians by intelligent sympathetic production and overlaying in the studio .
And there are quirky gems:
-Innocents song/ Gwithian mixes original poetry (Charles Causley) with an overdubbed fiddle sound that could be the Velvet Underground
- ironically, when Bruce Springsteen is trying on folk for size, SOH have produced "Undertow", a perfect West Country song that Springsteen would be very proud of if he had been born in Cornwall.
If this goes on much longer, even a broadband modem will give up - listen to some samples and make up your own (broad)mind
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
A lot of my peers tell me that folk music is boring, lacking musically and totally irrelevant these days - thankfully to save my credability Show of Hands have produced a gem of an album. It is an album which sees the band effortlessly blurring musical boundaries and taking them to higher level than their last album Cuntry Life - something which I thought they would not do.
The opening two tracks immediately set the listener up for a musical rollercoaster ride with two upbeat tracks - Witness and Roots. The production by Afro Celt is noticable with much better production value and bass levels than previous outings. Next up is the more laid back Dive before the tempo rises again for The Falmouth Packet which is one of those songs you want to get up and jig along to. The fifth track Undertow is an excellent ode to a young persons take on country life. If I Needed Someone follws before the almost perfect traditional folk blend of poetic lyrics and simple musical accompaniment.
Union Street (Last Post) is a beautiful duet ballad of lost love which provokes many emotions, whilst The Bet is folk storytelling set to music. Ink Devil moves back to more folk rock that would not seem out of place on a Richard Thompson LP - it's moments like this that give Show of Hands a wide ranging appeal. Scratch is possibly the weakest track on the LP and doesn't quite have the same feel as the rest of the album. However closing track All I'd Ever Lost is simple and laid back but is still able to evoke feelings like the rest of the album.
For me it is difficult to see how anyone could dismis this album as 'boring, musically lacking and irrelevant'. Musically it is a fine recording taking influences from many genres and artists, yet still keeping a sense of originality about it. Yet more the styles blend together effortlessly something that is not always acheived when spanning genres. This instantly adds an excitment to the record and makes you want to keep listening.
As for being irrelevant, Show of Hands are possibly the most relevant band around. Every song is carefully written to get a message across and not just to sound good as many songs are of late. Subjects such as love and lost are tackled in such a way that are packed with emotion that can easily be related to - something many so called emo bands would love to be able to do.
But Show of Hands really coming into their own when on home territoty. Being a band from rural West Country they are able to tap into those real matters that arise from living in a rural area. On this album alone this is tackled from two different perspectives - Undertow shows a young persons view of wanting a better life away from the country as there is little there for them whereas Roots (the best track) tackles head on the destruction of traditional English values and the need to look after and cherish our traditions.
This is an album that stands up to be listened to and challenges mindsets. It is something that is relevant to us all and I would whole heartedly recommend it to everyone.
The opening two tracks immediately set the listener up for a musical rollercoaster ride with two upbeat tracks - Witness and Roots. The production by Afro Celt is noticable with much better production value and bass levels than previous outings. Next up is the more laid back Dive before the tempo rises again for The Falmouth Packet which is one of those songs you want to get up and jig along to. The fifth track Undertow is an excellent ode to a young persons take on country life. If I Needed Someone follws before the almost perfect traditional folk blend of poetic lyrics and simple musical accompaniment.
Union Street (Last Post) is a beautiful duet ballad of lost love which provokes many emotions, whilst The Bet is folk storytelling set to music. Ink Devil moves back to more folk rock that would not seem out of place on a Richard Thompson LP - it's moments like this that give Show of Hands a wide ranging appeal. Scratch is possibly the weakest track on the LP and doesn't quite have the same feel as the rest of the album. However closing track All I'd Ever Lost is simple and laid back but is still able to evoke feelings like the rest of the album.
For me it is difficult to see how anyone could dismis this album as 'boring, musically lacking and irrelevant'. Musically it is a fine recording taking influences from many genres and artists, yet still keeping a sense of originality about it. Yet more the styles blend together effortlessly something that is not always acheived when spanning genres. This instantly adds an excitment to the record and makes you want to keep listening.
As for being irrelevant, Show of Hands are possibly the most relevant band around. Every song is carefully written to get a message across and not just to sound good as many songs are of late. Subjects such as love and lost are tackled in such a way that are packed with emotion that can easily be related to - something many so called emo bands would love to be able to do.
But Show of Hands really coming into their own when on home territoty. Being a band from rural West Country they are able to tap into those real matters that arise from living in a rural area. On this album alone this is tackled from two different perspectives - Undertow shows a young persons view of wanting a better life away from the country as there is little there for them whereas Roots (the best track) tackles head on the destruction of traditional English values and the need to look after and cherish our traditions.
This is an album that stands up to be listened to and challenges mindsets. It is something that is relevant to us all and I would whole heartedly recommend it to everyone.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Untypical, but still good
I have, and like, all the Show of Hands CDs, but this one struck me as more "Steve Knightley's experiments in recording techniques" than their more normal folk club-based style -... Read more
Published 6 months ago by P. Bell
This CD is SOH GOOD ! ! !
I don't usualy bother doing reviews if there are loads already BUT I'll make an acception for this one! Read more
Published on 7 Nov 2009 by Pagan Ronnie
Epiphany
Witness is the album that convinced that I should leave rock behind and go down the folk route. This became clear when I choked up to The Dive and All I'd Ever Lost - perhaps Id... Read more
Published on 14 Oct 2009 by F. L. Price
Good, but not their best album.
As much as I enjoyed this album in part, there are some songs which just don't hit the spot in my opinion, especially towards the end of the album where there are a few wishy washy... Read more
Published on 22 April 2008 by MilleR
Earthy folk at it's best
This really is great stuff. From the impassioned (Roots) to the wistful (Union Street) this CD doesn't put a foot wrong in my opinion. Read more
Published on 14 Jan 2008 by T. Houghton
Witness
This is an absoloutly magical album, as all Show of Hands ones are. The songs are fantastic, very lively and energetic, which is great as there have been quite a few slow tracks in... Read more
Published on 28 Sep 2007 by Silven
another great record
A couple of the reviewers on this page are making the same old mistake of confusing English and British - Show of Hands are the former but they are not the latter. Read more
Published on 6 Mar 2007 by skywatcher
Miss any of this and your soul has died
Like another reviewer, I caught a Show Of Hands song on radio by chance. What real luck. I took a further chance and got this album. No regrets. Read more
Published on 4 Mar 2007 by Graham Smith
Another Fantastic collection of songs by Steve and Phil
Absolutely fantastic, why only one person has mentioned 'union street' so far, is beyond me. Beautiful. As is Undertow.. Read more
Published on 11 Feb 2007 by H. Swift
West Country Wonders
Steve and Phil have produced another litany of West County music in this their latest album. Songs range from those observing the destruction of the unique British culture for a... Read more
Published on 8 Feb 2007 by A. J. Rabet
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