[.ca] Up with the Larks

Another Scottish masterpiece:
One day whilst browsing my favourite used music store I came across a used CD called "The Young Picnickers" by a group I'd never heard of called "The Pearlfishers". I don't know about you, but a number of different factors motivate me to buy an unheard of used CD: The cover art, the producer, the song titles, the record label, or maybe just a whim. Some of the best music I own was acquired this way. You sometimes get great music, usually by obscure groups or singers, just by taking a chance & following your gut instinct. So, I'm not sure why I plunked down the few dollars to buy The Young Picnickers, but man I sure hit pay-dirt when I bought it. Jesus, is it fine music! No, make that great music. Which leads me to this review. The Pearlfishers is really a Scottish fellow by the unassuming name of David Scott. He's about as close to a musical genius writing & recording today as you'll find. The guy has a rare gift for pop song craftsmanship. Guitars (acoustic & electric), banjos, pianos, violins, violas, cellos, contrabass, saxes, clarinets, flutes, flugel horns, trumpets abound in the PF's music. I own five PF CDs: The afore-mentioned (2000), Across The Milky Way (2001), The Strange Underworld Of The Tall Poppies (2002), Sky Meadows (2003) & of course, Up With The Larks (2007). Each album is great. There isn't one mediocre tune on any of them. Scott enjoys his wordplay. This is apparent just from his song titles--not so much from the titles on Up With The Larks, but his other albums have titles like "My Dad The Weatherfan" (a great song on Sky Meadows), "Banana Sandwich" (on ...Tall Poppies), "I Was A Cowboy" (this dreamy song on Across The Milky Way is better than most of what the much lauded Beatles ever wrote) & "An Ordinary Day Out In The Suburbs" (on The Young Picnickers). The guy's abilities as a wordsmith rival those of Bernie Taupin. To wit, from the title track of Up With The Larks: "We were the toast of the lost and lonely/keepers of dread and doom/till somebody spiked our tears with joy/stood back to watch us swoon..." The guy is a master story teller of everyday situations. His evocative, quirky lyrics are a joy to contemplate. Scott has a kind-of dry, nasal voice. Not a great voice, but it does the job. If he was merely covering anyone else's songs we'd probably never have even heard of him. No, the power of The Pearlfishers is in the songs--both music & lyrics. I've found that when it comes to music you can tolerate a terrible singer (like Neil Young), you can accept mediocre technical musicianship (like The Rolling Stones), you can reluctantly ignore the incompetence/fakery of some musicians (like The Monkees--remember them?!) & you can gloss over undiscernible lyrics, BUT you can't enjoy music if it doesn't have a great melody. It's gotta have a hook. Geez, even rap has to have a melody to be listened to. You won't have to worry about being hooked by the PF's music. And Scott ain't stingy with his music. Each of the PF's albums contains at least 12 songs. Quite honestly, it's hard to pick out a favourite PF song, but I'd have to say that "The Umbrellas Of Shibuya" on Up With The Larks is right near the top. About being in Japan, it's one of Scott's most evocative stories: "Up from the bridge we see over a town/the umbrellas of Shibuya spinning around/the banker, the lawyer, the young Tokyo crew/safe under a sky of polythene blue..." Beautiful. In another life, maybe I could write like that. At first I had some trepidation about buying Up With The Larks. After having enjoyed the PF's previous four albums, I thought that surely Scott was due for a mediocre album; I thought maybe he might have run out of steam. But no. This is arguably the best PF album yet. How the guy can write song after song of fabulous music is hard to understand. I guess that's why I'm a lowly bean-counter instead of a musician. We all have our niche in life. You know, I like The Beatles & Elton John & Led Zeppelin & Sinatra & a thousand other musical artists. BUT, if I gotta be kidnapped by aliens to a distant planet, I'll take my PF collection along with me & leave the rest behind. In my considerable experience in listening to music for over forty years, nobody has recorded music which is as consistently great as that of the PF. (Don't forget that even The Beatles wrote filler material like "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" & "Octopus's Garden". And their "White" album is almost unplayable. (Sexy Sadie, indeed.) Be honest: When was the last time you played their White album?) If you wanna get into the PF, I'd suggest starting with Up With The Larks. Then I'll bet you'll be back on Amazon looking for the other PF albums. I get giddy thinking that the PF may record another four or five albums in the next five years or so. Praise the Lord! I can scarcely imagine the pleasure of listening to more of the PF. A PF album is one you can buy at face value, unheard, confident that it will be great & with no filler material. David Scott is too competent, credible & brilliant a craftsman to include any filler material on his albums. He probably already has another 1,000 songs churning in his head. More musicians should be so devoted to their métier.

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