Mellow Candle - Swaddling Songs (1972/2004 Remastered Expanded Edition)
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Album: Mellow Candle - Swaddling Songs (Remastered Expanded Edition)
Released: 1972 (2004)
Genre: Folk-Prog, Progressive Rock
DERAM/ACME - ADCD1040
Originally released on Deram in 1972 this progressive folk album has now become a major classic and definitely lives up to the hype.This Irish progressive folk album has loads of soaring guitar, sweeping bass, twin female vocals and waves of mellotron that create a deep, mystical yet melancholic atmosphere.This re-mastered CD edition has been taken from the original master tapes and comes complete with two bonus tracks which were originally released in 1968 on Deram and a detailed booklet with unseen photographs and new sleevenotes. - Re-issue Description
From Dublin, Ireland, MELLOW CANDLE specialised in imaginative psychedelic folk rock and early progressive rock, with the singing talents of two ladies (Alison WILLIAMS and Clodagh SIMONDS), in addition to bassist Frank BOYLAN, drummer William MURRAY and guitarist Dave WILLAIMS. They covered both ballad and rock domains equally well. The music displayed a prodigious degree of natural talent for songwriting, harmonizing, and arrangement. A folk-rock in the vein of FAIRPORT CONVENTION or FOTHERINGAY.
"Swaddling Songs" debut album is rich in varied and a true sonic marvel of beauty and simple melodies, and, most of all, a blending of two of the most beautiful voices in all of music. This is a fantastic album that deserves new discovery. - ProgArchives.com
As a cross section of pyschedelia, folk rock and early progressive rock, the Irish group Mellow Candle released an absolute classic in 1972's Swaddling Songs. Yeah, I've heard Trees and I've heard Fairport Convention, hell, even Renaissance, and this is better I tell you. Mellow Candle featured two female vocalists, capable of the most most sublime of harmonies, who guide us through the album, along with exsquisite piano and guitar interplay. Most importantly, the band displays an immense talent for subtle, enchanting songcraft of the highest order. The album is made up of twelve tracks, rarely in excess of three minutes apiece, and is carried by impeccable melodic sense, infectious arrangements and unbridled, passionate performance. Indeed, nary a moment is wasted on the whole album, as each compact, tuneful gem is matched by the following piece until Swaddling Songs comes to an end, far too early of course.
Really, as far as folk rock goes, this album is pretty much perfect. What makes it refreshing I suppose, at least from a "prog" perspective, is the ability of main songwriter Clodagh Simmonds to write such, dare I say "accessible", melodies, yet without sacrificing compositional color, depth or instrumental interplay. Indeed, many of the vocal harmonies in particular strike me as fairly sophisticated. All of this wrapped in that gorgeous, intangible early 70s post-psychedelic atmosphere. Those of you who scour liner notes might have noticed Simmonds' name on Mike Oldfield's early albums (along with drummer William Murray), so you may already be familiar with her enchanting vocals. This is perhaps the most successful prog-rock/folk hybrid I've yet heard. A classic. - Greg Northrup, ProgWeed.net
Irish group Mellow Candle's only album (until the outtakes album ) is one of the most re-pressed progressive rock albums of all time, having had an original Japanese issue, a Korean, a British (the most affordable and current), and also a limited edition LP-cover release in the British Rock Legend Series. This album is the very pinnacle of English progressive folk-rock a la The Trees, Fairport Convention, and Spriguns, and one of the clear masterpieces of the era. This band had two outstanding female lead vocalists; one of them, Clodagh Simonds, went on to be one of Mike Oldfield's early vocalists (check out Ommadawn for example). Both singers counterpoint each other (or themselves depending on the tracks) to dazzling results carrying each of the album's twelve tracks along by their sheer prowess. What is particularly amazing is that some of the music was written by Simonds when she was very young, including one of the album's most amazing tracks, "Lonely Man," written at the age of 12. One wonders if such a wondrous display of musical serendipity will ever find it's way so strongly to a folk/rock fusion again. Surely this is one of Ireland's most mystical potions. - Gnosis Ratings
They were an Irish band from the post-psychedelic era that produced but this one album, which went sadly unacknowledged in its initial release. Over the years, though, Mellow Candle's sole LP garnered cult status, making it an eventual heavy hitter among British folk-rock collectors, who were content to pay considerable sums of money for mint copies, if the liner notes for the CD are to be believed. In any case, there are two reasons to get Swaddling Songs, neither of them inconsiderable.
The first of these are the vocal talents of Alison Williams and Clodagh Simonds, who were apparently schoolmates before forming the band. Williams' mellifluous vocals were perfectly complemented by Simonds, whose voice had more bite to it. Between the two, Swaddling Songs is rich in varied and often subtle vocal interplay. On the ballads, Williams takes the lead, her voice exhilarating in its openness on the lovely "Messenger Birds" and gently rocking back and forth between dark and light chords in "Sheep Season." For the more aggressive tunes, often barreling into furious Irish vocalise passages halfway through, Simonds' tarter voice generally provides the lower melody line as a foundation, while Williams provides a higher harmony (e.g., "The Poet and the Witch," "Dan the Wing"). However, this need not be the case. For example, on "Break Your Token," it is the same positioning, but with Williams as identified lead. On the album's deliciously manic closer, "Boulders on My Grave," the positions reverse, with Williams taking the lower register and Simonds the higher. Then there's "Buy or Beware," which opens with a melodic line by Williams, answered by a counter-melody by Simonds, answered by Williams again; they then switch places for the next chorus (October Project used this same form of vocal alternation to effect with "Take Me As I Am"). They might uniformly sing a melodic line throughout the whole song (e.g., "Reverend Sisters", "Lonely Man"), but just as often their vocals will diverge, coiling around each other or where the uniform melody should be, only to meet up again.
The second reason to get this album is the exceptional quality of the songs themselves. The lyrics marry the mystical imagery of the period with that of the Catholic upbringing of the band, and the music is loaded with catchy melodies, offbeat rhythms, and unexpected accentuation. As a brief example, I again think of "Buy or Beware," where the opening line flows seamlessly from 4/4 -> 3/4 -> 5/8 with no sense of contrivance, only to be broken off by an unexpectedly longer counter-melody. Simonds, who wrote a majority of the songs, displays considerable imagination and dexterity on keyboards, and the rest of the band is always lock-step alongside her. Mellow Candle covers both ballad and rock domains equally well, and Swaddling Songs has some indispensable material. For me, that would especially be "Sheep Season," "Silver Song," "Messenger Birds," "Reverend Sisters," "Break Your Token," and "Buy or Beware." Really, though, there are no weak songs on this one at all.
In some respects, Swaddling Songs reminds me strongly of Yes' debut album. Here you had a band displaying a prodigious degree of natural talent for songwriting, harmonizing, and arrangement. However, there is also a raw, energetic, and unpolished quality to the album, as this was an album obviously made from a band whose musicians must have been in their late teens. The vocals are occasionally overeager and strained, and the production value was on the lower end of the scale. So, listening to this I often wonder what Mellow Candle would have produced if fate had let them stick around longer, with their sound becoming more mature and refined and with a bigger budget. Would they have made another Close to the Edge? But this wasn't to be, and the band did not get to make further albums. Simonds, having the highest post-M.C. profile, has since appeared as a vocalist on a number of Mike Oldfield's works. Drummer Murray died in 1998, while Alison Williams (now O'Donnell) performs in a band called Eishtlinn. When I first bought this album, I thought it was simply decent. But over the years, with increasing plays it has forcefully made my ears stand up and take notice. Though usually filed under folk-rock, I think of this more in terms of deftly crafted early 70s UK pop with considerable appeal to prog fans. Whatever label you put on it, this is a fantastic album that deserves new discovery. - Joe McGlinchey, Ground and Sky review - Mellow Candle - Swaddling Songs
By its title Swaddling Songs, reflects something warm and tranquil, a sonic experience offering a refuge similar to a winter coat from the ravages of the world outside. Swaddling Songs, Mellow Candle's debut album from 1972 is one such warm hideaway.
Swaddling Songs' story and the Mellow Candle saga reflects the prophetic nature of the band's existence and the album's creation. Reviled as a tax loss in 1972 by The New Musical Express, it has become a holy grail of the folk rock underground and a gem in the collector's world. During the late 1990s it was not uncommon to see mint copies of the album, changing hands for figures of ?500 upwards. While being familiar with the name from reading Pat Egan's progressive rock page in Ireland's seminal Spotlight magazine, a huge mystery still remained begging to be solved. Information was limited to the point of non-existence and in 1994 I began my odyssey to find out more about this elusive and now legendary Irish folk-rock band...
...Mellow Candle's story began in 1963 at the Holy Child Convent in Killiney.Co. Dublin. Amidst the pupils, green uniforms and the sisters' all black sombre habits was where pianist/vocalist/songwriter, Clodagh Simonds met Alison Bools (now O'Donnell) and Maria White. Finding music as their combined passion, they formed a trio called The Gatecrashers but would soon adopt the more poetic and mystical sounding name of Mellow Candle. Clodagh Simonds iginally from Banbridge, Co. Down had just settled in Killiney with her family after a period of moving between Ireland, England and Singapore and had been writing songs since she was very young, among them Lonely Man, which she had written at the tender age of 12. Mellow Candle quickly became school concert regulars Alison recalls -
Over the years, and after Maria had left, the nuns encouraged Clodagh and I despite the fact that it interfered with our studies. We were usually allowed to have one of the school music rooms during our lunch hour and quite a few girls dropped by to listen to us including Sinead and Sorcha Cusack.
Typical sets for school concerts included covers by Donovan, Simon & Garfunkel, The Beatles and original songs from Clodagh whose talent was quickly maturing.
Mellow Candle found getting gigs outside the convent walls fruitless. In 1967, frustrated 14 year old Clodagh sent a demo tape to Radio Luxembourg DJ Colin Nichol who passed it to producer Simon Napier-Bell who arranged a recording session in London. Mellow Candle's first single Feeling High c/w Tea with the Sun, both Simonds originals, emerged on Napier-Bell's short-lived SNB Records. Complete with a kitchen sink production, Spectorish wall of sound and influences of every girl vocal group from The Shangri Las to the Ronettes, they created a psychedelic pop masterpiece. The only trouble was outside airplay on Radio Luxembourg and Manx Radio, few people heard it and the SNB label's demise didn't help matters either. However Mellow Candle did manage a triumphant homecoming concert at their old school and they also received a royalty cheque for 9/= (45p sterling in todays money). Not that they were particularly bothered by this experience...
...The band was unique as it was a drummer-free quartet. We didn't need a drummer for a long time because Paddy Morris had a very percussive slapping style of bass playing,.When Mellow Candle re-emerged in 1970, they caught the end of the late 1960s Irish Progressive Rock boom that also spawned Skid Row, and Rory Gallagher's Taste. Mellow Candle was a refreshing alternative to the progressive rock/blues/jazz crossovers relying on instrumental pyrotechnics and excessive volume common at the time. Mellow Candle's music was as their name suggested mellow and cool, they preferred to pull out the technical stops with Alison and Clodagh's dynamic vocal harmonies and a batch of original songs that were daring and inventive and possessed an energy and originality all their own.
Managed by Brian Tuite and Thin Lizzy overseer Ted Carroll, Mellow Candle's live debut was at Liberty Hall supporting The Chieftains. Further gigs happened in Dublin's Mansion House, Liberty Hall, The Eagle House in Glenageary, The Longshoreman and 'The Mug's Gig' in Slattery's Capel Street supporting Donal Lunny and Andy Irvine. Opening slots for Thin Lizzy and Skid Row also created a positive vibe in the rock circuit. However Paddy Morris was soon to be Mellow Candle's first casualty on their debut London trip...
...Mellow Candle signed with Deram in London on April 18th 1971. David and Alison also married on the afternoon of their gig opening for Thin Lizzy at Dublin's National Stadium. Furthering the band's Thin Lizzy connection Clodagh Simonds also played harpsichord and mel-lotron on Thin Lizzy's "Shades of a Blue Orphanage", album in 1972. Mellow Candle were back in England in December 1971 to record "Swaddling Songs" at Decca studios in Tollington Park with David Hitchcock producing. Based in tatty rooming accommodation in Hampstead's Belsize Park, they lived in the house with Gay and Terry Woods for a while. Amongst others in the U.K. and Ireland they gigged alongside Lindisfarne, Genesis, Curved Air, Tir Na n'Og, Horslips, Donovan and Fairport Convention. April 1972 saw Mellow Candle back home in Ireland opening for Steeleye Span at the National Stadium.
'Swaddling Songs' was released in April 1972 preceded by a double A side single 'SilversongVDan The Wing'. 'Swaddling Songs' produced by David Hitchcock was housed in a gatefold sleeve with a black and white front cover painting by David Anstey. Lyrics were printed on the inside sleeve as well as pictures of the band members accompanied by whimsical hippy style sleeve notes (reproduced in full in this booklet).
Musically, Swaddling Songs, was a glorious fusion of contemporary folk and rock styles Topped off by Clodagh and Alison's superlative vocal harmonies. An album of sheer quality and class, where excellent musicianship was matched with original and innovative material, Swaddling Songs remains an unsung masterpiece. From years of rehearsals in the Holy Child School a rich and subtle vocal interplay was honed. Clodagh and Alison.s voices weaved their way through complex time signatures and zigzag harmonies best exemplified on Break Your Token," and "Dan the Wing". The closing Boulders on My Grave, introduced a frenzied blast of Irish influenced vocalese while on Buy or Beware, Alison and Clodagh involved themselves in a feast of supple counter-melody. Both singers counterpoint each other (or themselves depending on the tracks) to dazzling results carrying each of the album's twelve tracks along by their sheer prowess.
Vocal acrobatics however is but one side of Swaddling Songs' charm. The others come in the form of folk"rock ballads generally simple, beautiful and often ethereal and the group's top class musicianship. Songs like Alisons Heaven Heath, and Messenger Birds, float by as if on clouds and Clodaghs Silver Song, and Reverend Sisters, offer a combination of lilting melodies and observational lyrics. Silversong, covered by All about Eve utilised some delicious backing vocals and mellotron effects. Reverend Sisters, is a forthright and striking rites of passage song mirroring their educational experiences compared with a heightened awareness of life beyond the convent walls. Lonely Man, written by Clodagh at the age of 12 possesses a maturity and world-weariness beyond her tender years.
Candles sound is a test combination of Pentangle/ Renaissance/ Fotheringay type gothic folk/classical/ jazz/ rock crossover. Guitarist David Williams contributes some sterling moments while Frank Boylan's bass rumbled round the edges, rock solid in his performances, while William Murray's drumming eagerly complemented the multi-faceted vocals and anchored the sound in soft rock territory. Clodagh Simonds, piano, harpsichord and mellotron added the final icing to an impressive musical mixture. Musically and vocally Mellow Candle was a uniquely gifted and talented outfit and Swaddling Songs, captures them at their creative peak.
Brilliant as Swaddling Songs was, it bombed commercially. Reviews were mixed; some congratulatory, others dissenting, including the immortal Tax Loss comment from the NME. Mellow Candle toured to support the album with Lindesfarne, Genesis, and Curved Air. However changes were coming and Frank Boylan was replaced by ex Spirogyra bassist Steve Borrill. The band parted company with Ted Carroll as manager enlisting Pete Harmon and a planned tour of Holland was cancelled. Mellow Candle changed their name to Grace Before Space and were writing new material that was even more complex and evolved than that featured on Swaddling Songs so one can only guess the possible outcome had they stayed together. However the band finally split up in 1973...
...Swaddling Songs, finds Mellow Candle's manifold talents reaching full fruition. Adding both sides of their 1968 debut single Feeling High,/,Tea With the Sun, itself issued for the first time on CD, this package completes Mellow Candles commercially recorded output. It also adds a striking contrast of Clodagh and Alison's youthful beginning and the mature transition with David Williams, Frank Boylan and William Murray into a potentially major league outfit. Mellow Candle' s music floats like a butterfly over the horizon still dazzling all willing and curious ears with its beauty and inventiveness. Underground Classics don't come any better or more translucent than this one. - John O'Regan
1. Heaven Heath - 3:00
2. Sheep Season - 5:02
3. Silver Song - 4:27
4. The Poet and the Witch - 2:51
5. Messenger Birds - 3:39
6. Dan the Wing - 2:45
7. Reverend Sisters - 4:21
8. Break Your Token - 2:27
9. Buy or Beware - 3:04
10. Vile Excesses - 3:14
11. Lonely Man - 4:30
12. Boulders on My Grave - 3:41
Bonus Tracks:
13. Felling High - 02:23
14. Tea With The Sun - 3:18
Frank Boylan - bass
William Murray - drums
Clodagh Simonds - vocals, keyboards
Alison Williams - lead vocals
David Williams - guitar, vocals
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