Live in Somerset

Live in Somerset might not sound very rock‘n’roll. But Steve Knightley is a true stadium star of West Country venues such as the David Hall in South Petherton. He articulates a sense of place and ancestral pride often lacking in the UK of today. In his first informal chat of the show heard here, Knightley classes these songs as being about ‘the land, the sea and the downright miserable,’ That's a little self-deprecating for what is in fact an expansive set-list. There are bewitching traditional numbers such as ‘The Oakham Poachers’, with sparse fiddle and slide guitar from guests Phil Henry and Hannah Martin, and the racing heartbeat rhythm of the traditional ‘Reynardine’. There are a few of his own compositions, like the a capella ‘Galway Farmer’, concerning an Irishman at the Cheltenham races, and the devastating ‘Coming Home’ (an ode to a fallen British soldier with a narrative that only becomes clear in its final line – ‘the family have been informed’). There are also some very inventive covers (Dylan's ‘Girl from the North Country’ and Springsteen's bleak ‘Downbound Train’). He also does lighthearted. ‘Transported’ is an ironic take on the transportation song tradition featuring a modern-day Devon sheep rustler and ‘Stop Copying Me’, with a loping reggae beat, is a song of rage at the evils of spam email and social networking media. The closing ‘Now You Know’ is a celebration of love for a woman, but also of love for a place. The intimacy of this recording makes for a compassionate meditation on being British with all its scars, sacrifices and silent consolations.