Tuesday 19 June 2012

Levellers 'This Garden'

Chart Peak: 12

YouTube

Those "anarcho-hippy folk-punksters", the Levellers, release their latest single 'This Garden' on 18th October '93.

Excitingly for fans of the number 12, this is not only the third single on this side of the album to peak at that position but the second Levellers single in a row to get there. In fact they managed a total of four Number 12 hits with only one of their fourteen Top 40 singles getting any higher. It's strange to imagine now that they were once a significant chart act: this single comes from their untitled third album, which was only kept from the top of the chart by UB40. Somebody was evidently so proud that the album title gets a mention both in the main sleeve note and in the writing credit, which also mentions that it was "gold-selling". I had to check they didn't mention it again in the the production credit, but they do thank Banco de Gaia for "remix inspiration". I'm not entirely sure whether to believe the Amazon customer who claims that this song "has no tune because they didn't have time to write one," though in the context of a five-star review it's unlikely to be intended as an insult. I suppose rushing the album might be why it's only called Levellers.
Possibly not quite the folk-punk style normally associated with the band, 'This Garden' goes for a slightly more chant-like atmosphere, also featuring what might be the first appearance of a digeridoo on a Now! album. I have been known to like Levellers songs once in a while and even bought a few of them, but this is just too preachy and self-satisfied even for me, particularly the mockney-sounding rap about foxhunting (yes, really).

Also appearing on: Now 33
Available on: Levellers (Remastered)

No comments:

Post a Comment