Their policies have stood the test of time. (Levelling The Land - Levellers)

Member Name: docpov

Product:	Levelling The Land - Levellers
Date:	19/09/05 (574 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent musically with a strong message .

Disadvantages: The message is sadly just as relevant today .

We are going back a bit with this one. Back to September 1991. Back into the history of one of the biggest bands of their musical genre. What musical genre would that be?
Mmm difficult question the Levellers are a very difficult band to pigeonhole. Folk rock, folk punk, both have been used to describe them and in some ways I suppose apt, but neither really do justice to the Levellers unique sound.
I would say that on this album they sound partially like a folk band you wouldn't be surprised to hear in an Irish pub on a Saturday night.
Even closer maybe would possibly would be gypsies singing around a Romany campfire on a summers evening considering the subject matter of the album
Add drums and bass to the mix of guitar, mandolin, violin and harmonicas to give more depth and range to the sound and you won't be far wrong. There is also a touch of the 'busker' in there as well, providing an effect of untamed freedom that widens the scope of their music. That is my impression anyway.

Never heard of the Levellers? Shame on you, never mind let me introduce the band.
They met in a pub in Brighton in 1988 and within two years they were headlining at Glastonbury.
They being, lead vocalist and guitarist Mark Chadwick, the multitalented Simon Friend who provides vocals, guitar, mandolin and harmonica. The bass player is Jeremy Cunningham, who incidentally is responsible for the artwork adorning the cover and completing the line up, ace violinist Jon Sevink and drummer Charlie Heather.

To the music then, I have described the overall sound of the album above and the opening song, One Way is a prime example of the style of things to come. Opening with guitars a counterpoint of violin and mandolin is joined by a slow rhythmic throbbing bass drum. There can be no mistaking the subject matter, a song about personal freedom (or the lack of it) from the opening line 'There's only one way of life and that's your own'. It also tells of the failure of the punk/ anarchy movement of the late eighties to make any difference to society.
The Game continues the anti authority theme but more subtly this time. It uses a poker game to signify politics and the effects that one decision can have on others. This is a faster song than One Way fast violin starts the song and the tempo is kept high throughout giving the impression of anger against a failed system.

A change of pace for The Boatman, this is perhaps the most 'folk' song on the album. Guitar and violin provide the backdrop for a slower song about life on the road, of being free to wander as one chooses ending with the sad truth that that is not something we are free to do. There is a long outro to this one, violin and mandolin combine to leave the listener with a vague sense of regret at chances missed to be free to live the simple life. This peacefulness doesn't last long though as Liberty Song is next, a much more punchy song starting with hammering guitar and violin. The style of this one is hard hitting, almost staccato as it talks again of lack of freedom and oppression of the common man.

Side one is completed by Far from Home. This one has the qualities of an Irish jig or even a barndance song, fast violin and mandolin against a quick drumbeat. This song is simply about having fun and I could imagine it being the sort of song that would be sung around the campfire with people dancing in the trees.

Side two; yes you youngsters, in the olden days you had to turn a vinyl record over to listen to the other side.
This side holds my favourite tracks of the album. Theme wise it is a continuation of side one but somehow seems to be detached from it and a single entity of its own. Maybe its because you listen to it as a single listening experience but somehow it seems to knit together better than side one.
Side two opens with Sell Out, A scathing attack on modern politics and policies. It continues the blast at society, taking racism and human rights along with misuse of our planet as its theme. A lot to fit in one song but I think it sums up the failures of the modern world quite succinctly. Musically Sell Out retains that 'jiggy' feel but this time added guitar and bass add more punch and underline the message of the song.

Another mans cause is pure ballad and is unashamedly an anti war song. It tells the tale of a family decimated by loss in another mans war and although it talks about the Falklands it could quite easily be as true today after the Iraq conflict. It just shows nothing changes doesn't it.
The Road is back to the theme of freedom to roam and do as one pleases. Following on from Another Mans Cause this is a soft song giving an impression of being at peace with a chosen lifestyle of wandering free. Mandolin and violin predominate with gentle guitar work adding to the melody.

The River Flow is my least favourite track, I won't say it is bad or a weak link because its not but for some reason it just doesn't affect me in the same way that the rest of the album does. It is again in that slightly staccato style telling a tale of happiness and dealing with life's problems. Guitar and drum take the lead this time with the violin in the background. I don't know what it is about this song but for some reason, for me it just doesn't work.

Finally the album ends with Battle of the Beanfield. The anger at injustice is back with avengence in this tale of persecution and injustice of authority. It is the story of an attack by police on a convoy of travellers as they made their way to Stonehenge on June 1st 1985. Police using what was reported to be overly violent methods arrested Four hundred and twenty people. Many fled into a field of beans adjacent to the road hence where the title came from. Starting with bass drum that is joined by bass guitar it has a brooding quality right from the start that is made even more melancholy by the slow violin that blends in. Harmonica provides the harsh sound of police sirens as the song builds as anger makes the track louder and faster.
This is perhaps my favourite song on the album, with the historical story behind it adding meaning to the music and the words.

Well, that is my interpretation of what I think is a fantastic album by a very underrated band. Of course you could ignore all that and just listen to it as a fantastic musical experience but I think you would be missing something should you choose to.

Levelling the Land is a record that I have listened to over many years and it has certainly stood the test of time. Many of the themes of the songs just as relevant today as they were then. That is sad really when you think about it as it means that none of the problems or injustices have really changed in the last fifteen years.

The record is available on CD as well as vinyl on China records for the vinyl and 1992 CD or Electra for CD, 1999 release. I have found it on Amazon priced £11 for CD or vinyl on very limited availability. It is also available from the Levellers shop on their website price £14 for the CD.

Listen and Enjoy.

©Docpov September 2005.

Summary: A superb album from a sadly underrated band.