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Classic folk reissue from Market Square Another classic of UK folk, Steve Tilston's 1987 album "Life By Misadventure", has been reissued by Market Square Records with a 23 minute bonus track in the 23-minute instrumental "Rhapsody" from later release "Swans At Coole".
Steve
Tilston is acknowledged as one of folk
music's finest guitarists as well as being an outstanding singer/songwriter.
He has been performing and touring regularly worldwide since the mid-1960s
and has made a host of critically and publicly-lauded albums during the period.
His work has been likened most particularly to that of other English performers
of his generation, Nick Drake and John
Martyn. Of "Life By Misdaventure", Steve says: "The opening song "These Days" was very much an anti-Thatcherite song. I felt that this period in Britain was marked by a few doing very nicely thank you, but far too many who weren't. "There are a quite a few personal songs on the album too, including "Here Comes The Night", which I still play today and is very popular in the clubs. "Sometimes In This Life" is my secular hit, my celebration of life. "I don't have a favourite, but one that as a writer I'm proud of is "Polanaise". It refers to the period when I was in Poland with Ballet Rambert. "The whole experience of being there was so moving in that the people had hardly anything at all. I remember we'd been told to take a lot citrus fruit. A kilo of oranges was like a week's wages. "Most striking was the medieval centre, not just because it was beautiful but because it wasn't medieval at all. The Germans had bombed it to oblivion in the war. But the Poles found the plans, so they rebuilt their city to the last detail and I thought this a marvellous affirmation of the human spirit's drive to prevail over all odds. The song is about that." After the release of "Life By Misadventure", Steve became intrigued with the concept of playing the guitar with a bow. He discovered that one TG Stauffer had come up with same idea nearly 165 years before, and had created a bowed guitar called the arpeggione. The arpeggione playing of Tilston made its debut on 1990's, "Swans At Coole", the highlight of which - "Rhapsody" - took up an entire side of the vinyl album, and is featured on this release as a special extra track. This wholly instrumental Celtic suite is a beautiful work from start to finish, evoking traditionalism yet at the same time picking up one classical and new age influences along the way. "Life By Misadventure"- Steve Tilston (MSMCD108) is released in September 2001 by Market Square; UK distribution through Koch.
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