Levellers - A Life Less Ordinary

  by Russell Ferguson

published: 17 / 2 / 2008

Label: Eagle Records
Format: CDS

intro

Excellent return to form after a succession of poor records by the Levellers who are back with a new double A sided single

There was a time when I would buy all the Levellers' records. I would play them on repeat and play their albums in succession everywhere I went, in the car, on my walkman, on my stereo and I would hassle DJs to play them too. One of the best gigs I ever went to was watching them at the Leeds Town and Country Club in 1995. That gig to me was a celebration of life and all that was good about it. You will get the idea by now that I quite liked them. Then the unthinkable happened. After four albums I got bored with them. Their albums after ther 1995 album, 'Zeitgeist' were stale, dull and unimaginative. 'Hello Pig' mixed their sound with that of 'Sergeant Pepper' and it just sounded lame, slow, over produced. They were going into Pink Floyd territory of over blown meaningless music, and it stank worse that the pig on the cover. You have no idea how crushed I was when I finished playing 'Hello Pig'. From alternative rock saviours to has beens in 45 minutes is no easy feat, but in 2000 the Levellers managed to do just that. I expected to slate their latest record, the double A side ‘A Life Less Ordinary’ and ‘The Cholera Well’ but, bugger me, it is actually quite good. No, let me rephrase that. It is actually very good. These two songs sound bright and sharp. They sound like the band have actually enjoyed making them. The fiddle, which is their defining sound, can be heard in the fore and not as a muffled noise in the background. Like all good folk songs it has a rousing sound that makes you want to get up and dance like a lunatic. The biggest asset the Levellers ever had is the ability to fuse folk and punk in equal measures, and to write modern rebel songs for a new generation who were looking for a voice to express their displeasure at the state and those who were running the country or not as the case seems to be. All the best elements of The Levellers have been used in these two songs, thumping drums, thoughtful lyrics, crisp fiddle sound and Mark Chadwick's voice sounding like its has discovered it past purpose. Welcome home lads. It’s good to have you back with us.

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