Centenary: Words and Music of The Great War
Show Of Hands
Reviews of “Centenary”, Show of Hands, produced by Mark Tucker, 2014
(Re. “The Padre”)
I tell you what, folks, wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, sit down when you hear this song, you’ve got to listen to it.
Simon Mayo, “Drivetime”, Nov 4th 2014
Some are new arrangements of familiar songs, “The Gamekeeper” originally appeared as The Keeper on 1995’s Lie of the Land album but the power of its imagery, pairing the walk forward from the trenches with that of beaters putting up birds on a shoot is vastly increased in the context of this album, the phrase “walk towards the waiting guns” lingering long in the mind. The new setting blends Steve’s song with snippets from two traditional songs, The Keeper and The Water is Wide, bringing in the instruments and voices of Phil Henry and Hannah Martin and giving the whole a haunting, unforgettable impact.
Johnny Whalley, www.folkradio.co.uk
“The Padre” does a similar job, bringing out the compassionate heart of the priest, who works for all sorts, “The saint, the sinner / The seasoned veteran, the volunteer / The men of every rank and station / So full of courage, so lean in years,” and who prays that “all who witnessed such destruction may never witness the like again.”
Derek Walker, “Walkerwords”