Grimethorpe in Concert: Volume IV

Any more stuff like this and the World Wildlife Fund may well be putting pressure on Grimethorpe to be set free from their enforced musical captivity...

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Grimethorpe Colliery Band
Conductor: James Gourlay
Soloists: Robert Westacott, Gary McPhee, Andrew Holmes, Arfon Owen, Michael Dodd
Egon Recordings: CDSFZ151
Total Playing Time: 72.32

Grimethorpe in concert mode is at times like watching a caged tiger at Bristol Zoo: a beautiful animal, bored stiff by its enforced surroundings, occasionally roused to show its fangs in anger.

And despite the fact that it’s behind bars, you still know though that one slip and the damn thing still has the propensity to rip your throat out.

Old handler

It also takes an experienced old handler to keep it under complete control too.

James Gourlay is a bit like the great Johnny Morris (although thankfully, not Siegfried & Roy), and has the crafty knack of prodding the sleeping beast just enough to pep it up for showtime for the gawping crowds – even if it is going through the motions somewhat with the standard repertoire its asked to devour for their entertainment.

And that’s what we get with the latest in the series of ‘Grimethorpe in Concert’ releases – a collection of easy listening fare that has served them well enough over the past few years on concert and contest stages around the banding world.

Many, many times

There is nothing here that you haven’t heard before (many, many times in fact) – from the yellow edged pensioner favourites of ‘Gold & Silver’ and ‘Merry Widow Waltz’, to the classic solo spotlights of ‘Rusalka’s Song to the Moon’ and ‘Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms’.

We also get the eternal homage to ‘Brassed Off’ with ‘Irish Tune from County Derry’ and the lachrymose emotion of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ (which is not how many Liverpool Football Club fans feel like at the moment).

Meanwhile, you can now carbon date ‘Over the Rainbow’ and ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’, whilst the boat was surely moored ‘home’ for the ‘Daddy’ in Newcastle docks way before they were converted into luxury flats for overpaid footballers and their jaffa tanned Wags.

Blue rinse

’Demelza’ has long turned from ravishing red head into a blue rinse granny, whilst the ‘Children of Sanchez’ have grown up, left home and started work in the nearest Mexico City tapas bar.

The time has come for, ’Canterbury Chorale’ to be turned into a musical accompaniment to a visitor’s audio-guide at the Cathedral, whilst someone must have finally cottoned on to the fact that ‘Amparito Roca’ is as about as authentically Spanish as a bottle of San Miquel lager drunk in a Bradford pub.

As for the ‘modern menace’ of rival teenage gangs from ‘West Side Story’?

None of them would survive a night on a housing estate in a rough part of Sheffield let alone New York. Officer Krupke now drives around in an armed response vehicle.

Languid classiness

And despite all this: Despite the UK Gold repertoire, despite the need to play to pension age musical tastes (and the sleeve notes need looking at), and despite the stereotype musical miners Disneyland image that it creates to the outside world, Grimethorpe still exudes that inherent touch of languid classiness that few other bands can ever hope to match.

It’s a bit rough and ready at times here, but when the band are focussed and concentrating there is an undeniable brilliance about their playing – even on music that was showing its age when Methuselah was a lad.

Shudder down the spine

James Gourlay brings little touches of inherent musicality to repertoire in show - a touch eccentric in places for sure, but always interesting, whilst the fine batch of soloists are on highly polished form, even if the solos themselves are not the greatest showcases for their undoubted talents.

The ensemble playing can still send a shudder down the spine.  

However – just like the tiger at Bristol Zoo, it’s just sad that such a wonderful beast is caged up like this, away from its natural musical habitat.

Grimethorpe deserves to be set free.

Iwan Fox

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