One of the dirty little secrets of the new wave explosion of the late '70s was that it was also the rebirth of the singer/songwriter movement. Folks like
Elvis Costello,
Graham Parker,
Joe Jackson, and
John Hiatt had been knocking around for years without making an impression until they discovered they could emphasize the edge they'd been trying to buff away in their songs, put on an old suit and a skinny tie, and suddenly become part of the new vanguard in pop music. You didn't even need to be an unknown to make it work;
Iain Matthews had been an early member of
Fairport Convention and scored a hit with a country-folk cover of
Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock" with his band
Matthews' Southern Comfort before his career went into a slump later that decade. In 1978, producer
Sandy Roberton (who had worked with
Matthews' group
Plainsong) launched a new record label,
Rockburgh Records, and
Matthews was one of his first signings. With
Roberton as producer, 1978's
Stealin' Home was a polished effort that added a more up-to-date approach to
Matthews' music, and it was a success that even produced a major hit single, "Shake It."
Roberton would produce three more LPs for
Matthews that were awash with synthesizers, processed guitars, snapping drums, and dollops of extra percussion that were clearly intended to give him a saleable new wave credibility. What was most surprising is that folkie
Matthews took to the snazzier production with ease and enthusiasm; his tenor voice was strong and nimble enough to work with the busier arrangements, and the tunes he wrote (or chose) showed he had a real knack for up-to-date pop.
I Can't Fade Away: The Rockburgh Years 1978-1984 is a box set that includes the four albums
Matthews and
Roberton made as part of their
Rockburgh deal (1978's
Stealin' Home, 1979's
Siamese Friends, 1980's
Spot of Interference, and 1984's
Shook) along with a wealth of studio outtakes, demos, and live recordings from the period. Listening to the four studio LPs back to back shows that
Matthews and
Roberton got edgier as they went along, and for the most part it worked, though
Shook's bells and whistles are sometimes a bit much, and
Matthews could sing rock & roll with real fire, not something that was a big part of his earlier work. If this music is a bit anomalous in the overall arc of
Iain Matthews' career, his talent shone bright on these albums. There's more live material here than anyone who isn't an obsessive
Matthews fan needs, but there's no arguing he was in fine fettle in this period, and his backing band was top-notch, even as he kept giving the group new names.
I Can't Fade Away: The Rockburgh Years 1978-1984 is an excellent summation of a vital era in
Matthews' career, and even fans who have the original albums will find plenty here to merit a purchase. ~ Mark Deming
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