The Queen of Hearts [LP]

by Offa Rex

Overview

Confessed Anglophile Colin Meloy's affinity for U.K. folk music finally comes full circle on The Queen of Hearts, a meticulously crafted collaboration between the Decemberists and English folk artist Olivia Chaney. Comprising strictly traditional fare, the songs that make up Offa Rex's debut will be familiar to fans of the style, as many of their definitive versions have arrived via genre heavyweights like Anne Briggs, Martin Carthy, Shirley Collins, Ewan MacColl, Fairport Convention, and Steeleye Span. The latter two acts figure most prominently on the 11-track set, with the supremely talented Chaney channeling Sandy Denny and Maddy Prior, delivering pitch-perfect takes on seasoned tales both bucolic and brooding. Meloy and company also adopt the Span/Convention template, fleshing things out with spindly electric guitars, fiddle, and lumbering drums -- the group's take on "Blackleg Miner" hews so closely to the 1970 Steeleye version that it almost verges on karaoke. The secret weapon here is Chaney, whose excellent 2015 debut, Longest River, rightly evoked comparisons to Joni Mitchell and June Tabor. Her command impresses throughout, especially on some of the more pastoral numbers like "Old Churchyard," "Willie o' Winsbury," and the knotty Dreamboat Annie-era Heart-inspired title cut, and her presence helps to even out some of the album's more distended offerings, like the doomy psych-rock outlier "Sheepcrook and Black Dog." All nitpicking aside, Queen of Hearts is as committed a piece of retro-leaning English folk-rock as one could hope for -- there's even some Morris dance music. Meloy and Chaney's genuine love for the source material is apparent throughout, and while it may not bring anything too new to the table, it still makes for a delicious spread. ~ James Christopher Monger

Product Details

Release Date:	07/14/2017
Label:	Nonesuch
UPC:	0075597940008

Tracks

1. The Queen of Hearts
2. Blackleg Miner
3. The Gardener
4. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
5. Flash Company
6. Old Churchyard
7. Constant Billy [Oddington)/I'll Go Enlist (Sherborne)
8. Willie o' Winsbury
9. Bonny May
10. Sheepcrook and Black Dog
11. To Make You Stay

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Offa Rex   Primary Artist
Nate Query   Guitar (Bass),Bass (Upright),Bass (Electric),Bass,Double Bass
Jenny Conlee   Piano,Accordion,Organ (Hammond)
Ralph Carney   Woodwind,Clarinet (Bass),Wind Instruments
Anna Fritz   Cello
Steve Drizos   Congas
Mirabai Peart   Viola,Vocals (Background)
Olivia Chaney   Dobro,Piano,Vocals,Harmonium,Harpsichord,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background),Electric Harpsichord
Chris Funk   Autoharp,Dulcimer,Mandolin,Hammer Dulcimer,Guitar (Electric)
Colin Meloy   Guitar,Vocals,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Guitar (12 String),Vocals (Background),Guitar (Nylon String),Guitar (12 String Acoustic)
John Moen   Gong,Drums

Technical Credits

Nate Query   Group Member,Arranger
Steeleye Span   Arranger
Robert Johnson   Composer
June Tabor   Arranger
Jenny Conlee   Arranger,Group Member
Jason Quigley   Photography
Jeri Heiden   Design,Art Direction
Peter Knight   Composer
Nick Steinhardt   Design,Art Direction
Olivia Chaney   Arranger,Group Member
Timothy Hart   Composer
Michael Finn   Engineer
Samantha Muljat   Cover Photo,Photography
Frederick Kemp   Composer
Keegan Curry   Assistant Engineer
Justin Chase   Assistant Engineer
Traditional   Composer
Bob Ludwig   Mastering
Chris Funk   Arranger,Group Member
Lal Waterson   Composer
Ewan MacColl   Composer
Tucker Martine   Mixing,Engineer,Producer
Colin Meloy   Arranger,Producer,Group Member
John Moen   Arranger,Group Member
Maddy Prior   Composer