Trees
On the Shore

Album covers sometimes come back, even after they are dead and buried in our memories just like ghosts.

That's what the eerie and deceptively bucolic photo by the Hipgnosis studio always reminded me of, especially when I discovered that disturbing book set in the English countryside, "Giro di vite" by Henry James. A young governess discovers the secret of the two children entrusted to her, brother and sister enslaved by the desire to reunite the separated souls of two lustful lovers who died in tragic circumstances. At this point, you might start wondering what this has to do with the album...

Yet it does: the Trees are a second-tier British folk-rock quintet from the early seventies, right behind other major bands such as Fairport Convention and Pentangle. Maybe the splendid voice of Celia Humpris may pale in comparison to champions Sandy Denny or Jacqui McShee, but it has a sensitivity all its own as can be heard in the wonderful "Polly on the Shore", concluded by the melancholic electric solo of one of the three guitarists, Barry Clarke, filled with psychedelic moods. After all, in a band like this, where an acoustic folk without brass was prevalent, it's the guitars that create the right atmosphere for dreaming in the style of new American country ballads as in the traditional "Geordie", complete with a final slide, or the cheerful and lively "Little Sadie".

This was the second album by the Trees, released on the strength of the first "The Garden of Jane Delawney" and like the previous one, it is based on the alternation of originals and traditionals, but this time made slightly more "robust" by the use of the electric guitar. "Murdoch" highlights this slight evolution with a ride whose tension is always tempered by Celia's beautiful voice.

The choral "While the Iron is Hot", enriched by orchestration of strings, ends in a sharp solo by the lead guitarist supported by the lively drumming of Unwin Brown. Another noteworthy composition is the dark "Fool" where Bias Boshell's compositional qualities stand out in a ballad led by the piano and the slide guitar's digressions which confirm the validity of the Trees' electric-acoustic interplay. The long "Sally Free and Easy" may perhaps be drowned in an arrangement that's a bit too baroque, but still manages to captivate with its magical atmosphere that is essentially concentrated on Boshell's piano work and Celia Humpris' voice.

The poor sales of both albums led the record company to decide not to support the band after this second effort, and it's a shame that artists of this technical caliber are practically forgotten. But sometimes they come back just like ghosts and where you least expect it, perhaps just a year ago enclosed in a sample of Gnarls Barkley in their hit St. Elsewhere.