Paul Cowley – Long Shadow
Self – released
11 Tracks – 40 minutes
Paul Cowley has stated that he came to the blues late in life. Lightnin’ Hopkins Coffee House Blues was his inauguration into the genre. He dug deeper and found an interest in acoustic blues from storytellers like Mississippi Fred McDowell, Mississippi John Hurt and Blind Willie McTell. He opened a blues club in his hometown of Birmingham, England which booked artists such as Watermelon Slim, Doug MacLeod, and Guy Davis. After ten years of listening and learning, he decided to play the music himself.
He moved from Birmingham to Brittany, France where he found a very rural space with a granite barn with great acoustics and built a recording studio there. In 2005, he released his first album, Don’t Need Too Much. This new album is his ninth release. He continues to record from his Brittany studio. He says the recordings are all live takes on a three-mike set-up with him standing to play and adjusted only slightly for his position. The songs are in the exact order in which he recorded them. Pascal Ferrari mixed and mastered the album and added the lap slide to the ninth track and bass and drums to four others. His performing companion, Rob Venables added harmonica to the third track.
Paul explains, “We have owned a cottage on the Dyfi Valley Snowdonia for over 35 years. The cottage is carved into the vee shaped valley side and looks down on the River Dyfi. The valley floor is kept immaculate by the flock of Welsh mountain sheep that have grazed there for hundreds of years.” “It has taken me many years to notice a tree adjacent to the river, positioned in such a way that with the rising sun behind, it casts a long shadow on the valley floor almost all year round.” That tree gave birth to the song and album title. He further says “Whenever or wherever performing the song, I’m transported to the valley. I like that sort of authenticity.”
The album consists of eight original and three covers. In the opening song, he tells “Time” “won’t wait for you and it won’t for me” giving focus that when we age, time becomes more important than when you are younger. He proclaims I am a “Big Hitter” and advising that “the way you’re looking, I want to hit on you”. Rob’s harmonica backs Paul’s smooth acoustic guitar as he says, “I am just an “Old Man”, that’s what I am”. further elaborating “a slow man, take my time…a wise man, I’ve lived a life – joy, grief and strife”.
The first cover is Skip James “Crow Jane” from 1931. The song reflects on the inevitability of death and the regret of the loss of a loved one. “I dug her grave eight feet in the ground. I didn’t feel sorry until they let her down.” “Long Shadow” is a quiet reflection on life in the valley described above as he states, “If I was a bird, I’d spread my wings and fly away into the sky” “I would get in my boat and float away free.” But “long shadow, you cast all over me, I can’t break free”. “First Born” is an autobiographical story describing the path of his first child through the joy and troubles of childhood and moving into adulthood.
“Dirt Poor” reflects hard life on the farm as his “Chicken had a prolapse the other day and now she can’t lay eggs. The cow went dry and I don’t know why. The mule went lame down the lane. My dog’s got fleas, Lord have mercy on me please.” “Dirt poor, can’t take much more.” He then contemplates “Once in a While” “every now and then, stop running around and think about where I’ve been. Clear my mind, world flashing by asking myself what, what is it that we all need, so much grief”. All in a social statement asking us “to just take a moment to slow down…and take a breath. I don’t know how and don’t know when, but we need a change”.
He asks, “Where Are You Now” and “do you ever think of me?” I would take back every single word I said if I could have my way. We’ll meet again someday”. Mississippi Fred McDowell’s 1966 “Train I Ride” is the next cover and is given a folksy approach. He concludes the album with a cover of Willie Dixon’s 1969 song, “Same Thing”, which asks “What make these men go crazy when a woman wears her dress so tight? Must be the same old thing that make the tom cats fight all night.” “Tell me who’s the blame? The whole world fightin’ about the same thing.”
Paul walks a fine line between country blues and folk. Each song presents itself differently, sliding in a mixture of life contemplation, humor, and some social comment along the way. The songs are deceptively simple in presentation but hiding some deep meaning if you listen carefully. Paul’s evenly controlled vocals are matched by his comfortable, but seldom flashy guitar. It’s an album that you might listen to as background music, but that would be a shame if you do not give it a closer listen.
