One of the undoubted star turns on this year’s enchanting Dust On The Nettles box set, Mother Nature had – as far as anyone knew – only winked into being for a brace of unimpeachable singles before instantaneously sinking back into the underground folk mulch. However, the revelatory, dot-joining demos on this invaluable compilation elevate them to the head of the “great lost bands of their era” class.
It could all have been so different. It took until 1971 for debut single Orange Days And Purple Nights to gain a release, by which time the magic bus had long since pulled away. Winningly plaintive and decorously garlanded with strings, you’d swear (if you didn’t know any better) that the song was birthed at the exact clock chime when Kaleidoscope turned into Fairfield Parlour. Pleasingly, time has since proved it, er, timeless.
The retrospectively applied “progressive folk” label accounts for the band’s pillowy harmonies, plus a preponderance of mandolins (Games, Green And Brown) and acoustic 12-string guitars (Dreamclouds), but the aerated falsetto pop of My Yesterdays and All You Dreamers gatecrashes Badfinger and Supertramp territory. By the time you reach the dulcet, tinkling Mister Pigeon, you’re so besotted that you even forgive them singing, “Do you remember punting down to Kew?”
by Oregano Rathbone
Tracks
1. Orange Days And Purple Nights - 3:50
2. Where Did She Go - 4:39
3. My Yesterdays - 3:55
4. Green And Brown - 2:59
5. Games (Version 1) - 3:23
6. My Friend Says - 2:48
7. All You Dreamers - 3:27
8. Love Keeps Shining Through - 3:12
9. Laugh (I Almost Sang A Song) - 4:29
10. Dreamclouds - 2:04
11. Once There Was A Time - 3:04
12. Clear Blue Sky - 3:08
13. Take Me High - 3:15
14. Where Were You? - 4:31
15. Blue Skies, Blue Mountains - 3:46
16. Clipper (A Crimpers Carol) - 2:41
17. Games (Version 2) - 1:53
18. Wishing Well - 2:40
19. It's Alright My Friend - 2:28
20. Sad-Eyed Ann - 2:26
21. Mr Pigeon - 3:11
22. Land Of Pan - 1:51
23. Puppet King - 3:29
24. Orange Days Purple Nights - 4:13
All songs by Jon Reeves, Rod Copping, Steve Norchi, Pete Reynolds
Mother Nature
*Jon Reeves - Lead Guitar, Acoustic, 12 String Guitars
*Steve Norchi - Bass, Mandolin, Piano, Lead, Harmony Vocals
*Pete Reynolds - Drums, Piano, Stylophone, Lead, Harmony Vocals
*Rod Copping - Acoustic Guitars, Mandolin, Harmony Vocals
With
*Barney James - Drums (Track 3)
*Dave "Min" Gaylor - Drums (Track 9)
*Pat Donaldson - Bass (Tracks 1, 12)
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