01	Heaven Heath						03:03
	02	Sheep Season						05:00
	03	Silver Song						04:26
	04	The Poet And The Witch						02:51
	05	Messenger Birds						03:43
	06	Dan The Wing						02:48
	07	Reverend Sisters						04:21
	08	Break Your Token						02:30
	09	Buy Or Beware						03:07
	10	Vile Excesses						03:16
	11	Lonely Man						04:31
	12	Boulders On My Grave						03:29

SRMC 0021
Korean CD

Mellow Candle - Swaddling Songs (1972)

As a cross section of pyschedelia, folk rock and early progressive rock, the Irish group Mellow Candle released an absolute classic in 1972's Swaddling Songs. Yeah, I've heard Trees and I've heard Fairport Convention, hell, even Renaissance, and this is better I tell you. Mellow Candle featured two female vocalists, capable of the most most sublime of harmonies, who guide us through the album, along with exsquisite piano and guitar interplay. Most importantly, the band displays an immense talent for subtle, enchanting songcraft of the highest order. The album is made up of twelve tracks, rarely in excess of three minutes apiece, and is carried by impeccable melodic sense, infectious arrangements and unbridled, passionate performance. Indeed, nary a moment is wasted on the whole album, as each compact, tuneful gem is matched by the following piece until Swaddling Songs comes to an end, far too early of course.

Really, as far as folk rock goes, this album is pretty much perfect. What makes it refreshing I suppose, at least from a "prog" perspective, is the ability of main songwriter Clodagh Simmonds to write such, dare I say "accessible", melodies, yet without sacrificing compositional color, depth or instrumental interplay. Indeed, many of the vocal harmonies in particular strike me as fairly sophisticated. All of this wrapped in that gorgeous, intangible early 70s post-psychedelic atmosphere. Those of you who scour liner notes might have noticed Simmonds' name on Mike Oldfield's early albums (along with drummer William Murray), so you may already be familiar with her enchanting vocals. This is perhaps the most successful prog-rock/folk hybrid I've yet heard. A classic. - Greg Northrup [February 2002]


Mellow Candle [UK]
Swaddling Songs (72)

Very nice female vocalist, she'll remind you of Annie Haslam of Renaissance or Sonja Kristina of Curved Air. The album falls squarely into a vague folk-prog category, with the vocals sounding very folksy, while the music varies over folk, psych, and progressive. Some nice piano is featured on many of the songs. Very nice if you like female vocals... lots of vocals. For me, sameness starts to creep in about half-way through.

I like folk-rock quite a bit but I've never heard any quite this busy! Something of a mix between Steeleye Span and Reniassance, this early 70's British band has really caught my attention. At first I didn't ever realize the traditional strains...I was so caught up in the keyboard/guitar work playing very *active* melodies across the vocals. And I must say that the vocalist (don't know her name) has one of the most lovely voices I've heard in quite some time. Her control is evident when she modulates pitch half an octave or more between words so smoothly. If there isn't a progressive-folk subdivision, maybe there should be. This is a truly virtuistic performance.



Mike McLatchey 20-Jan-2001 Swaddling Songs

Irish group Mellow Candle's only album (until the outtakes album ) is one of the most re-pressed progressive rock albums of all time, having had an original Japanese issue, a Korean, a British (the most affordable and current), and also a limited edition LP-cover release in the British Rock Legend Series. This album is the very pinnacle of English progressive folk-rock a la The Trees, Fairport Convention, and Spriguns, and one of the clear masterpieces of the era. This band had two outstanding female lead vocalists; one of them, Clodagh Simonds, went on to be one of Mike Oldfield's early vocalists (check out Ommadawn for example). Both singers counterpoint each other (or themselves depending on the tracks) to dazzling results carrying each of the album's twelve tracks along by their sheer prowess. What is particularly amazing is that some of the music was written by Simonds when she was very young, including one of the album's most amazing tracks, "Lonely Man," written at the age of 12. One wonders if such a wondrous display of musical serendipity will ever find it's way so strongly to a folk/rock fusion again. Surely this is one of Ireland's most mystical potions.
(Originally published in Expose #1, p. 10, Edited for Gnosis 1/19/01)


Mellow Candle - "Swaddling Songs"
(Edison, 1972, CD)

I think this one may have been repressed again, since I have seen many copies poke their heads out recently. This album in my opinion is the pinnacle of English progressive folk a la The Trees, Fairport Convention, and Spriguns. This band has two excellent lead vocalists; one of them, Clodagh Simmonds, went on to be one of Mike Oldfield's early vocalists (check out "Ommadawn" for a good example of her style). Both singers are simply outstanding, counterpointing each other (or themselves depending on the tracks) to incredible heights. There isn't a duff track on here, and is an ideal one to turn the non-progressive rock fan on to some new music as it is quite accessible. A flawless classic. - Mike Mclatchey




Swaddling Songs
Date of Release Jan 1996

Filled with multi-layered harmonies and complex arrangements, this unfortunately underlooked album of beautiful, flowing, and wonderfully recorded British folk-rock (originally released in 1972) has been a favorite of record collectors for years. Luckily, the strength of the music holds up beyond its scarcity. Not merely electric updates of lost traditional numbers, the album works because it establishes a voice and a sound that is truly compelling. The arrangements range from the zigzagging light progressive bent of the opener, "Heaven Heath," to the more storming tempo changes of "Dan the Wing." Strewn across the record is some truly remarkable guitar work, with the blanks filled in with lush violin and piano fills. The high-toned, occasionally strained interplay of Alison Williams and Clodagh Simonds may not always reach the notes as they ought to be reached (this rings especially true on the bombastic "The Poet and the Witch," an otherwise fine song), but their voices have their own peaceful rewards. The vocals see most of their limitations during the more up-tempo numbers - which is fine, seeing that this record is able to soar on the quieter moments. On "Silver Song" (the one track that was actually released as a single with "Dan the Wing" during Mellow Candle's short tenure at Decca's Deram Records offshoot), the band falls into a mid-paced ethereal haze, within which it finds its strongest points. Gliding guitars and equally haunted vocals wrap around each other in a fog of vaguely mystical lyrics. The crystal clear recording and the lack of reliance on overly fantastical lyrics make Swaddling Songs sound remarkably current. Anyone who is able to track down the CD reissue will be more than pleased with this lost treasure. - Jon Pruett

Frank Boylan - Bass, Vocals
John Reed - Liner Notes
Clodagh Simonds - Piano, Vocals
David Williams - Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Vocals
Mellow Candle - Performer
Allison Williams - Vocals

1996 CD See for Miles 404




Mellow Candle


I was first introduced to the rare Mellow Candle LP 'Swaddling Songs' by way of a crackly, tenth-generation tape from Ken Jones, who was running an All About Eve fanzine at that time. He had it from Julianne Regan, and indeed All Abaout Eve later covered 'Silversong' as a B-side. From the first listen, I was hooked. Complex; but not difficult of listening, intricately, almost classically structured, with (usually) female harmony singing. About a year later, I tracked down a bootleg version of the LP and was at last able to listen to it properly. Now it's been out on mid-price CD in the UK, and it's no longer a uphill struggle just to hear it, but it remains a treasured thing at the very heart of my collection...
Does anyone know of any other cover versions of their songs?

Discography: (all UK issues unless stated)

7" : Feeling High/ Tea With The Sun ~ SNB 55-3645, 1968.
Musicians (presumably): Clodagh Simonds, Alison Williams, Maria White.

LP: SWADDLING SONGS ~ Deram SDL 7, 1972.
Musicians: Frank Boylan (b, v), William A. Murray (pc), Clodagh Simonds (v, p), Alison Williams (v), David Williams (g, v).
Tracks: Heaven Heath/ Sheep Season/ Silversong/ The Poet and the Witch/ Messenger Birds/ Dan The Wing/ Reverend Sisters/ Break Your Token/ Buy Or Beware/ Vile Excesses/ Lonely Man/ Boulders on my Grave.
Lyrics are here
The curious cover (by David Anstey) is here (Quite a large scan!)
Reissues:
Polydor ERC-29223 (Japan, CD, circa 1992)
Zen 001 (Italy, ?LP)
Si-Wan (Korea, LP)
See For Miles SEECD 404 (CD, 1994)

7" : Dan The Wing/ Silversong ~ Deram DM 357, 1972.

CD: THE VIRGIN PROPHET: Unreleased Sessions 1969-1970 ~ Kissing Spell/ Erewhon KSCD9520 - F, 1996.
Musicians: Pat Morris (b), Clodagh Simonds (v, p), Alison Williams (v), David Williams (g, v).
Tracks: Heaven Heath/ Waterman Weatherman/ Sheep Season/ Buy Or Beware/ Break Your Token/ Lonely Man/ Lords Of The Green Grass/ Dan The Wing/ Silversong/ Poet & The Witch/ Boulders On My Grave/ Reverend Sisters/ Crabtree/ Pretty Polly/ The Virgin Prophet.

LP: THE VIRGIN PROPHET ~ Kissing Spell KSF004, 1998?
This has a different track listing to the CD, and claims to have a different set of musicians.
Musicians: Clodagh Simonds, Alison Williams, Frank Boylan David Williams, William Murray.
Tracks: Heaven Heath/ Waterman Weatherman/ Sheep Season/ Buy Or Beware/ Break Your Token/ Lonely Man/ Lords Of The Green Grass/ Dan The Wing/ Silversong/ Poet & The Witch/ Boulders On My Grave/ Reverend Sisters/ Crabtree/ Mobile Line/ Faustus.






Discography of other appearances of the musicians:

Clodagh Simonds
LP: Thin Lizzy - Shades of a Blue Orphanage ~ 1972
LP: Mike Oldfield - Hergest Ridge ~ 1974
LP: Mike Oldfield - Ommadawn ~ 1975
LP: Jade Warrior - Kites ~ 1976
4LP: Mike Oldfield - Boxed ~ 1976
LP: Thin Lizzy - Continuing Saga of Ageing Orphans ~ 1979
LP: Thin Lizzy - Rockers ~ 1979
LP: Thin Lizzy - Rockers ~ 1981
LP: Thin Lizzy - Whiskey in the Jar ~ 1984
LP: Thin Lizzy - The Collection ~ 1979
LP: Mike Oldfield - Amarok ~ 1990
CD: Clodagh Simonds - Six Elementary Songs ~ Evangel Records, Japan, 1997
David & Alison Williams
LP: Flibbertigibbet - Whistling Jigs to the Moon ~ Stanyan Records, South Africa, 1978.
Recently reissued on CD by Kissing Spell.
CD: Flibbertigibbet - My Lagan Love [unreleased sessions] ~ Kissing Spell, 1998?
There are lots of musicians called David Williams, but no other records that I'm confident have the same David Williams on.
Frank Boylan
LP: Gary Moore - Grinding Stone ~ 1973
William Murray
LP: Kevin Ayers - Whatevershebringswesing ~ 1973
LP: Amazing Blondel - Mulgrave Street ~ 1974
LP: Mike Oldfield - Hergest Ridge ~ 1974
LP: Amazing Blondel - Inspiration ~ 1975
LP: Mike Oldfield - Ommadawn ~ 1975
LP: Mike Oldfield - Orchestral Tubular Bells ~ 1975
4LP: Mike Oldfield - Boxed ~ 1976
LP: Mike Oldfield - Collaborations 1 ~ 1976
LP: Paul Kossoff - Koss ~ 1977
Pat Morris
7": Pat Morris - We're Diabetic/ It's Not The End Of The World ~ SRT SRT709
(Is this the same Pat Morris?)
Maria White

No known records.
A quick scan of the Web revealed a little new information: The Delerium Psychedelic Archive has an introduction to the band, with a few other nuggets of information on the members' more recent history - William Murray sadly died in 1998, but Alison Williams (now O'Donnell) performs with an Irish-style band called Eishtlinn based in Brussels.

There too I found out that 'Dan the Wing' is included on a CD 'Progressive Pop inside the Seventies' (See For Miles SEECD 424, 1995). 'Heaven Heath' is included on another compilation from Rhino, 'Legends of Ireland'.

Meanwhile, there's a newish CD available by Clodagh Simonds on Evangel records from Japan. Even the lyrics are on-line here. Someone else in Japan likes it too, I guess. If you can browse and read Japanese, try this. It's an interesting CD - moments of brilliance...




I'd very much like to hear from any other Mellow Candle fans out there. If you can add any more detail to the discography, or help me add any other information to this page, I'd be very grateful.

Below is virtually the only piece of writing about the band that I've come across. It's included on the 'Virgin Prophets' CD booklet. The other sites seem to take their historical information from this, too.

Mellow Candle: The Virgin Prophet"

History at last seems to be catching up with Mellow Candle. For too long a band destined to be remembered as among the Irish also rans who went to England in the early 70s with high hopes of fame and fortune only to see them severely dashed. Their solitary album "Swaddling Songs" has grown in stature over the years in collector's circles to become the most sought after major label, folk rarity fetching up to ?500 for mint copies. "Swaddling Songs"'s success on CD, having been re-released has caused a whole new generation to pick up on their tranquil yet spirited and highly original sound. This collection of hitherto unreleased tracks from the band's archives will further their reputation as the pioneering Irish folk-rock band of the early 1970's.

I say folk-rock rather than celtic-rock with due reason as Mellow Candle weren't an electric band rocking up traditional folk music. Rather they were all extremely gifted individuals who fashioned a unique brand of music. Mellow Candle were that rarity, an Irish band who mirrored the new progressive folk elements coming across the Irish seas but never restoring to mere plagiarism. There was always something else going on within their music which made it worthwhile to go back and listen to them time and time again. The same could be said without fear or favour of "Swaddling Songs" their debut and only album. For my ears since 1981 and our first meeting in a Dublin record store "Swaddling Songs" has gone beyond the realm of being just a record of songs. It is a prized possession knowing every harmony, line, song, lyric and chord change, something new always emerges when I hear it. If this is a mark of greatness then Mellow Candle were truly truly great.

Hearing these previously unreleased recordings was one of those moments when even the very familiar takes on a new fresh meaning in this setting. This is pre "Swaddling Songs" Mellow Candle, mapping out their destiny and on the way to becoming the great band they did. Along with some very well known songs that did make the final selection for "Swaddling Songs" come a slew of previously unheard compositions that were recorded on a demo tape and have remained in obscurity for the last 23 years, too long by half, as there are some real gems in there which I have no doubt you will discover on hearing them.

Mellow Candles' story begins in Dublin in 1963 at the Holy Child Convent School in the suburb of Killiney. There Clodagh Simonds whose family had just settled in Killiney after a period of moving between Ireland, England and Singapore. Clodagh herself born in Banbridge Co Down met up with Dalkey native Alison O'Donnell for the first time amidst the green uniforms and the sisters' all black sombre habits. Clodagh, Alison and fellow conspirator Maria White found their similar passions in music. Spending their nights between homework and listening to Radio Luxembourg or "Fab 208" and gestating the latest pop sensations out of England. Clodagh was writing the odd song or two or three, having been introduced to pop music by "Da Do Ron Ron" and never quite recovering. It was a match made in heaven. With a larger quotient of songs at her disposal Clodagh decided to form a group, her first school band included Alison and rejoiced under the name of The Gatecrashers later changing to Mellow Candle. The sisters were very supportive and let the fledgling trio rehearse in the school music room at lunchtime and during free classes. These practice sessions honed down the craft and prepared a live set for the annual school concert. Typical sets included covers by Donovan, Simon & Garfunkel, The Beatles and original songs from Clodagh whose talent was quickly maturing. At 12 she had written "Lonely Man" included here, and many others were reeming through her teenage brain. It looked like it would only be a matter of time before the school success story was a national one.

That was slower coming than planned as their forays into the big bad world of showbiz were greeted with complete ignorance. To the venue owners they may have been a bunch of schoolgirls with stars in their eyes, but Clodagh had other ideas. Frustrated at the lack of reaction she wrote an impassioned letter to Colin Nichol a DJ on Radio Luxembourg in which she pleaded the Mellow Candle cause and enclosed a home demo tape. "Nobody here has ever offered us an audition. They must have thought we were immature-just stupid kids with a dream. But we're not I swear to you " she wrote. Nichol's reply was to pass the demo on to Simon Napier Bell who arranged a session for Mellow Candle to record "Feeling High" and "Tea with the Sun" who Simonds originals from the home demo. Arranged by lan Greenland recorded in London the girls were flown over and signed to the SNB label run by Simon Napier Bell. The single was issued in August 1968 and the 15 year olds waited for stardom, ..and waited.

"Feeling High" got good reaction from the press and received airplay on Radio Luxembourg and Manx Radio but the lack of promotion and sales to guarantee a chart placing never materialised. The "SNB" label's demise didn't help matters either. However Mellow Candle did manage a triumphal homecoming concert at their old school. The Holy Child in Killiney. Then it was down to the grind of studying for their 'O' Levels. Clodagh's parents thought the rock and roll world not exactly fitting for their daughter so Clodagh went to Italy for a year and learned Italian. After the 'O' Levels Alison got a holiday job in a department store and sang with a covers band called "Blue Tint" at night. During the next two years she went to Art School and finished a secretarial course. "Blue Tint" played the nightclub and ballroom scene often opening for the big showbands of the time. In their line up was a guitarist from South Africa whose family had settled in Dublin, his name was David Williams and he was studying at Trinity College. He and Alison in time became a couple and on Clodagh's return from Italy met up and decided to reform Mellow Candle (Maria the original third member has lost interest and now lives in Australia). David's pre Mellow Candle experience was a spell with a showband "Tina and the Mexicans" after "Blue Tint's" demise.

The new line up of Mellow Candle was completed by Pat Morris on bass and they rehearsed in the stables at Clodagh's parents house in Killiney. There they wrote material and put a set together for live gigs. Some of the tracks on this Album "Faustus", "Crabtree" and "Pretty Polly" all come from these rehearsals. They also recorded "Virgin Prophet" and "Reverened Sisters" a curiously ironic comment on their convent education at part of the demo sessions from the stables. The set 'ironed out' Mellow Candle braved their way again in an unsuspecting world. Pat Egan writing the rock page for "New Spotlight" magazine was a champion for the cause giving them glowing references and charting their development. Their first gig was at Liberty Hall supporting The Chieftrains and their second show was at the Wexford Festival where John Peel caught them; "30 miles from Wexford, we returned to the festival to a concert which started with Mellow Candle who are two gentlemen and two very pretty ladies from Dun Laoghaire. This was their second ever gig but the seeds of something good are their". "Melody Maker" confirmed the good response doled out "Their (headliners Principal Edwards Magic Theatre) passage had been cleared by Continuum, Tir Na Nog and Mellow Candle. The latter was one of the most entertaining amateur groups I've ever seen in quite a while. With a touch of perseverance that amateur qualification need not apply." Their other gigs where on the Dublin Club circuit including Slattery's of Capel St at "The Mug's Gig" The Longshoreman, The Mansion House in Dublin's City centre and a pub in Glenageary called Eagle House. Ted Carroll signed them to this Tuite/Barden/Carroll agency and became their manager. Alison remembers her stage demeanour at the time "I was cool and still in those days although Ted Carroll ticked me off for appearing like a fishwife with my hands on my hips."

1971 was a busier year for Mellow Candle. They played at "Alice's Restaurant" in Dublin, the "Headland" festival at the RDS, the Dublin Arts Lab open air gig at Blackrock Park and the Ballyvaughan Festival in County Clare. They also played with The Woods Band and caught the eyes of Decca records who invited them to London for a demo session. A guest drummer rumoured to be Caravan's Richard Coughlan joined them for the recording but Pat Morris mysteriously jumped ship in London and left the band. On April 18th 1971 Mellow Candle signed with Decca's Deram label. Pat Morris was replaced by Frank Boylan from Dublin beat group The Creatures managed by Ted Carroll . The demo sessions convinced them they needed a drummer and from auditions Glaswegian William Murray entered the fold. Murray and Boylan helped toughen up Mellow Candle musically adding a more solid rock base. However the complex harmonies which were the centrepiece remained so. David and Alison married on the afternoon of their big gig with Thin Lizzy at Dublin's National Stadium. Mellow Candle were back in England in December 1971 to record "Swaddling Song's" at Decca studios in Tollington Park with David Hitchcook producing. They settled in Hampstead and now only made occasional trips home to Ireland. "Swaddling Song's" was released in April of 1972 preceded by a single of "Silver Song"/"Dan The Wing". Despite some good reviews and some surprising ones both album and single died commercially. In England they gigged with Lindesfarne and Steeleye Span but by late 1972 the dream was slowly turning sour, Mellow Candle left Deram and Ted Carroll's management and soon after Frank Boylan left the band. Replaced by ex Spirogyna bass player Steve Borrill Mellow Candle changed their name to Grace Before Space and tours of Holland were planned. These never came to pass and by the Summer of 1973 it was all over and Mellow Candle was no more.

They went their separate ways, David and Alison headed to South Africa to play the folk circuit and from the band Flibbertigibbet who recorded one album "Whistling Jigs to The Moon" in 1978 for Stanyan records. Clodagh worked with Mike Oldfield and Jade Warrior before relocating to New York were she studied music and came back to Ireland some years ago. William Murray played with Richard and Linda Thompson's Sour Grapes band and toured with Sand Denny-he too went to America and formed "The Same" with Clodagh. The Same held thursday night residency at New York's famed "CBGB's" club. He now lives in Dallas where he works as a photographer his work appearing in "Playboy" magazine amongst others. David and Alison too pursued separate careers, Alison took part in the "Tortue Reviews" and several other South African acts. She now lives in England. David is now head of light music with the S.A.B.C. (South African Broadcasting Corporation) in Capetown as well as working as a record producer. That in a nutshell is the Mellow Candle Story.

The music is another matter, "Swaddling Song's" just wouldn't lie down and die. The collectors appreciated its every little nuance and Mellow Candle's reputation has blossomed over the years to a legendary status. This collection will only add to that. The same presence and grace which personified "Swaddling Song's" is part and parcel of this selection of "drawing room recordings." The early versions of "The Poet and The Witch", "Lonely Man". Buy or beware; "Silver Song", "Dan The Wing" and "Reverened Sisters" all provide the blueprint for their later recordings. They also show how effective the four piece drummerless line up was and what a fine bassist they had in Pat Morris. His Jethro Tull inclinations found a home on David's composition "Crabtree". The solo on "Faustus" was a particular favourite. The guitar played, a fender telecaster was later sold to Phil Lynott and subsequently stolen. Guitar solos were a rarity in the Mellow Candle songbook and the songs were all very tightly structured and they weren't a "solo's" band. The rest of the material comes from the band stable including the gorgeous ballads "Lords of the Green Grass", "Waterman", "Weathermen" and "Virgin Prophet" all making their public debut and sounding exquisite.

"Virgin Prophet" adds up to a collection of Mellow Candle gems that keep up the incredible standard of the material on "Swaddling Song's". Their more rough and ready state only add to the uniqueness of the band, their talent and inventiveness. Mellow Candle couldn't ask for a better way to be remembered.



End.



Flibbertigibbet - "Whistling Jigs to theMoon''is also available in this CD Series.

John O'Regan (John O'Regan is a broadcaster and journalist living in Eire).




Back to the home page

mail me: geoff.burton@lineone.net

Created 27.ii.99
Last updated 21.iv.99



Mellow Candle
Swaddling Songs
See For Miles Records (SEECD 404)
Ireland 1972

Alison Williams, vocal;
Clodagh Simonds, vocal, keyboards;
David Williams, guitars, vocal;
Frank Boylan, bass;
William A. Murray, drums

Tracklist:
1. Heaven Heath - 2:59
2. Sheep Season - 4:57
3. Silver Song - 4:26
4. The Poet and the Witch - 2:51
5. Messenger Birds - 3:40
6. Dan the Wing - 2:44
7. Reverend Sisters - 4:18
8. Break Your Token - 2:26
9. Buy or Beware - 3:04
10. Vile Excesses - 3:12
11. Lonely Man - 4:28
12. Boulders on My Grave - 3:29

total time 43:11


joe

They were an Irish band from the post-psychedelic era that produced but this one album, which went sadly unacknowledged in its initial release. Over the years, though, Mellow Candle's sole LP garnered cult status, making it an eventual heavy hitter among British folk-rock collectors, who were content to pay considerable sums of money for mint copies, if the liner notes for the CD are to be believed. In any case, there are two reasons to get Swaddling Songs, neither of them inconsiderable.
The first of these are the vocal talents of Alison Williams and Clodagh Simonds, who were apparently schoolmates before forming the band. Williams' mellifluous vocals were perfectly complemented by Simonds, whose voice had more bite to it. Between the two, Swaddling Songs is rich in varied and often subtle vocal interplay. On the ballads, Williams takes the lead, her voice exhilarating in its openness on the lovely "Messenger Birds" and gently rocking back and forth between dark and light chords in "Sheep Season." For the more aggressive tunes, often barreling into furious Irish vocalise passages halfway through, Simonds' tarter voice generally provides the lower melody line as a foundation, while Williams provides a higher harmony (e.g., "The Poet and the Witch," "Dan the Wing"). However, this need not be the case. For example, on "Break Your Token," it is the same positioning, but with Williams as identified lead. On the album's deliciously manic closer, "Boulders on My Grave," the positions reverse, with Williams taking the lower register and Simonds the higher. Then there's "Buy or Beware," which opens with a melodic line by Williams, answered by a counter-melody by Simonds, answered by Williams again; they then switch places for the next chorus (October Project used this same form of vocal alternation to effect with "Take Me As I Am"). They might uniformly sing a melodic line throughout the whole song (e.g., "Reverend Sisters", "Lonely Man"), but just as often their vocals will diverge, coiling around each other or where the uniform melody should be, only to meet up again.

The second reason to get this album is the exceptional quality of the songs themselves. The lyrics marry the mystical imagery of the period with that of the Catholic upbringing of the band, and the music is loaded with catchy melodies, offbeat rhythms, and unexpected accentuation. As a brief example, I again think of "Buy or Beware," where the opening line flows seamlessly from 4/4 -> 3/4 -> 5/8 with no sense of contrivance, only to be broken off by an unexpectedly longer counter-melody. Simonds, who wrote a majority of the songs, displays considerable imagination and dexterity on keyboards, and the rest of the band is always lock-step alongside her. Mellow Candle covers both ballad and rock domains equally well, and Swaddling Songs has some indispensable material. For me, that would especially be "Sheep Season," "Silver Song," "Messenger Birds," "Reverend Sisters," "Break Your Token," and "Buy or Beware." Really, though, there are no weak songs on this one at all.

In some respects, Swaddling Songs reminds me strongly of Yes' debut album. Here you had a band displaying a prodigious degree of natural talent for songwriting, harmonizing, and arrangement. However, there is also a raw, energetic, and unpolished quality to the album, as this was an album obviously made from a band whose musicians must have been in their late teens. The vocals are occasionally overeager and strained, and the production value was on the lower end of the scale. So, listening to this I often wonder what Mellow Candle would have produced if fate had let them stick around longer, with their sound becoming more mature and refined and with a bigger budget. Would they have made another Close to the Edge? But this wasn't to be, and the band did not get to make further albums. Simonds, having the highest post-M.C. profile, has since appeared as a vocalist on a number of Mike Oldfield's works. Drummer Murray died in 1998, while Alison Williams (now O'Donnell) performs in a band called Eishtlinn. When I first bought this album, I thought it was simply decent. But over the years, with increasing plays it has forcefully made my ears stand up and take notice. Though usually filed under folk-rock, I think of this more in terms of deftly crafted early 70s UK pop with considerable appeal to prog fans. Whatever label you put on it, this is a fantastic album that deserves new discovery.

2-8-03