Short Reviews [Phoenyx - 1990 - "Keepers of the Flame"]

Although I will probably always be best known for writing about progressive rock music, there is no doubt that folk rock is very close to my heart. Of all the 'name' bands I have seen play, by far the #1 is Fairport Convention in various iterations, I was fortunate enough to be in the studio during one of their recording sessions, have interviewed and drunk beer with them, and in 2017 flew from New Zealand to Cropredy just to attend the 50th Anniversary Festival. When I talk about folk rock I mean the British version, but there has always been one American outfit I have always had a soft spot for, Tempest, so imagine my surprise when I heard there was another American band which had a huge impact on their founding fiddler, Michael Mullen. That band were Phoenyx, who like their namesake burned quickly and then blew out in a show of flames, but now their debut album has been reissued some 35 years after it first appeared. The line-up was Heather Alexander (lead vocals, guitar, electric violin, mandolin), Cat Taylor (electric violin, bodhran, vocals), Mark Ungar (lead vocals, lead guitar, penny whistle), Larry the O (acoustic and electronic percussion, vocals) and John Land (bass, flute, vocals). Interestingly, Land was a member of the aforementioned Tempest in the late Nineties. It is unusual to have any band with two fiddlers, and although Fairport did let other members play violin for comic value in the Seventies, they did not have that as a standard line-up until Chris Leslie joined Ric Sanders in 1996, so Phoenyx were somewhat ahead of their time. Phoenyx do not sound American at all, but rather that they grew up listening to Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span in the English countryside (definitely more English than Irish although there are some influences here and there) and we even get a version of "Lark In The Morning" which while traditional was made famous by Fairport when they included it on "Liege & Lief". Ungar's guitar is more rock based than Thompson, while Heather's vocals are reminiscent not only of Maddy Prior but also of Candia Ridley when Incubus Succubus were less Gothic and with more folk elements (they had twin bodhrans the first time I saw them). They can be gentle and delicate, emotionally telling their stories, or dramatic and taking us to the dance and there is no doubt that my favourite track is always the one which is playing. I fully understand why the initial CD run soon sold out, and if these guys had been in the UK, I am sure they would still be in existence, but back then were fighting against the grunge movement and his was their only release. To come across this album some 35 years after it was initially released is both a delight and a revelation, and it is indisputably indispensable to anyone who enjoys traditional English folk rock, as this is sublime.