Appreciate the beauty of the poetry.
Berkeley is the American half of ‘Sons of Town Hall’, where he is joined by Ben Parker, producing some truly memorable music that is worth checking out. “A Pail Full of Fire” is Berkeley’s ninth studio album, and his writing continues to be enthralling and delightful. Joined by Anna Tivel and produced by Todd Sickafoose, this collection has plenty to offer the listener musically and lyrically.
The album was recorded live over four days in a studio outside Eugene, Oregon. Berkeley and Sickafoose decided to use entire takes of the songs, adding layers where required. It gives the songs an intimate, live feeling throughout the album. The guitar playing is exquisite, highlighted on the beautiful opening track, ‘Wild Gods.’
Berkley’s voice soars and falls like an eagle on a warm breeze. The articulation is perfect as he sings of how you do your best for your children and hope it is enough to see them on their way. “And all the time we waste in this our only life, So beat on fragile heart and blow howling wind, ‘Cause every moment, dear, a new world begins.”
“Omaha” takes us on a cross-country trip to middle America to find a lost love. “If all our memories will fade away, like fallen leaves, they’ll be gone one day. Tell me, please, why don’t we start again?” With Berkeley’s acoustic guitar brought to the forefront and Sickafoose on piano, the music has an almost desperate pleading feel that perfectly fits the lyrical content.
Tivel’s gorgeous voice comes into its own with the harmonies on ‘The Right and Wrong.’ It’s a simple yet stunning love song. The song takes you through a relationship that ebbs and flows like almost all do, with the anchor, “Our love is bigger than right or wrong.”
Berkeley’s writing explores relationships, love, reconciliation, and peace, and the songs will mean different things to different people. The beauty of the playing and vocals shine through on every track. Berkeley knows when to drop to almost a whisper and when the lyrics need to rise. ‘The Harbour for Hard Times’ demonstrates this perfectly, with Rich Hinman’s pedal steel completing the effect.
‘Until the End’ concludes the collection with a striking whispered song of potential loss with haunting pedal steel beautifully mixed in the background. “Stay close my friend, ‘Cause no one knows, How it ends.”
Berkeley wrings every ounce of emotion he can out of his poetry, and his feelings are not helpless but positive. He challenges us to look at our world, take a breath, reconsider and see the good. In Berkeley’s words, “Hold onto what matters, appreciate the beauty in the moment”. This collection matters.
