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Seth Lakeman, one of the most influential performers in the contemporary UK folk scene, shares a moving version of “The Shoals of Herring.” The song first appeared in a 1960 BBC Radio Ballad Broadcast called Singing the Fishing and was written about Sam Larner, a fisherman and traditional singer whose songs were preserved by folklorists and collectors during the early days of the revival. While the methods of the fishing industry may have changed over the years, Lakeman’s presentation of the song reminds us of the hard life still faced by those who toil the seas in search of their catch.

The first family of the UK folkscene make their presence known in this collection as members of the Waterson/Carthy family can be heard on several songs. Norma Waterson reminds of the plight still faced by the Travelers with a stunning rendition of “The Moving On Song.” Her husband, Martin Carthy, offers up MacColl’s homage to truckers, “I’m a Champion At Keeping ‘Em Rolling.” Martin and Norma’s daughter Eliza Carthy shares another song about the Traveler’s , “Thirty-Foot Trailers”, and Marry Waterson (daughter of the late Lal Waterson and George Knight) gives us a song “The Exile Song”, a song dedicated to the Irish laborers who came over to England to work on the construction of the M1 highway.

Other “families” are represented on the double CD as well. Rufus and Martha Wainwright combine their talents for “Sweet Thames Flow Softly”, the Unthank Sisters give us “Cannily, Cannily” and two of MacColl’s grandchildren are also heard, including Jamie MacColl, who was born one month before MacColl passed away in 1989. Jamie and his indie rock band the Bombay Bicycle Club along with Jack Steadman perform “The Young Birds”, a song written about a 1961 plane crash that took the lives of 34 London schoolboys, many who were friends of MacColl’s oldest son Hamish.

The CD collection concludes with English singer-songwriter David Gray’s moving performance of the song from which the CD set takes its name – “The Joy of Living.” The song was written by MacColl in his later years, following a family hiking excursion up Suilven, one of the more distinctive mountains in Scotland. MacColl had to stop his hike when he realized his aging legs could no longer carry him. He would later write that this was the first time he became conscious of the toll that age was taking on him.  At first depressed at the realization, MacColl wrote “The Joy of Living” as a way of coping with the changes in his life, and the realization of what life means.

This is perhaps my favorite verse in the song:

Farewell to you my chicks, soon you must fly alone
Flesh of my flesh, my future life, bone of my bone
May your wings be strong, may your days be long,
safe be your journey
Each of you bears inside of you the gift of love
May it bring you light and warmth and the pleasure of giving
Eagerly savour each new day and the taste of its mouth
Never lose sight of the thrill
And the joy of living

Ewan MacColl at The Singers Club 1975

A fitting tribute to MacColl would have been resolution to the many issues he sang and protested about in his lifetime. While some conditions in some instances have improved, this new appreciation of MacColl’s work reminds us that the struggles continue and more voices like MacColl’s need to emerge.

As part of the centenary celebration of his life and work, a multi-artist tour will travel the UK in November. “Blood and Roses: The Songs of Ewan MacColl” will feature Peggy Seeger, Martin Carthy, Norma Waterson, Eliza Carthy and a number of surprises guests and family members. Topic Records is planning a 4-CD box set of MacColl’s work, to be released in 2016. These projects will carry on the work of this iconic and controversial figure and hopefully introduce his songs to new generations.

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