This is a long overdue re-issue of Tymon Dogg's album battle Of the Wills that he recorded for Y Records in 1982, it became that labels last ever release. This double album re-issues includes many rarities and a live set from Hurrahs in 1980. The album features his band The Quickening who are Tymon Dogg - vocals, violin, harmonica and organ, Liam Genockey - drums and percussion, Chick McLaughin- skeleton drum kit, Dawson Miller - percussion and tube, Mishra tabla.
For anyone unfamiliar with Tymon Dogg his early career highlights included working with Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones before they joined Led Zeppelin, then recording with Paul McCartney, later he spent time as a busker with help from his flat mate "Woody" who eventually became Joe Strummer who Tymon formed the 101'ers with. He then got involved with The Clash performing one song on Sandinista and being fully involved in Combat Rock, he was also a Mescalero.
The a-side opens like a traditional English Folk song album with Firefishes that sounds like an old reel being played on acoustic guitar with some tablas and fiddle and the odd yelp deep in the background.
Once You Know is a searching tune, looking at the meaning of life as it pertains to Tymon and anyone else searching for answers, this is slow with the Tablas at the forefront over some gentle organ sounds as all of life's major concerns get looked at.
Safeway People is having a pop at the mind-numbing life of the average Safeway's supermarket customers, who also takes the safe option as he looks around the world at all the troubles these people ignore as there nice safe lives continue as the acoustic guitar battles with the tablas so much they don't notice the wars taking place elsewhere on the planet.
Locks & Bolts & Hinges is hoping to lock up all the evil members of the establishment who get in the way of Tymon living the sort of free life he prefers, as his vocals go all Jello Biafra (Or is it the other way round.)
Battle Of Wills looks at how the world is run, the never-ending fight between Russia and America carries on, as the flourishes of Fiddles and acoustic guitars punctuate the sentiments being expressed. Sirens is a slow synth led anti war song that takes aims at the sorts of politicians who think starting wars is a good idea or what the voters want. He rails against anyone who wants to own guns or go to war.
The B-side opens with the wobbly tablas of Brandy Love as the piano line comes to the fore Tymon starts to sing about the kind of love you have after a few brandies.
Too Far Too Touch the Ground almost feels like a reply to Neil Youngs Flying On The Ground Is Wrong, this is reflective, as all the questions are asked. Low Down Dirty Weakness takes a Devil Goes To Georgia approach to talking about all our normal personal failings with drink, drugs and sex etc and how moral turpitude is celebrated, more than condemned these days, well things seem to have flipped on that nowadays.
Get Your Hands Off Me is Tymon's own version of this classic folk tune with some harmonica fiddle battle action going on as he battles Satan and other demons.
Legal Thief is a string encased folk tales of the well to do's plundering of Egypt in the name of Archaeology, as symbols are stolen, what makes something original, the lyrics are anarcho folk brilliance distilling probably a 24-page pamphlet into under three minutes.
Golden Rain opens with a solo piper droning before the tale of the soon to be gone, the victims of war are cast away at sea this is episodic story telling freak folk intense battle storms of fiddles dive into the balmy depths.
The C Side opens with Indestructible that was the B side of The Clash single Lose This Skin It's searching for the Indestructible truth of how progress has affected things, how he wants to live a more basic life with strings assailing prevailing winds, ancient pipes instilling timbres.
Cold Wind Blows is a plucked acoustic guitar adorned poem for the dark days of war and pestilence. Oil is an anti-war, anti-big oil protest marching song against the evil march of war drums being banged by the US Government, China and other war mongers, a brilliant piece of anarcho-folk messaging. This should have been a huge hit in the Bush era.
Guantanamo is for all the victims of Guantanamo Bay, with Arabic strings, Spanish guitars, this should have been on the Peace Not War protest cd's, the sound of the golden age of modern protest songs a scream of defiance for the endless crimes and the victims at Guantanamo.
Loose This Skin (2009) version is a fuller production and bigger band for a full-on folk-dance hoe down with dark under tones, stop being so jealous of what others have got, this has a real line dance feel to it.
Traveling Man Revisited is a piano ballad for the wandering peripatetic lifestyle of the wandering minstrel always loving and leaving, he may return but don't ask when as he's a traveller.
The D-side is live at Hurrahs in New York the soundtrack to Merrill Aldighieri video The 9 Lives Of Tymon Dogg, from the show on 21st November 1980 that he played with his then new band The Quickening.
The show opens with Get Your Hands Off Me Satan stripped back from the album version the words have a bit more potency, but the arrangement is intriguing.
Indestructible has intense squalling strings set against Tymon's pained, pointed vocals in the fight for survival. This goes straight into the Wheel Of Life And Death as the strings become more intense, the endless cycle goes round and round like the repeating musical phrases, slowly breaking down with flashes of fiddles weaving around the harmonica.
Johnny Is A Wanderer is a folk song strummed wandering musical minstrel loverboy, this could easily be played with a rocking punk backing, rather than this acoustic treat.
Safeway People is folk strummed protest song, talking about vaccines, consumer society, before we start another foreign war, in Cambodia or Northern Ireland etc.
Lose This Skin is heavy fiddling Anarcho-Traveller folk protest from the underground, break out of your prisons and really live.
The album closes with Dog Dirt On Your Shoe an old school musical hall folk punk song that was the first song ever performed by the 101'ers, it's also the only extant recording by a member of the band. Telling us all that it's the latest fashion for everyone from David Bowie to Lou Reed and beyond is to have dog dirt on your shoe, all about going to CBGB'S no doubt, a great fun way to end a show.
Find out more at https://tymondogg.bandcamp.com/album/battle-of-wills-expanded-edition https://www.facebook.com/tymondogg
