David McWilliams - Reaching For The Sun - The Major Minor Anthology 1967-1969

David McWilliams was born in Belfast and then at the age of three moved to Ballymena with his family.  He started playing guitar and writing songs in his early teens and then after leaving school in 1963 he started playing in his own group called The Coral Showband.  He recorded a demo that got the attention of Phil Solomon, who was managing other Irish acts like The Bachelors, That Dubliners and Van Morrison’s band Them.  He was impressed enough with the demo that he got his friend, well-known Irish songwriter Dominic Behan, to help him out.  McWilliams moved in with the Behan family in West London and signed a deal with CBS, who in September 1966 released his debut single “God And My Country” backed with “Blue Eyes”.  Around the same time the single was released, Solomon started his own label Major Minor Records.  McWilliams signed with the label and in an incredibly short eight month time period released three albums.  Now with the recently released two CD collection Reaching For The Sun - The Major Minor Anthology 1967-1969, all three albums have been compiled together along with twelve bonus tracks appearing on CD for the first time.   

Singing Songs By David McWilliams, his debut album, was released in June 1967, and was produced and arranged by Mike Leander, who had just finished arranging "She's Leaving Home" for Sgt Pepper.  The music has a lot of similarities to what other musicians like Donovan and Dylan were doing at that time often rooted in folk, sometimes a little more on the rock and pop side, with the Baroque arrangements from Leander.  The album opens with a couple of really powerful tracks, a rerecorded version of the previously released single track “God And Country”, a strong protest song with a simple arrangement in the background, and “Redundancy Blues”, dealing with job loss and poverty.  Next up is “The Silence Is Shattered”, which is somewhat reminiscent of Simon and Garfunkel, followed by the dark and haunting, self-explanatory “Hiroshima”.  While the next couple of tracks “Question of Identity” and “Time Of Trouble” are more upbeat and bouncy, the arrangements border on being a little too gimmicky and feel out of place, whereas “Echo Of My Heart” and the love song “In The Early Hours of The Morning”, a track that sounds like it would have been a perfect fit for Glen Campbell,  are more upbeat as well, but the arrangements work perfectly.  Two of my favorite tracks on the album, both beautifully arranged, are up next with “I’ll Be Home”, a gorgeous song with a bit of a country feel, and “Leaves That Fall”, which opens with a nice acoustic guitar and then evolves into a stunning folk tune.   Following the hypnotic, easygoing groove of “Twilight” is “Hey Sally Sally”, a super infectious upbeat track.  “Reaching For The Sun” is a quirky, horn heavy track that again has a hint of Simon and Garfunkel, especially in the vocal delivery, while “Sheelo Gone So Long” is a bigger sounding tune, again with lots of horns, and a bit of a rock edge.  The album closes strongly with a couple of really beautiful tracks, “Midnight Sun”, which interestingly sounds like a folkier version of something John Denver might have done, and “Pretty Bird”, a laid-back track accompanied by a delicate string arrangement and subdued horns.  

Not long after the release of his debut, McWilliams went back into the studio with Leander and in October, just four months later, he released his sophomore album, Vol. 2 (also found here on disc one).  Not only would it become his most successful release, but it also opened with the biggest hit of his career in “Days Of Pearly Spencer”, an incredible earworm that has a bit of a Scott Walker feel in both his delivery and the lyrics.  It is also notable for its chorus that was recorded over a phone line from a phone box near the studio giving it what has been referred to as a “megaphone effect” (the song has been covered many times over the years, most successfully by Marc Almond).  While that song supposedly talks about a down on his luck homeless person, the overall lyrical tone of this album was less about issues and more about relationships.  The perfect example is the gorgeous, laid-back “Can I Get There By Candlelight”, which to me is the album high point with beautiful lyrics and a stunning arrangement that is absolutely perfect.  Following the laid-back love song “For Josephine” the pace of the album picks up a bit.  The upbeat “How Can I Be Free” has an infectious beat and is punctuated by some great R&B styled horns.  Simon and Garfunkel comes to mind again with “Brown Eyed Gal”, which has an interesting arrangement sounding almost like a movie soundtrack, while “Marlena” feels like an upbeat folk-tinged waltz.  Following “For A Little Girl” and “Lady Helen Of The Laughing Eyes”, a couple of standout midtempo tracks with great arrangements, is the somewhat melancholy “Time Will Not Wait” and “What’s The Matter With Me”, another slightly Dylan-esque track.  Unfortunately, the album wraps a little weak.  “There’s No Lock Upon My Door” does change things up a little with a thumping bass and a slight funk groove but treads a little too close to the Four Tops, and Leander’s arrangement on album closer “Tomorrow’s Like Today” sounds like an excerpt from a Disney cartoon.  Having said that, overall Vol. 2 is just as strong if not stronger than his debut.  

In February 1968, just four more months after Vol. 2, McWilliams and Leander recorded and released album number three.  Having found a formula that seemed to work, Vol. 3 wasn’t too far removed from its predecessors, although there does seem to be an increased use of keys and organ.  The album opens with two of its strongest cuts in “Three O’Clock Flamingo Street”, which has a similar feel to “Days Of Pearly Spencer” with a very big arrangement (interestingly it had just been released as a single by The Bachelors in October 1967) and “Harlem Lady”, an extremely strong cut that at times musically is a bit reminiscent of Jim Croce’s “Operator” that would be released a few years later.  Following the slower, laid-back “Four Seasons” are a string of upbeat tracks including “Turn Homeward Stranger”, with a definite Dylan influence, “Letter To My Love” and “City Blues”, which has an infectious ragged, bluesy groove.  After the melancholy, laid-back “Reflections” is the powerful “Poverty Street”, which musically has a darker edge thanks largely to the accompanying strings and organ.  In contrast to its predecessor, “And I’m Free” is almost pop-tinged with upbeat keys and very positive lyrics, and “September Winds” has a nice baroque sound to it.  Closing the album out is “Young Man’s Dream”, another midtempo track that has a nice easygoing sound and the super catchy “Born To Ramble”.  As mentioned before, the anthology also includes thirteen bonus tracks, most of which are making their first appearance on CD. First up are six songs that were also released on three singles on Major Minor.  Released in May 1968, “This Side Of Heaven” and “Mr Satisfied” are a couple of upbeat tunes that follow in the tradition of his previous work with great hooks and solid arrangements.  In January 1969 came “The Stranger”, a very dark tune both musically and lyrically, that’s much more rock oriented than anything else he had released, thanks largely to the use of electric guitar.  “Follow Me” was on the flipside and is a strong upbeat love song.  His final single for the label came out in June 1969 and contained the bouncy, country tinged “Oh Mama Are You My Friend” and “I Love Susie In The Summer” with it’s gorgeous, almost orchestral arrangement.  “Who Killed Ezra Brymay”, interestingly the most country tune he released during this time, is also among the bonus tracks and was actually released in July 1968 as a US only single on Kapp Records.  The final six bonus tracks include mono versions of “Harlem Lady” and “Days Of Pearly Spencer” that were also released as a single, and Italian language versions of album tracks “Poverty Street”, “Mr. Satisfied” and “The Stranger” along with new song “Intangible”.  Following this whirlwind couple of years, McWilliams decided to take a lengthy break from music and went back to Ireland and bought a farm.  He did start his musical career back in 1971 and released numerous albums and singles over the years before passing away from a heart attack in January 2002.  In addition to two discs absolutely crammed with outstanding music from McWilliams, there is an outstanding booklet full of pics as well as an extremely informative essay about him.  Whether you are a longtime fan, someone who mainly knows him for his hit or someone like me who somehow knew nothing about him, but is now seeking out even more of his releases, I highly recommend this collection.  

(Grapefruit)