Its July 1987 and I’m in a barn in Stony Stratford to see fiercely maverick Roy Harper deliver acoustic miasma and protest. Dissatisfied with 80s popular music my 20 year old self is musically self medicating on a diet of Pink island, Transatlantic label vinyl and self releasing outsiders, catching club gigs by 40 something, acoustic touting 60s fully qualified survivors. Roy was as always, memorably Roy, but the support, James Varda, in a Donovan cap and suede jacket was unexpectedly stunning. He taught me a valuble lesson, to always catch the support. By the following year he’s Harper’s tour buddy of choice and has an incredible John Leckie album, HUNGER out on his own Murmur label. Critically acclaimed it generates positive reviews, a Johnny Walker radio session and some TV spots. Between 87 and 1989 I saw him eleven times, including headlining at the Band On The Wall in Manchester and a blinding set at Kendal Folk Festival. Sometimes though things end as suddenly as they begin, here’s another lesson there about turning out and not waiting to catch the next tour. In 1992, instead of a follow up album, James returned to teaching. Out of the public eye for a decade Varda released a trio of beautifully contemplative albums between 2003 and 2014. Fifteen years on the strong guitar was still there, and the voice had grown in power with a deeper timbre, while that melancholic edge was there in spades. Having made a quartet of perfectly formed albums on his own terms, from the indie edged HUNGER, the sketched IN THE VALLEY and the fuller THE RIVER AND THE STARS and CHANCE AND TIME, James Varda died following a long battle with a rare form of cancer in 2014. As my good friend Michael Chapman said with feeling in “The Twisted Road” ‘Life’s not fair’.
Ten years on CHANCE AND TIME is getting a vinyl reissue on the Unspun Heroes label. The voice with its bruised melancholy and hubris, delivers songs that pack an emotional punch and a decade later James’ final release sounds incredible. Circumstances give the words to “Its Not Quite Too Late” an incredible poignancy as James sings in fine voice about the dying of the day and the sun fighting with the clouds. “May This Moment Ever Glow” has the poet’s sense of contemplation. The arrangement is powerful with James’ guitar and voice joined by double bass, accordion, bass and harp. Varda’s writing is quietly profound ‘some days are full of light, some days are hard to bear. Most days are somewhere, in between. Take them as gifts. Make of them what you can.’ “The Doctor Spoke” is heart-breaking autobiography and trance like final section about Blake like contemplation over insistent guitar and Fliss Jones’ pastoral piano. With a very Renbourn guitar riff “Our Love Will Never End” is a beautiful love song, perfectly played and sung. At points through the album James is joined by a second vocalist with Johanna Herron especially striking on this track. “Only Love” is a brooding song, atmospheric cello and bass like a heart beat create tension behind Varda’s hypnotic wordless vocal. “Let My Place”, first track of the second side is lighter, mystical, full of Donovan troubadour whimsy alongside thoughtful words, rippling guitar and Mick Hutton’s double bass. “One Thing After Another” is another gem with a little of HUNGER’s 12 string Byrds jangle. Again and again Varda delivers poetic lyrical revelations over floating accordion and returning Nick Harper’s flowing lead guitar. “Pass It On” has another captivating guitar part behind James’ lyrics celebrating a moment of quiet contemplation. There is an urgency in the chorus and a building sense of the ritual. “Beside The Sea” uses the Chapman or Martyn-esque slapped strings echoplex guitar of HUNGER’s “Black On Black” to build a shimmering atmosphere. Wrapped in echo and space James contemplates love, a special place and a goodbye. The space of John Martyn’s Glistening Glyndebourne looms in Fliss Jones’ shimmering piano. Like a pared back version of the lush retro “Good Night” that closes The Beatles WHITE ALBUM, “We Wont Dream” is a Formby lullaby delivered with valve mike compression and a ukulele like strum. The warmth of the light delivery is at odds with the honest lyrics as James finds a perspective against the scale of it all. ‘Stars shine bright, mountains stand tall, we come and go that’s all.’
A confident, quietly stunning final statement from a gifted singer songwriter who delivered gem after gem. This is 10 perfect tracks given an extra depth and power by time and James’ passing. If the name doesn’t mean anything to you yet then this will be a true revelation and an introduction to a great performer, writer and musician.
Marc Higgins 23/05/24
https://unspunheroes.bandcamp.com/album/chance-and-time
Unspun Heroes / Small Things 10 tracks
Time Past and Time Passing 