Not my standard stuff. Light, poppy soul in every respect, Linda Lewis's third album from 1973. Tastefully recorded and produced by a team of people who know what they're doing. Legendary folk player Danny Thompson on bass, guitarist and producer Jim Cregan, also of Family and also at one point Mr Lewis. twelve songs in all, eleven of them written by Linda herself and the other, the title and first track, co-written with Cregan.
It's light in every respect, like musical souffle, and Lewis's voice bounces confidently around the mix. But we're all of us looking for something different musically to flesh out our collections alongside the established canon, a record for a certain mood and Fathoms Deep hits a certain spot, amiable well-crafted and consistently good-natured.
It's a mighty consistent listen, no huge peaks, but no troughs either and a few songs push themselves out of the scrum and make a more lasting impression. Lewis's lyrics are consistently interesting, she has an eye for nature and the elements to reflect and comment on the ups and downs of human emotion and love's path. Lewis however, it has to be said, is happy with her place in the scheme of things. There's even a song about Amsterdam prostitutes which is remarkably fluffy given its subject matter. ' It's OK...' she sighs as the track fades.
Then there's a song about being a tree. Lewis is no Van Morrison aiming to burrow deep into the soul and isn't attempting to be. This is aimed right at the middle of the road, at contented couples unwinding over a bottle of wine at the end of the working day. You can't help but picture the early seventies domestic scenarios as it plays more than forty years on.
Still, I like it. A lot. From its classic sleeve where you pop the inner, with Lewis's face, into the outer, a snug fitting diving helmet, to it's well written, even run of songs. She sometimes drifts away from her light soul base towards almost classic singer songwriter territory and this is where she begins to punch above her weight, her songs almost prefiguring later work by Joan Armatrading or even Kate Bush.
She has a distinctive, teasing voice, at its best when she takes risks however much they might remain within strictly defined pop perameters. My memory of Lewis in the early seventies was that she consistently featured on the UK's flagship weekly chart show Top of the Pops although she registered very little actual chart time. It was partly down to her sheer likability and that's this album's chief characteristic. It's nowhere close to the canon but there are times when it's a definite preferable option to Unknown Pleasures when that for example, doesn't feel like the right record to listen to with your partner.
Side One is succeeded effortlessly by Side Two and Lewis continues to float her songs across to you. Robert Christgau, in a review of an earlier album comments on her 'cute facades', and hey, he's right but this is one of the endless charms of life, like flirting with a colleague or friend you know you absolutely won't actually get romantically embroiled with.
Fathoms Deep is the newest addition to my collection but Lewis probably goes straight to the top of the heap in the flirtation stakes. Better company than Joni or Chrissie, not remotely terrifying like Siouxsie, less demanding than Patti and more approachable than Debbie. She's good company, as is the record.
That's not to demean her, because as I've said she writes, plays on. leads and clearly crafts the record and possibly deserves greater credit as a forerunner for higher profile British female musicians who came later. It's probably the bubbly nature of everything she does here that accounts for that, she's not challenging stereotypes or pushing boundaries and it's the artists who do who ultimately hog the limelight when lists of the greats come to be decided on.
Lewis doesn't belong there but does deserve her due. This is a fine pop album within the set of rules it applies for itself and the mainstream it aims and settles for. This is, it should not be forgotten, even on a blog like this, which leans towards the obscure and the left-field as a rule, the space occupied by most people. Lewis offers simpler rewards to The Velvet Underground or Can of course, but there's more than enough idiosyncratic charm here to merit attention on its own terms.
So Fathoms Deep, quite definitely an album I'll return to sometimes when looking to re-establish equilibrium at the end of a working day. It does what it says on the tin!
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