Iain Matthews

I bought another Iain Matthews record a couple of weeks ago, the 1993 Skeleton Keys, which, of course, after Fairport Convention, after Matthews Southern Comfort (where he had a pretty monster hit with "Woodstock") and even after Plainsong. In fact, it's well into the obscure, poorly marketed years, but it's not clear why. Matthews, here as in the more famous parts of his career, has got a really lovely voice, though, and writes some really interesting, complicated, ambiguous little songs...I'm liking "Jumping Off the Roof" and "Back of the Bus" in particular, but it took a good deal of listening to the words before I got into them.

Here he is playing with former Fairport Convention cohort Richard Thompson at the 2007 Cropredy festival.


And here's the only youtube I could find for Skeleton Keys and un-video of "Every Crushing Blow"


I don't like Skeleton Keys as much as If You Could See Through My Eyes which I reviewed for Dusted a while ago, but I do like it.