Something good from Bury (one)

It's the vowel sounds that do it - specifically the "uh" sound as if you've been given a gentle poke in the tummy. You can hear it when Phil (Everton) or Gary (Man U) is interviewed on the telly after the match. And you can hear it running through the vocals of Guy Garvey like the same wordsound running through a stick of seaside rock: "does," "up," "cover," and, of course, "love." It's the vowel sound of my home town, the vowel sound of Bury, the reason why no-one can ever say "Bury" properly unless they come from Bury.

Guy Garvey? Writer, singer, and creative force behind Elbow who've just won the Mercury prize and become an overnight success after eighteen years and four albums. Beautiful arrangements, lyrics like poetry, and strangely uplifting even though the prize-winning album, The seldom seen kid, is a memorial to a dead friend. And (see previous blog post about staying loyal to traditional music formats) the CD is accompanied by a really well crafted booklet which sets out the lyrics and lists the credits - and which (rejoice! rejoice!) is properly stapled with a proper contents page, and even proper pagination! So you can settle down, as I did over the weekend, to give Elbow your full attention, reading the lyrics as you listen to the music. Well worth the effort.

Incidentally, I should explain the title of this blog post. Way back in the day, when I was nobbut a lad, there was a toffee manufacturer in Bury called Bensons whose marketing slogan was "Something good from Bury." Ey but they were simpler times in them days. None of your post-modernist cynicism which, these days, adds instant connotations of incredulity: "Something good? From Bury?? Surely not!!!"  So I use the slogan (in its original straighforward sense) whenever I come across something from Bury worth commendation. Like Elbow. Good stuff, lads.