Cape Town’s original folk troubadour Bill Knight has been a constant presence on the scene since the mid-80s and he has released nine albums before this. Knight created his own unique style known as Skollie Rock and it has served him well and still does on his latest album: Bill Knight and the Old Dogs Band – In Full Cry.
The Old Dogs are: Bill Knight on vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, harps and accordion, Derek Craig: drums and percussion and Jeremy Stephenson on bass.
Musically, this is not just a folk album as Knight shows he can also “gooi” when plugged in and the accordion and harp add colour and texture to the songs and a good backing for Bill’s poignant vocals which is the most important aspect in this type of music.
The album gets off to a rocking start on Never No More, a song about learning from ones mistakes: ”The past is just a jealous ghost/trapped in an abandoned town, knows just how to hold you close/memories and cobwebs bind you down…”. The song features some really nice backing vocals reminiscent of McCully Workshop.
Restless Heart is driven by a desire to hold on to your own identity in these crazy times…. “everybody has a claim/on your heart and on your name, everyone had a reason/to take you for a ride..”. This should be the first single.
There are a couple of songs that deal with the lockdown we had in South Africa in 2020 and the lack of love and human contact. On Breakout, Knight laments: “Getting my act together/working my way back to you” . On Love Under Lockdown he observes: “this is your time, my time, our time” and I am sure we can all relate.
The thought of aging can be depressing for all of us and it is addressed quite candidly on Just As I was Told: “perhaps someone should tell me/If I’m speaking out of turn, everything they taught me/seems I’ll have to unlearn…”
Arme Kind deals with crime and the consequences on the Cape Flats “and the Laaitjies learn all of the hand signs/along with their ABC’s, they point their fingers like pistols/and tell you to get on your knees.” The lyrics are carried by a waltz time akin to David Kramer’s District Six tunes and they show just how this is just a way of life for the people that live there.
Knight deals with the subject of dangerous liaisons quite eloquently. On Dark Love he states : “and as for your hunger/your control, they echo in/your hollow soul” while on Heretic he states: “what’s comfort for you/is bondage for me”. Dark and brooding to be sure, the sort of subject Warren Zevon or Tom Waits would write about. The album has an antidote to that though and on Drown Myself our hero thinks he has fallen in love.. “Oh girl, what can I do? I just want to drown myself in you”. Very refreshing.
Medicine for The Melancholy shows that hardships do play on ones mind, though we all try to hide it…”paranoia has the power/to make you shuffle in shame” while on The Rains Are Late, Bill wonders if mans destruction of the planet has led to the climate change and if that cycle can be reversed..” it’s too late for repentance/no bargaining with tears, and the rains are late this year..”
On Snouts in the Trough, Knight takes on Trump and he is angry but who can blame him…”you’re in love with your own lies/immaculate disguise, you’re going down..” Trump is not the only target though as on More of the Same, Knight rightly observes how our leaders never deliver on their promises ..”something has to be changing/or is it more of the same thing..”
The album ends with the thought provoking Aren’t We All where Knight notes that everyone has their own cross to bear…” show me your eyes/don’t look so surprised, are you damaged inside/aah, aren’t we all”
Hopefully this album will include a lyric sheet because Knight is a fine and adequate lyricist who has learned from Dylan, Young and Cohen and like Springsteen he is still relevant in 2021. In Full Cry was engineered and recorded by Jeremy Stephenson and mastered by Robin Auld who is releasing this album on the Shoreline Music label. Fine effort all round. For fans of Dylan, Young, Waits, Springsteen and anyone who supports good home grown local music. Rating 4 out of 5. Ernesto Garcia Marques, Jive Talking. 28/04/2020
Bill Knight Music 