Of all the great British and Irish folk bands to have appeared in the past forty years, it's not unfair to suggest that the Battlefield Band have been one of the most overlooked. It is with their latest release, Zama Zama…Try Your Luck, that I suggest they are the most relevant composers of Celtic music today. In essence an album of modern day rebel songs, the Battlefield Band shoulder their past and walk on proudly. Their contemporaries may have passed on or split up but the Battlefield Band evidently still have a lot to say.
Any vitriol to be felt on this album is emphasised not so much through music as through words. Taking aim at stupidity and greed in our world - that's you, Mr. Banker - songs such as "Robber Barons" remain true to the Battlefield Band sound, but the lyrics carry such populist themes as perhaps are to be expected of protest songs. Indeed, the original theme for the album was that of gold-mining as suggested by track titles such as "The Mines of Golkonda" and "Baile An Or (Gold Town). However, it seems that the recent pollution within political quarters has led to a broader lyrical spectrum for the band. Whatever the reason, it has worked to their advantage.
The Battlefield Band probably get less credit for their services to world music than they're due. I feel twice as intelligent as I did before researching all their song titles. From issues close to the heart ("The Auchengeich Disaster") to songs about Hawaiian fish ("Ku'ula-kai") to the title itself ("Zama Zama Boys"), there's a lot more to this album than music. It is testament to the quality of this CD that it can be so historically and lyrically diverse while never threatening to be anything but an album of Celtic music.
Although Alan Reid stands as the only original member still remaining in the band, his current band-mates are more than capable of composing new and relevant material, as this latest release only proves further. This is essential listening.