The Trees - 'Here Come the Trees'

The Trees - 'Here Come the Trees'

by Pete Clemons

Trees. Great lumbering things. Behomoths. What's the point of them?. What purpose do they serve?.

Well firstly, they store carbon dioxide taken in from the air, along with water from the ground. And in the process of converting that mix into wood they release oxygen back into the air for us to breathe.

Due to the amount of water they drink, they are a natural flood defence.

There are theories that they are able to communicate through their network of roots. Or even send chemical hormones to each other. Or, that they send pheromones to each other via the air.

But it is not only us humans they support. They are pivotal to the ecosystem and sustaining other animal and insect life due to the fruits they provide.

Amongst other things, they also provide us with construction materials and that is a partial reason for the vast deforestations happening around the world right now. It really is a fine balance. Maybe one that we are not getting right at the moment.

And these issues have been tackled by a host of local musicians in the form of an album titled 'Here Come the Trees'.

The concept for the album came from Christopher Sidwell, soon after the release of the last Crokodile Tears album, 'Old Skool'. Christopher also provided lyrics for the project along with poet Morphelia Ansell and Melanie Moon.

For this release Christopher enlisted the musical and recording skills of Keith Fabrique and Mick Walker.

And the storyline: in Christopher's words 'Well it’s generally about man vs. nature, or man vs. man (in the case of Conservationists vs. Big corporations) and explores the idea of ‘Heroes’. The lonely poet was looking for a man to save her but realised that she can save herself (as he’s not going to do it!) People expect Moon Girl to come and save them and their trees but she comes too late to save the trees. An ordinary person, her alter ego, Melanie Moon speaks out about the trees being cut down and Jack’s brother Zack gives up his job as a lumberjack as he starts to love trees and so rebels against his bosses at the lumber company'.

Strip back the bark and underneath you have a really decent album that has many fine musical moments. A host of musicians have been drafted in for this project and they have all excelled themselves. 'Here Come the Trees' is an absolute delight to listen to.

Talking to those behind it, 'Here Come the Trees' was clearly a lot of fun to put together. It was a relatively smooth production and there was an obvious mutual respect for each other.

Although there is a serious side to the album it is also a light hearted affair with plenty of humour, at a superficial level, within it. It also contains many metaphors. The heroes, that Christopher mentions, could well be the youth of today and their stance for the environment.

The project also has the potential for a theatre production as opposed to a gig. But that is one for the future.

One thing is for sure though, and that is 'Here Come the Trees' is a one off. Those behind it are not wanting to exhaust the theme and, as such, will not be following it up. It is a stand alone album and will not be an elder.

There is a lovely dedication at the bottom of the sleeve notes. It is to all you little acorns out there. Together, you can be big enough.to make a difference.