Twinkling of an Eye

Description

Sound Purpose – Twinkling of an Eye (Word 1974)

Twinkling of an Eye is the debut album by the British folk group Sound Purpose, released in the UK on Word Records in 1974. The group also released a second album entitled On the Slate.

Delightful British five-guy one-girl folk outfit with an immediately likeable style somewhere between the infectious ‘60s pop spirit of The Seekers and the lightly progressive UK folk of groups like Aslan. As a Profile label release this would have been a huge dollar item, but being on Word UK your options should be much more reasonable. Very British sounding, which probably explains why their albums weren’t co-released in the States. «I’ll Never Know», «Heaven Only Knows» and the title track all have catchy skip-along melodies coupled with endearing male/female harmonies and fresh acoustic presentation that warmly recall the ‘Georgy Girl’ era. 12-string leads, mandolin, banjo, harmonica and recorder are worked in here and there to enhance their sound. Includes eleven selections written by member Harold Heath, plus one Dave Pope song. Seriously, this is one the most uplifting UK folk groups I’ve heard – and it won’t cost you an arm and a leg. [Ken Scott, The Archivist, 4th Edition]

LP tracklist:

Side One
A1. “I’ll Never Know”
A2. “You’ll Have Sorrow”
A3. “Following My Lord”
A4. “One Different Man”
A5. “Psalm 23”
A6. “Twinkling Of An Eye”

Side Two
B1. “Heaven Only Knows”
B2. “Simple Song”
B3. “Peter”
B4. “Not Of Dreams (Jesus Christ Son Of God)”
B5. “Just A Word Away”
B6. “Someone More Than Human”

[youtube_sc url=”Zs0l-LG–QY” title=”Sound Purpose – Ill Never Know” autohide=”1″ rel=”0″]

Released back in 1974 on the British Word UK imprint, this collection of jaunty folk songs is reminiscent of The Seekers and taps into the folk pop sounds that were popular at the time. Banjos and mandolins ahoy! Vocally there’s a blend of male and female voices which works very well. The songs often have a poppy feel which means that there are enough infectious hooks here to draw you in. This is Jesus music with straight forward, in-your-face lyrics that sound strangely direct to modern ears but work really well. The songs were penned by Harold Heath and I like the upbeat poppy «Heaven Only Knows» and the opening cut «I’ll Never Know» which both bounce along nicely. «You’ll Have Sorrow» owes a little musical debt to Lindisfarne’s «Lady Eleanor» but is no worse for that. There’s even a song, «Not Of Dreams (Jesus Christ Son Of God)» from Dave Pope who was a label mate and produced the album. The album was successful enough for them to record a follow up in 1975. [Mike Rimmer, Cross Rhythms, June 2011]