Description
The Fatherless and the Widow is the debut album by American alternative pop band Sixpence None the Richer, released on R.E.X. Music in 1993. (The band are named after a passage in C.S. Lewis’ book Mere Christianity.) The album was produced by Armand John Petri, who also managed the band from 1993 to 1997.
Guitarist/songwriter Matt Slocum met vocalist Leigh Nash in the early 1990s. They recorded a demo with bassist T.J. Behling – which circulates as “The Original Demos” – at Verge Music Works recording studio in Dallas, and eventually an album entitled The Fatherless and the Widow for the independent label R.E.X. Music in 1993. The record featured Chris Dodds, a member of Love Coma, in which Slocum also played guitar. Shortly after the release of The Fatherless and the Widow, Slocum left Love Coma to pursue Sixpence None the Richer full-time. The band added Tess Wiley (guitar), Joel Bailey (bass) and Dale Baker (drums) to tour in support of The Fatherless and the Widow. On this tour the band traveled the US, opening for The Choir, the newly reformed 10,000 Maniacs, Audio Adrenaline, Pray For Rain, Over the Rhine, and more. In the fall of 1994, the band left for their first tour of Europe. The club and festival tour saw them performing with bands such as the Proclaimers, Newsboys, Julie & Buddy Miller, and many more.
Vocalist, high school senior Leigh Bingham and collegiate guitarist/keyboard player/writer Matt Slocum make up Sixpence None the Richer, R.E.X.’s first signing to its more pop-oriented label. Though their sound may lean a little too often toward 10,000 Maniacs, Sixpence shows promise not often heard in young artists. Much of alternative Christian music places so much focus on the “real life” of being a Christian, it feels like some have forgotten the hopes and truths that can exist amidst that real life. «Trust» takes Proverbs 3:5-6 and sets it to music almost word for word. Its very soft, traditional, folk sounds fits wonderfully. A more worshipful «Trust» reprise closes ‘The Fatherless and the Widow’ with the most important statement of all. “You will have much trouble in this world/ I have overcome.” Many thanks to Sixpence None the Richer for remembering. [Amy E. Dixon, CCM, February 1994]
Five years before Sixpence became a household name on the wings of the stellar international hit that was «Kiss Me», a truly delightful romantic piece of folk/pop brilliance that landed at exactly the right time in the cultural zeitgeist, guitarist and songwriter Matt Slocum and the still teenage vocalist Leigh Nash were learning how to combine their talents and create alternative music that mattered in New Braunfels, Texas. Perhaps inspired by the Christian rock breakthrough in California a decade earlier, when bands like The Choir, Altar Boys and Undercover had stretched the sonic and lyrical boundaries of what was possible and now fellow 90s bands like The Prayer Chain and Poor Old Lu were getting ready for their turn at bat.
Slocum’s interest in rich textured guitar sounds is evident from the very beginning of their 1993 debut, ‘The Fatherless & The Widow’, an image drawn from the concern of the Hebrew prophets for their community’s most vulnerable members, widows and orphans, which Jesus later describes as “the least of these,” in his parable in Matthew 25. Crisp chords ring out like chimes as a tapestry of textures cascade down a waterfall of sound, an orchestral chorus relying on layers of six stringed instruments and the odd cello, which combine to mark the territory Slocum is discovering for himself, an echo of influences like Derri Daugherty (The Choir), Johnny Marrs (The Smiths), Peter Buck (R.E.M.).
No less pronounced and crucial to the 6p sound is the bright, pure and natural voice of Nash, who can effect a childish whisper, or cut through the whirling dervish of sound to create a melodic center that holds and will not be lost in the fury that surrounds her. Whether interpreting an ancient psalm in a lush orchestrated piece, as she does in «Trust (Reprise)» which closes the album, or the album’s more challenging emotions of the title track and the opening song, «Field of Flowers», she finds just the right emotional resonance to bring home the pictures that Slocum’s music evokes.
Surely, no one believes that Nash and Slocum arrived in Nashville to work with Steve Taylor, to create the band’s self-title breakthrough for the fledgling Squint label, fully realized like being hatched from an egg, all ready for prime time and a shot at international stardom. On ‘The Fatherless & The Widow’, ‘The Beautiful Mess‘ and the ‘Tickets for a Prayer Wheel‘ we see their earliest test flights, learning to soar on their own wings, testing the waters and working out a sound and expression that was both heartfelt and personal, but universally relevant. The fruit of their efforts came early and often, so long-time fans and some who only listened to their radio hits will find these reissues well worth tracking down. If you only catch an artist at their commercial apex, you may miss the beauty and depths of their creative endeavors that lead up to their breakthrough and echo its impact in subtle ways for as long as they are willing to dip pen into ink, strike a chord, and sing one true note. – Brian Quincy Newcomb
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-fatherless-the-widow/649829385)
CD tracklist:
01. Field Of Flowers – 2:37
02. Spotlight – 3:51
03. The Fatherless And The Widow – 4:44
04. Musings – 4:34
05. Trust – 3:25
06. Falling Leaves – 3:31
07. Meaningless – 5:08
08. Soul – 3:50
09. An Apology – 4:40
10. Trust (Reprise) – 4:02
Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and CD by R.E.X. Music. Remastered by Rob Colwell and re-issued by Girder Music on 12-inch orange vinyl LP (Limited Edition, 200 copies) for the first time in 2020, including a bonus track – “Melting Alone” from This Beautiful Mess.
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