Artist – Ian Prowse
Album – One Hand On The Starry Plough
Released – 11th February 2022
Reviewer – Ian D Hall, Liverpool Sound and Vision
Liverpool Sound and Vision rating – 10/10
To turn the means of another person’s war to that of peace, requires insight, observation, skilled diplomacy, righteous anger, and patience. Although in a world that is slowly turning itself inside out, threatening to tear proverbial limb from limb, and in a place where its wrongs have forever either gone unnoticed by its populace, or even aided by its subjects, to have One Hand On The Starry Plough is not only act of defiance against a set of people in ties and suits using nefarious means and counting on blind faith to push back against progress and compassion, it is a right of self-preservation, an appropriate response to the mass hate, the rank hypocrisy of those who offer you nothing but subjugation.
We look to the same stars for guidance and inspiration as our forebears did, and by doing so we are able to connect with a feeling of consistency, and it only requires courage, the sound of the lone voice calling out in the dark, to pull you back to the light, and whilst we all have our own thoughts on prophets, poets and the ones who bang the drum and those who hoist the flag, we have to understand that there is another way than that shown by those wishing to keep the status quo intact for their own benefit, whilst convincing us that we want the same.
Liverpool’s Ian Prowse has always had that one hand on the plough of change, an advocate, a musician who isn’t afraid to use his voice to highlight social discourse that is encouraged by suits, Windsor and Eton knot ties and double talk politicians, and quite rightly takes exception at those who seek to display the city as something that is not, the times he has lived through, mirroring the 99 percent of us in the same position during the last forty years, has seen him urge with greater defiance and revolution for us to grab the plough and take up arms in the fight against pig ignorance and the final nails in our collective reasoning.
In what can be rightly considered as Mr. Prowse’s finest set of songs to date, a huge compliment when you reflect on what has gone before, whether with Pele or Amsterdam, One Hand On The Starry Plough is the combination of that reason coupled with anger, with feeling, with an understandable apprehension of what can come next if we allow one more step to be taken away from the bonds of compassion and the urgency of modern revolution.
Across tracks such as the openers Battle and Holy, Holy River, and through gems and hard home truths in No Trial, Swine, the superb homage of friendship in Dan, He Sings I Cry and Diego, Ian Prowse lets rip, he sounds the alarm and flexes muscles that would push the plough through even the stoniest of fields and see it spring forth life.
An album of sheer excellence, of pulling no punches, One Hand On The Starry Plough is the musical flag of the cry of independence and self- determination by the those seeking true liberty.
Ian D Hall
© 2022 Liverpool Sound and Vision
Ian Prowse
Ian Prowse releases One Hand On The Starry Plough on February 11th via Kitchen Disco Records.
Ian will be taking The Plough Tour around the UK with a six piece band from March to May. Full details of dates and venues can be found on his website.