I play guitar on the album, which was produced by my son Will, and recorded in our studio. I wrote the tunes for four songs where only Jake's lyrics survived (The Ferryboat, When Lucy Comes, God Bless America and Kinnell) For Kinnell, which reconstructs an unfinished song, John and I used Jake's manuscript notes to complete the lyrics.
Alongside satirical, humorous writing, the album includes serious, mature masterpieces from later in Jake’s career. The Bull is a brilliant, ballsy (literally!) attack on hierarchies, celebrity culture and pomposity. The Cenotaph and The Remembrance are astonishing and profound anti-war songs, and Side by Side, focusing on the tribal barriers people erect, could scarcely be more serious or relevant. Also included areThe Berm House, an eco-friendly love song which is probably the last song Jake ever wrote, and the darkly comic Lullaby-My-Daddio.
The album title and cover design, by Guardian illustrator Jamie Lenman, both reference Jake’s song and debut album, The Last Will and Testament of Jake Thackray. The album booklet includes previously unpublished photographs of Jake by Tish Murtha.
Praise for The Lost Will and Testament of Jake Thackray
Don Black
‘Terrific interpretations.’
Neil Gaiman
‘It’s wonderful to hear songs by the inimitable Jake Thackray we simply hadn’t known about, and to hear them so close to how he might have performed them…’
Ralph McTell
‘John Watterson’s obvious joy in performing Jake’s wonderful songs has inspired him to record these Thackray gems, many of which are receiving their first ever release. My dear friend Jake was a modest and shy man, but I think he would be quietly grinning in approval.
John’s collaborator, Paul Thompson, has immersed himself so deeply in Jake’s musicality that the new tunes he has written for some of the songs sound as if they were composed by the man himself.
Jake lives again through this album, which is a wonderful contribution to the canon of a unique and sadly missed artist.’
Victor Lewis-Smith (Producer, ‘Jake on the Box’ BBC 4)
‘Wonderful stuff, bringing some of Jake’s long-forgotten gems back to life. Brilliantly performed songs, with uncannily precise enunciation, and accurately capturing the unique Thackray guitar style. If Jake was right, and there really is an afterlife, he’ll undoubtedly be looking down and giving his gruff approval.’
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