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| THE ALBION BAND |
Castle Music America 518 |
Acousticity |
● CD $11.98 |
Now available as a significantly lower priced domestic
release. 1995 album from the ever changing Albion Band is an all acoustic
set. This incarnation of the band features Simon Nicol/ vocals &
guitar, Ashley Reed/ violin & vocals, Chris While/ lead vocals &
guitar and the one constant Ashley Hutchings on acoustic bass guitar &
vocals.
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| THE ALBION BAND |
Castle Music America 541 |
Demi Paradise |
● CD $11.98 |
This is a collection of mostly original songs from Ashley
and Julie Matthews.
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| THE ALBION BAND |
Multimedia 6004 |
Albion Heart |
● CD $10.98 |
12 tracks, 48 mins., recommended. Score one for love. The
current Albion lineup of Chris While, Julie Matthews, Ashley Hutchings,
and Simon Nicol dish up an even dozen original new love songs, serving
mostly as singer/songwriter showcases for While and Matthews. The ladies
are in good voice and the mostly spare, unfancy arrangements show them off
well. The mood runs largely to the slower ballad and dark underside of
love motif, though things start off with a totally happy story in the
title track, followed by Hutchings slightly contrived Appalachian
Front-Porch Game, which turns out to be about Cecil Sharp collecting
American folk songs. The best of the smoky love songs is Matthews' The
Devil In Me, which, given drums and a Nashville studio production,
might be a hit for Mary Chapin Carpenter. Another song where I missed a
full-blown rock delivery is While's Gypsy, which she puts across
with Grace Slick power. Still, it's all acoustic and all Albion. Fans
should love it. (DC)
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| THE ALBION BAND |
Road Goes On Forever RGFCD 006 |
Songs From The Shows, Vol. 1 |
● CD $19.98 |
20 tracks, 50 mins., good. Here's a pastiche of concert and
studio recordings from the Albion's words-and-music presentations from
1977 to 1989. Various band lineups (all including leader Ashley Hutchings)
include John Tams, Simon Nicol, Ric Sanders, Cathy Lesurf, Phil Beer,
Greame Taylor, June Tabor, and more. True to Hutchings vision, the opening
selections are formal, literate, and historically rich, from Here We
Come A-Wassailing to a reading from Dickens. And equally true to the
shizo nature of an Albion show, they then kick into Chuck Berry's Run
Run Rudolph before settling back into another reading from Under
the Greenwood Tree. It's a nicely-crafted program, pleasantly strung
together. As soon as things get too polite, they toss in appropriate
silliness. Only the stadium-rock arranged Dominion of the Sword
seems a bit out of place. Still, it's fine for a family evening around a
roaring fire. (DC)
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| THE ALBION BAND |
Road Goes On Forever RGFCD 007 |
Songs From The Shows, Vol. 2 |
● CD $19.98 |
22 tracks, 57 min., recommended More live and studio
rarities including a the spine chilling vocals of June Tabor on The
Sheep Shearing Song and Twickenham Ferry.
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| THE ALBION BAND |
Windsong 041 |
BBC Radio 1 Live In Concert |
● CD $22.98 |
11 tracks, 57 mins, good. Two live sessions recorded for the
BBC by Ashley Hutchings ever changing band of merry minstrels. There are 7
tracks from 1977 from between The Prospect Before Us and Rise Up
Like The Sun albums and features musicians that appeared on both
albums. The sessions are a bit disappointing compared to the albums
lacking the spirit of the album recordings - the tempos often seem rushed
and Ric Sanders occasional wild fidle excursions are a bit over the top.
The other 4 tracks are from 1982 with a totally different line up
including Cathy LeSurf, Dave Whetstone, Simon Nicol, Jean-Pierre Rasle and
John Maxwell. The performances are enjoyable enough but nothing really
stands out. (FS)
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| ALBION COUNTRY BAND |
BGO BGOCD 354 |
Battle of the Field |
● CD $16.98 |
9 tracks, highly recommended. This is the
first album by the ever changing group led by Ashley Hutchings under the
general name of The Albion Band. This album was originally recorded in
1973 but not issued until 1976 and was then not available for very long.
The band includes Martin Carthy, Sue Harris, John Kirkpatrick, Ashley
Hutchings, Simon Nicol and Roger Swallow. Most of the material is
traditional with the exception of the brilliant opening song Albion
Sunrise by Richard Thompson on which Martin, John & Simon
alternate verses. Other great vocals include I Was A Young Man and Gallant
Poacher and there are some great instrumental tracks including a
wonderful suite of Morris dances. (FS)
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| FRANKIE ARMSTRONG |
Fellside FECD 116 |
Till The Grass O'ergrew The Corn |
● CD $16.98 |
A collection of 12 classic traditional Child ballads -
occasional accompaniment by John Kirkpatrick or second vocal by Maddy
Prior - The Broomfield Hill/ Hares On The Mountain/ Young Orphy/ The
Lover's Ghost/ John Blunt/ The Well Below The Valley, etc.
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| FRANKIE ARMSTRONG |
Fellside FECD 144 |
The Garden Of Love |
● CD $16.98 |
17 tracks, 67 mins, recommended. Excellent new album by this
fine singer is mostly traditional songs along with a few more recent
compositions. In the past Frankie sometimes had a tendency to bellow but
her vocals these days show a much greater understanding of dynamics and is
a pleasure to listen to. Frankie is joined by Joan Mills on vocal, the
brilliant John Kirkpatrick on accordion and vocal and Leon Rosselson on
guitar and vocal. The fine title song which opens the album is a William
Blake poem set to music by Leon Rosselson which then segues into Leon's
composition All That Is Different. Other fine contemporary songs
includes Brian Pearsons' mystical The Ride and Frankie's own Leap
Year. On the traditional side there are fine performances of Barbara
Allen (sung acapella), the whimsical Devil & The Farmers Wife,
the lovely The False Lover Won Back with exquisite accordion from
John K. and a Welsh version of Willie Of Winsbury called Thomas
Of Welshbury. There are also a couple of shape note hymns from the
American tradition. Good stuff! (FS)
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| FRANKIE ARMSTRONG |
Fellside FECD 151 |
Lovely On The Water |
● CD $15.98 |
20 tracks, 54 mins, highly recommended This is a reissue of
Frankie's first full LP for Topic in 1972 with bonus cuts from several
compilations issued around the same time. Frankie Armstrong is a wonderful
singer who has been active on the English scene since the early 60s and
has also attracted a substantial following in the USA. She is a powerful
singer with an occasional tendancy to being strident in her vocals. On
this CD Frankie sings with more gentleness than on her later recordings
but there's no shortage of passion and intensity when called for. The
material is all traditional - half of them sung unaccompanied - the rest
with tasteful accompaniments by Jeff Lowe/ concertina, whistle, recorder
and dulcimer and/or Jack Warshaw/ guitar, dulcimer and banjo. The songs
from the original album are mostly on different aspects of love including Tary
Trousers/ Low Down In The Broom/ The Crafty Maid's Policy/ The Frog &
The Mouse/ The Unquiet Grave/ The Two Sisters and others including
truly chilling versions of the grim The Cruel Mother and the
Brown Girl. The bonus tracks include four songs of the sea including Here's
The Tender Coming and The Sailor Laddie. After almost 30 years
these recordings still sound fresh and exciting - a classic! (FS)
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| FRANKIE ARMSTRONG |
Flying Fish 332 |
I Heard A Woman Singing |
● CD $14.98 |
What a voice! Her opening "cattle call" fairly
blows the listener out the door and into the fields. Frankie Armstrong has
a voice that wells up from the depths and bursts forth in shining brass.
The themes are varied although many deal with the condition of women. One
of these, My Daughter, My Son , deals subtly with the difference
between maternal protective fear and love. The gentlest of them all is a
vocal trio, New Boots.
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| FRANKIE ARMSTRONG |
Harbourtown 009 |
Ways Of Seeing |
● CD $19.98 |
18 songs recorded live by this outstanding singer -
traditional, contemporary and original songs.
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| FRANKIE
ARMSTRONG/ DAVE VAN RONK |
Flying Fish 70557 |
Let No One Deceive You - The Songs Of
Bertolt Brecht |
● CD $14.98 |
Here is an interesting one. Take the songs of Brecht, Weill,
and Eisler, the most progressive songwriters of 1920's Europe, and let
Frankie Armstrong and Dave Van Ronk do their own unique versions, and you
get...this. Van Ronk performs solo on Mack The Knife/ A Man Is A Man/
Let No One Deceive You/ Alabama Song etc. Frankie is backed by Leon
Rosselson on piano and guitar performing The Love Market/ The Song Of
The Little Wind/ Pirate Jenny/ Song Of The Moldau and more. This
recording captures all the anger and angst, humor and hope of Brecht's
work. Not to be filed under "Easy Listening". (
PG)
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| ARTISAN |
Bedspring BOING 8905 |
Driving Home |
● CD $16.98 |
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