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Folk
Music Of The British Isles & Europe
England
Folk Music Of The British Isles & Europe
England
Ushna -> Young Tradition
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USHNA |
Fellside 132 |
Twice Brewed |
● CD $16.98 |
13 tracks,
52 mins, recommended. Excellent collection of
mostly traditional songs and tunes from Northumbria along with a few
originals by talented quartet of musicians including Jackie Barry/vocals &
percussion, Sean Barry/ harp, keyboards & vocals,
Sarah Fisher/ fiddle and Billy Stewart/vocals & guitar. The wonderful
Kathryn Tickell guests on Northumbrian pipes on several tracks. Good singing
and playing on such songs and tunes as Puffing Billy/ Felton Lonnen/ Joe
The Quilter/ William Jobling/ Buy Broom Besoms/ Blaydon Flats/ Bonny At
Morn/ Elsie Marley and others. (FS)
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MIKE WATERSON |
Topic TSCD 516 |
Mike Waterson |
● CD $15.98 |
14 track,
essential. Welcome CD reissue of the 1977 Topic LP of the same name with two
added tracks (Sorry the Day I Was Married, which he sings solo, and
The Yorkshire Tup, with the rest of the Watersons on chorus)
from the Watersons' 1966 album A Yorkshire Garland. This
material was stunning when it first came out and it's lost none of its punch
since then. Mike and his sisters Lal and Norma formed the magic nucleus of a
musical constellation that still burns brightly. These recordings are mostly
Mike singing solo, his voice in its prime, inhabiting each song like a house
made utterly unique by its occupier -- which is really saying something,
since among them are some of the best-known in English-language tradition:
The Cruel Ship's Carpenter/ Tamlyn (the 11 minute
all-chiller-no-filler version), Seven Yellow Gypsies. Bert Lloyd's
introduction to the 1977 album, reprinted in the CD liner notes, sums this
up thus: "Just the bloke himself with that dark yellow voice (and what a
handsome colour it turns out to be ...). With occasional added voices
provided by some combination of Norma, Lal, Lal's daughter Maria, cousin
John Harrison, Jim Eldon, and Rod Stradling. (NSN)
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NORMA WATERSON |
Topic TSCD 520 |
Bright Shiny Morning |
● CD $15.98 |
12 tracks,
49 mins, essential. At last - a solo album of all
traditional songs from one of England's greatest singers - it took 40 years
but was worth the wait! Few can match Norma when it comes to power,
expressiveness and sheer musicality and she brings that wonderful voice to
bear on such great songs as The Chaps Of Cockaigny/ One April Morning
(one of my all time favorite songs)/ Sheep Crook & Black Dog/ Banks Of
The Dee/ Bright Shiny Morning/ Barbary Allen (if you think you've heard
this song too many times you'll change your mind when you hear Norma's
version)/ Flower Of Sweet Strabane/ Go & Leave Me and others. She is
given beautiful instrumental and vocal accompaniments from husband Martin
Carthy/ vocal/ guitar/ banjo, daughter Eliza Carthy/ vocal/ violin/ guitar/
co-producer of album, brother Mike Waterson/ vocal, Mary McMaster/ harp, Ben
Ivitsky/ vocals, violin/viola/guitar & co-producer, Chris Parkinson/
accordion and harmonica and others. And keeping it in the family the album
was engineered by Norma's nephew Oliver Knight. A joy! (FS)
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LAL WATERSON & OLIVER KNIGHT |
Topic TSCD 478 |
Once In A Blue Moon |
● CD $15.98 |
13 tracks,
43 mins., essential. A stunning collaboration of Lal Waterson and her son,
Oliver Knight: her songs, her singing, his guitar and production. To call
these songs is an oversimplification. These are sung poems, they are alive,
so the more attention you pay them and the more time you spend with them,
the livelier they become; if you tease out the allusions they get more
complex, and sometimes you realize that you're learning more about yourself
than the poet. I find these performances strong, earthy, lit with birds and
pain and love and the blues. What riches North Yorkshire has, in Lal, in her
son Oliver, in the No Master's Voice Collective of which Lal is a member, in
Lal's niece Eliza Carthy, who comes to mind in the opening song At First
She Starts when Lal sings "Didn't you realize you were a bird, at dawn
when you woke with air in your throat / So far doe-ray-me sing to me loudly,
serenade me, mess with the melody." Yes, please! (NSN)
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LAL WATERSON & OLIVER KNIGHT |
Topic TSCD 505 |
A Bed Of Roses |
● CD $15.98 |
12 tracks,
essential. When Lal Waterson left us on September
4, 1998, this album had "not progressed past the rough cut stage", wrote
Karl Dallas, in the obituary published in The Independent. It was cancer
that got her, she was 55, and, according to John Pilgrim's notice in the
November 1998 Folk Roots, it had been diagnosed 10 days before she died. The
news felt as hard and mean as that accounting when we first heard it and it
doesn't feel any better now. But Lal's son Oliver gave their final
recordings a golden shimmer when he finished this, the successor to their
incomparable 1996 album
"Once In a Blue Moon".
My first listen ended in tears after the fourth track Columbine, a
goodbye to the flowers of her summer garden that ends "we'll see you next
year" ... I've made it through, now, all the way through the end of her
son's melancholy instrumental Lullaby at the finish. Her voice stayed
rich and her poetry pungent to the end, and, in her words, "who wants it all
a bed of roses anyway?" (Me, Lal.) (NSN)
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NORMA WATERSON, MARTIN &
ELIZA CARTHY |
Topic TSCD 475 |
Waterson:Carthy |
● CD $15.98 |
12 tracks,
54 mins, essential. It may be a bit early to pick
the best folk album of the 90s but I'll be surprised if this stunning
release isn't right up there near the top. Martin Carthy has been the
leading performer of traditional music on the English folk scene for nearly
30 years, he and his wife Norma Waterson are half of Britain's finest
acapella harmony group and their daughter Eliza Carthy is one of the finest
up and coming musicians on the British folk scene. Together they make music
that is simply magical - nearly all of it traditional - showing that
traditional song is far from being moribund as some might have you believe.
Four of the songs are sung by Norma who proves, if any proof was needed,
that she is one of the best traditional singers in England. The version of
When I First Came To Caledonia with exquisite guitar from Martin and
fiddle by Eliza is simply spine chilling as is her performance of the Texas
waltz Midnight On the Water with lyrics from Ron Kavana. Eliza takes
the lead vocal on three songs and her singing and fiddle playing continue to
develop from her excellent debut album with Nancy Kerr. Her performance of
Robert Burns' powerful The Slaves Lament is truly affecting. Martin
takes the leads on Ye Mariners All and John Hamilton. The
three harmonize on the remarkable Sleep On Beloved a traditional
funeral song from North Yorkshire which bears a strong resemblance to
Bahamian Joseph Spence's I Bid You Goodnight. The instrumental work
is outstanding throughout and Eliza's original tune Farewell To A Dark
haired Friend shows her ability as a composer too. Family musical groups
frequently have an empathy not heard in unrelated musicians and there can be
few better examples than here. Simply magnificent in every respect. (FS)
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WATERSON:CARTHY |
Topic TSCD 509 |
Broken Ground |
● CD $15.98 |
11 tracks,
essential The family business continues to kick ass. Oliver Knight (see
above) engineered and produced this outing by Uncle Martin Carthy/guitar &
vocals, Aunt Norma Waterson/triangle & vocals, their daughter/his Cousin
Eliza Carthy/fiddle, viola, & vocals, and de facto cousin Saul
Rose/melodeons & vocals; with support from Ben Ivitsky/low whistle & viola,
and from The Phoenix New Orleans Parade Band. Norma and Eliza are in superb
voice and their singing is like two ends of the same rainbow -- you'll see
what I mean when you listen to Eliza's Raggle Taggle Gypsies and then
Norma's The Bay of Biscay, which open the set. Martin's got a new
stunner in The Lion's Den but the words get lost behind the
accompaniments at times. With due apologies to James Brown, Martin's voice
is the voice of the hardest working man in show business, by which I mean
use has worn it some; but his wit, his passion, and his joy burn brighter
than ever, and inform the whole project. (Besides, he's the one who turned
me on to Jody Stecher.) And the tunes! The chunes are to die for! (NSN)
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WATERSON:CARTHY |
Topic TSCD 536 |
Dark Light |
● CD $16.98 |
11 tracks,
58 mins, essential. Another fabulous collection of
traditional songs and tunes from this wonderful family group - Martin
Carthy, his wife Norma Waterson and their daughter Eliza Carthy. They are
among the finest singers in Britain and Martin and Eliza are superb
instrumentalists. For their fourth album they are joined by the splendid Tim
van Eyken on melodeon and vocals plus occasional guest instrumentalists. The
songs are performed solo, as duets, trios and quartets and is drawn from the
repertoire of some of the great traditional singers who inspired the members
of the group including Seamus Ennis, Sam Larner, Almeda Riddle, Packie Manus
Byrne and others. Songs include The Devil & The Farmer/ Death & The Lady/
The Lofty tall Ship/ The Old Churchyard/ Diego's Bold Shore and others.
Just when you think it can't get any better the album ends with a true piece
de resistance - a version of the traditional hymn Sheperds Arise
inspired by the singing of the great and influential Copper Family. It opens
with a spine chilling modal fiddle intro by Eliza and then the glorious
vocal harmonies come in and ends with the fiddle being joined by Martin's
guitar and Tim's melodeon - the result is stunning and inspired. Glorious.
(FS)
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THE WATERSONS |
Shanachie 79088 |
For Pence & Spicy Ale |
● CD $14.98 |
21 tracks,
79 mins, essential. Originally consisting of siblings Mike, Lal and Norma
Waterson with cousin John Harrison, family commitments caused the Watersons
to disband in 1967 after producing several wonderful and highly acclaimed
albums. They reformed in 1973 with Martin Carthy replacing Harrison. The
Watersons produce some of the most compelling and moving unaccompanied
harmony singing in the English tradition. Their 1975 album "For Pence And
Spicey Ale" was issued to universal acclaim and became the Melody Maker
album of the year. Not too surprising as it is the high point of their
already distinguished career and remains one of the finest folk albums of
the 70s. For the CD release, Topic have taken advantage of the longer
playing time to augment the original album with tracks drawn from the solo
albums from 1977 by Lal & Norma and by Mike and the songs fit in
beautifully. This disc opens with the magnificent Country Life - as
beautiful a paean to rural life as you are ever likely to hear and winds to
a glorious close with the folk hymn The Good Old Way. Along the way
we hear traditional ballads (Mikes 11 minute solo version of Tam Lyn
is utterly spine chilling), seasonal and ceremonial songs (Swinton May
Song/ Malpas Wassail), old music hall songs (Barney, an Irish
song that became better known as My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean) and
much more including a Mike Waterson original, the whimsical Three Day
Millionaire. Whether singing solo, duets or as the whole group the
performances are consistently fine. CD sound is superb and disc has brief
introductory notes by Tony Engle and background of all the songs by the
brilliant A.L. Lloyd. (FS)
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THE WATERSONS |
Topic TSCD 136 |
Frost And Fire |
● CD $15.98 |
The first
compact disc by this outstanding group from Yorkshire features all of their
first album "Frost & Fire" from 1965 along with 7 songs from their 1977
album "Sound Sound Your Instruments Of Joy". The former album features
ritual and ceremonial songs from around the British Isles and the latter
complements it with a selection of scared songs, vernacular carols, meeting
house hymns and camp-meeting pieces. Originally consisting of siblings Mike,
Lal and Norma Waterson with cousin John Harrison family commitments caused
them to disband in 1967 but they reformed in 1973 with Martin Carthy
replacing Harrison. The Watersons produce some of the most compelling and
moving unaccompanied harmony singing in the English tradition. They often
feature intertwining parallel harmonies that converge by the end of the
song. Each member of the group is a brilliant solo singer as the few solo
performances here attest to. Songs include Here We Come A Wasailing/
Jolly Old Hawk/ Seven Virgins/ Hal-An-Tow/ John Barleycorn/ Souling Song/
Herod And The Cock/ God Bless The Master/ Emmanuel/ Sound, Sound Your
Instruments Of Joy/ Green Fields, etc. Unreservedly recommended. (FS)
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THE WATERSONS |
Topic TSCD 472 |
Early Days |
● CD $15.98 |
27 tracks,
78 mins, essential. The Watersons are truly a British national treasure.
They produce some of the most compelling and moving unaccompanied harmony
singing in the English tradition. Originally consisting of siblings Mike,
Lal and Norma Waterson with cousin John Harrison, family commitments caused
the Watersons to disband in 1967. They reformed in 1973 with Martin Carthy
replacing Harrison. This magnificent collection features some of the groups'
earliest recordings from 1965 and 1966. There are five songs from a
collection of up and coming performers called "New Voices", all of their
second album "The Watersons", 2/3 of their third album "Yorkshire Garland"
and the previously unissued Rap Her To Bank from "The Watersons"
sessions. Every track is fine but the group are at their very pinnacle on
"The Watersons" recordings which include such gems as Dido Bendigo/ The
North Country Maid/I Am A Rover/ The Holmfirth Anthem, Ewan MacColl's
beautiful and powerful tale of gypsy life The Thirty Foot Trailer and
one of my all time favorite Watersons performances - Brave Wolfe. The
harmonies on this track are truly spine chilling. Excellent sound on this CD
and detailed notes on each song from A.L. Lloyd. (FS)
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THE WATERSONS |
Topic TSCD 500 |
Green Fields |
● CD $15.98 |
Reissue of
Topic 415 from 1981 with bonus solo tracks by Mike and solo and duet tracks
from Lal and Norma. This album, their first in 3 years, is all songs set in
the English countryside and is up to their accustomed high standard -
excellent notes by A.L.Lloyd - Stormy Winds/ Fare Thee Well Cold Winter/
While Game Keepers Lie Sleeping/ We'll All Go A-Hunting Today/ Rosebuds in
June/ I Went to Market, etc.
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PETA WEBB & KEN HALL |
Fellside FECD 155 |
As Close As Can Be |
● CD $16.98 |
Two fine
English singers perform traditional songs of England, Ireland and America -
duets and solo performances. Lovely acapella renditions of songs, often
uncommon ones, like True Lover John/ I Wish I Was In Manchester/
Scarborough Fair Town/ Whiskey In Me Tay/ I Am Stretched On Your Grave/
Cotton Mill Colic/ The Rich Man's Daughter/ Slieve Gallon Braes/ Uncle Dan
McCann and others.
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WOOD-WILSON-CARTHY |
RUF 05 |
Wood-Wilson-Carthy |
● CD $16.98 |
Terrific
new album of mostly traditional songs and tunes by new acoustic group
featuring the talents of Martin Carthy/ vocals & guitar, Chris Wood/ vocals,
violin & guitar and Roger Wilson/ vocals, guitar, mandolin, violin & djembe.
Includes Six Jovial Welshmen/ Turtle Dove/ Scarborough Fair/ Two Sisters/
Billy Boy/ Lord Bateman, etc.
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THE WOODS BAND |
Edsel 687 |
The Woods Band |
● CD $16.98 |
Reissue of
1971 album by folk-rock band formed by Gay & Terry Woods after leaving
Steeleye Span. A mix of original and traditional songs and tunes.
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MARTYN WYNDHAM-READ |
Fellside FECD 84 |
Mussels On A Tree |
● CD $16.98 |
115 tracks,
67 min., recommended. Wyndham Read's powerful, resonant singing is known
everywhere there are folk festivals. This new release presents mostly trad
songs, mostly unaccompanied or with simple guitar backup, mostly Australian
but with a few English and Scottish thrown in, and it all has a gentle,
lulling feel about it. Wyndham Read favors the slow, thoughtful ballad and
that mood carries through from start to finish. Included are fine,
contemporary songs by Graeme Miles, Eric Bogle, and Vin Garbutt, who also
guests on whistle. (DC) (FS)
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THE YOUNG TRADITION + |
Fledg'ling 3006 |
The Holly Bears The Crown |
● CD $16.98 |
14 tracks,
33 mins, essential At long last, the final Young Tradition record, a
brilliant collaboration of the late lamented trio and Shirley and Dolly
Collins, released 26 years after its 1969 recording. This is a collection of
rare and splendid carols, most centuries old, the arrangements delicately
done by Dolly Collins using medieval instruments and performed by her and
Adam and Roderick Skeaping, and the lovely voice of Shirley Collins. It was
a particular gift of the Young Tradition that they brought both vigor and
genuine wit to their material, and these performances still gleam with their
individual brilliances. Their tempestuous tenor, Peter Bellamy, had lost
patience with medieval music by the time these recordings were made, but it
is his cheeky spirit that still, like Pan, visits the music with his blessed
naughtiness. Essential. (NSN)
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