NEWSLETTER #132
Folk Music - British Isles &
Europe
Dave & Toni Arthur -> The
Watersons
| CHRISTMAS |
COOPE
BOYES & SIMPSON & MORE |
No Masters Voice NMV 21 |
Fire And Sleet & Candlelight |
● CD $17.98 |
Acapella renditions of regional and historical carols
featuring a six member group consisting of the acclaimed Coope Boyes &
Simpson with Georgina Boyes and Jo & Fi Fraser - Hark, Hark What News/
Drive The Cold Winter Away/ Gloucestershire Wassail/ Clementsing/ King
Pharim/ The Cherry Tree Carol/ Shepherds Rejoice, etc.
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| ENGLAND |
BARRY DRANSFIELD |
Spinney 003 |
Barry Dransfield |
● CD $23.98 |
CD issue of extremely rare first solo album from this
brilliant English folk performer issued on Polydor in 1972. Accompanying
himself on guitar and fiddle he performs mostly contemporary songs including
several originals plus songs from Michael Hurley, David Ackles and others.
There are also a couple of instrumental sets of mostly traditional tunes as
well as the traditional song Robin Hood & The Peddlar. Includes eight
page booklet with new notes by Paul Lambden.
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| IRELAND |
MAIREAD NI DHOMHNAILL |
Gael Linn CEFCD 055 |
Mairead Ni Dhomhnaill |
● CD $16.98 |
Finally on CD. Lovely album of traditional songs sung in
English and Gaelic by the sister of Michael and Triona Ni Dhomnail who
provide occasional vocal or instrumental accompaniment on guitar and
keyboards. Other musicians who appear include Noel Hill/ concertina, Kevin
Burke/ fiddle and Paddy Keenan/ whistle. Includes Eirigh Suas A Stoirin/
Foill, Foill A Shagairt/ Here's A Health/ Roisin Dubh/ Barbnara Allen
and others.
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| ENGLAND |
THE OLDHAM TINKERS |
Pier PIERCD 505 |
Sit Thee Down |
● CD $15.98 |
Charming collection of traditional and original songs about
Lancashire by this excellent trio featuring Gerry Kearns/ vocal & guitar,
Larry Kearns, vocal, whistle & mandolin and John Howarth/ vocal, banjo &
whistle. This CD reissues their 1977 Topic LP of the same name along with
four bonus tracks originally featured on 1968 Topic compilations.
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| ENGLAND |
STEELEYE SPAN |
Castle CMDDD 781 |
The Lark In The Morning - The Early Years |
● CD $18.98 |
2 CDs, 33 tracks, essential. Simply wonderful! This two CD
set features all of their first three albums from 1970 and '71 plus
General taylor which was only originally issued on a 45. Steeleye Span
was the most successful group to wed traditional songs and tunes with
electric rock arrangements and in Maddy Prior were blessed with one of the
greatest voices on the British Isles folk scene. The first album
Hark The Village Wait featured Maddy, Tim Hart (who has recorded as a
duo with Maddy), the group's founder and eminence gris of the British
folk-rock movement Ashley Hutchings, superb Irish vocalists and
instrumentalists Gay & Terry Woods who left shortly after this first effort
to form their own band and Gerry Conway or Dave Mattacks on drums. This
album has one stunning track after another including some spine chilling
duets by Maddy & Gay including the magnificent Dark Eyed Sailor. It
also includes Terry's only lead vocal on the superb Hills Of Greenmore.
After their first album, Gay & Terry left to form their own band and the
group to decided to go drummerless and enlisted Britain's finest folk
interpreter Martin Carthy and brilliant young fiddler and mandolin player
Peter Knight. The subsequent two albums "Please TO See The King" and "Ten
Man Mop" is full of great performances featuring lead vocals by Maddy,
Martin and Tim as well as great harmony singing and instrumental
accompaniments. Among the great songs are Cold, Haily, Windy Night/
Prince Charlie Stewart (one of my all time favorites)/ The Lark In
The Morning/ Fe,ale Drummer/ Lobely On The Water/ When I Was On Horseback
and others including a delightful whimsical acapella rendition of Buddy
Holly's Rave On. Includes 12 page booklet with photos and commentary
from band members and producer Sandy Roberton. (FS)
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| SCOTLAND |
WENDY STEWART |
Greentrax CDTRAX 126 |
About Time 2 |
● CD $15.98 |
Fine Scottish singer and harpist, member of the group
Ceolbeg, with a collection of traditional and contemporary songs and tunes
with occasional accompaniments from Gary West/ small pipes & whistle, Colin
Matheson/ guitar and Jim Walker/ snare drum & percussion.
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| BRITTANY |
ALAN STIVELL |
Dreyfus 36188 |
Routes |
● CD $64.98 |
Four CD in book type binder featuring a 73 track
retrospective of this brilliant and important Breton performer who was the
first artist to bring Breton music to world wide audience in the 1970s. The
recordings cover the period 1970 through 1993 and are organized thematically
with the first disc being devoted to Alan's harp playing - his father a harp
maker and his earliest recordings were exclusively harp music. The second
disc is called "Rock" and features Alan performing with electric bands - he
does both traditional and contemporary aongs and tunes and his earlier
recordings in this vein feature such great musicians as Dan Ar Braz, Gabriel
Yacoub, Rene Werneer and others. It includes one of my all time Stivell
favorites Ian Morrisson Reel which builds from lone fiery fiddle to a
full rock band with bagpipes and electric guitar battling it out. The third
disc is entitled "Folk" and is also a mix of traditional and contemporary
and are mostly performed unaccompanied or with harp and occasional other
instrumentation. The fourth disc is entitled (gasp!) "New Age" and I'll
leave it to your imagination as to what it sounds like - not my cup of tea
at all. It includes 32 page illustrated booklet with notes in French.
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| ENGLAND |
DAVE SWARBRICK |
Naxos World 76045 |
English Fiddler - Swarbrick Plays Swarbrick |
● CD $9.98 |
Swarb's latest is an all instrumental album featuring all
songs and tunes composed or co-composed by Swarbrick himself. He is joined
by musicians like Kevin Dempsey, Dave Pegg, Beryl Marriot, Martin Carthy,
Ric Sanders, Simon Nicol and others.
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| WALES |
PHIL TANNER |
Veteran 145 |
The Gower Nightingale |
● CD $19.98 |
18 tracks, highly recommended. Wonderful collection of
traditional songs and mouth music recorded in 1937 and 1949 by superb Welsh
singer Phil Tanner from the Gower Peninsula. All the songs are sung in
English and includes a number of songs that were picked up from Tanner's
recordings by English revival singers from the 60s on. Among the 12 songs
are such timeless classics as Sweet Primeroses/ The Gower Wassail/ The
Oyster Girl/ Barbara Allen/ The Bonny Bunch Of Roses and others. By the
time of the 1949 recordings Phil was 87 years old but still sang with power
and conviction. There are also several examples of mouth music plus two
spoken word segments from 1976 featuring Welsh author and radio broadcaster
Wynford Vaughan Thomas talking about his friend Phil Tanner. Accompanying
the set is a 48 page booklet with detailed information on Phil's life and
the tradition he came from plus notes on all the songs plus photos and other
illustartions. (FS)
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| IRELAND |
VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Dara TORTV 1123 |
Eist Aris (Songs In Their Native Language) |
● CD $18.98 |
A second volume featuring some of Ireland's finest folk
performers performing traditional and contemporary songs in Gaelic. Some of
the cut are drawn from other available albums but many are newly recorded
for this collection. Includes Capercaille, Paul Brady, The Chieftains with
Mary Chapin Carpenter, Michael McGoldrick with Karen Matheson, Dolores
Keane, Brian Kennedy, Clannad and others including a group consisting of
Maighread, Triona & Michael O Domhnaill and Mary Black!
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| ENGLAND |
VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Dejavu Retro 40106 |
Anthology Of English Folk |
● CD $12.98 |
Terrific budget priced two CD set featuring 36 tracks drawn
from the Topic catalog including several that are making their first compact
disc appearance here. I
THE ALBION BAND: Striking For Another Land/ BRASS MONKEY: The Foxhunt/ ANNE
BRIGGS: Martinmas Time/ ELIZA CARTHY: Adieu Adieu/ Jackie Tar/ Whirly Whorl/
MARTIN CARTHY: Wife Of Usher's Well, The/ Sovay/ SHIRLEY COLLINS: Brigg
Fair/ CHRISTINE COLLISTER: I Specialise/ ANDREW CRONSHAW: The Blacksmith/
ROBIN DRANSFIELD: Spencer The Rover/ MIKE HARDING: Ale Is Physic For Me/ ROY
HARRIS: The Royal Oak/ THE HIGH LEVEL RANTERS: Medley: Shews The Way To
Wallington/the Peacock/ NIC JONES: The Drowned Lovers/ LOUIS KILLEN: Flying
Cloud, The/ JOHN KIRKPATRICK: Cheshire Hornpipe/ Medley: Brighton Camp/march
Past/ A.L. LLOYD: Drunken Maidens, The/ EWAN MACCOLL: Four Loom Weaver, The/
OAK: Shepherds Arise/ THE OLDHAM TINKERS: A Mon Like Thee/ MADDY PRIOR:
Somewhere Along The Road/ SILLY SISTERS: The Old Miner/ MARTIN SIMPSON: Keel
Row, The/ JUNE TABOR: I Will Put My Ship In Order/ JOHN TAMS: Who Will Blow
The Candle Out Tonight/ TARRAS: The Happy Salmon/ CYRIL TAWNEY: The Bold
Benjamin/ RICHARD THOMPSON: Time To Ring Some Changes/ LAL WATERSON: Bonnie
Light Horseman/ The Flight Of The Pelican/ MIKE WATERSON: Swansea Town/
WATERSON: CARTHY: Medley: Rambleway/valentine Waltz/ THE WATERSONS: The Good
Old Way
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| ENGLAND |
THE WATERSONS |
Topic 4002 |
Mighty River Of Song |
● CD $58.98 |
Four CDS + DVD, 86 tracks, essential Fantastic box set
tribute to Britain's greatest singing group. Originally consisting of
siblings Mike, Lal and Norma Waterson with cousin John Harrison, family
commitments and the stress of traveling continuously, caused the group to
disband in early 1968 after producing three wonderful and highly acclaimed
albums. In 1970 Mike and Lal started collaborating on some original songs
which led the ground breaking "Bright Phoebus" album in 1972 and in 1973 the
group reformed with Norma's new husband, Martin Carthy, replacing Harrison
producing three further stunning albums. The Watersons produce some of the
most compelling and moving unaccompanied harmony singing in the English
tradition with a unique sound that has little in common with other British
harmony singing. While true to the tradition their singing embodied a
cutting edge energy that showed the spirit of rock 'n' roll. The four CDs
feature 86 tracks recorded between 1964 and 2002 featuring the group
collectively with their truly spine chilling harmonies drawing on the six
Topic albums issued as by The Watersons as well as appearances on
compilations plus unissued live performances. It also includes solos, duets,
trios and various off-shoots like The Waterdaughters, Waterson:Carthy and
Blue Murder. Because of licensing restrictions the compilers were not able
to use any tracks from "Bright Phoebus" but the set does include several
unissued demos by Lal & Mike that led to that album. More than half the
tracks are rare, unissued or live performances often featuring songs not
recorded commercially. The DVD features a 45 minute black & white
documentary from 1965 on the life and music of the group including several
great musical performances including a stunning duet from Mike and good
friend Louis Killen on Greenland Whale Fisheries. Set is packaged in
handsome 6" x 12" box with a 52 page full colour booklet with loads of
period photos plus a poster sized illustrated discography. This set is a
strictly limited edition of 4000. The beauty of the human voice rarely comes
through with as much beauty and power as it does in the person of The
Watersons and this set is full of treasures to return to again and again.
(FS)
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