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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| IRELAND |
JOHNNY DORAN |
Na Piobairi Uileann 011 |
The Master Pipers, Vol. 1 |
● CD $19.98 |
10 tracks recorded in in 1947 for the Irish Folklore
Commission. These are the only known recordings of this brilliant and
influential piper from Co. Wicklow. Dazzling performances of jigs, reels,
airs, hornpipes and set dances. While the acetates have deteriorated over
the years and exhibit a fair amount of noise they were originally recorded
using some of the ebst technology of the time capturing the range and
dynamics of the pipes with great fidelity. Includes 28 page booklet with
biographical and notes and commentary on all the performances.
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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 |
THE DUBLINERS |
Sanctury 81328 |
The Dubliners With Luke Kelly |
● CD $11.98 |
Reissue of this group's first album recorded for
Transatlantic in 1964. This CD adds 10 bonus tracks - five from the rare EP
"The Dubliners In Person" and five previously unissued songs or alternate
takes. Boisterous renditions of mostly traditional songs and tunes including
The Wild Rover/ The High Reel/ Home Boys Home/ I'll Tell My Ma/ Jar Of
Porter/ McAlpine's Fusiliers/ Mrs McGrath/ Roddy McCorley, etc.
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| ENGLAND |
DEREK & DOROTHY
ELLIOTT |
PJS Music & Big Momma 00000 |
Ship To Shore |
● CD $21.98 |
First recordings in a long while by this duo from Yorkshire
who first recorded in the early 70s. They are joined by their long time
associate Chris Parkinson on accordions, keyboards and harmonica, daughter
Nadine on harmony vocals and various other singers and instrumentalists. A
collection of traditional and contemporary songs and tunes including
Three jolly Fishermen/ The Lealholm Anthem/ Golden Grove/ Down Dock/ Time
Ashore/ Goodbye To the Sea and others.
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| ENGLAND |
FAIRPORT CONVENTION |
Castle 81336 |
The Cropredy Box |
● CD $19.98 |
Now available domestically at a lower price. Three CD set
featuring highlights of the 1997 Fairport Convention reunion festival which
is held at Cropredy. This concert marked the 30th anniversary of the band
and over two nights traced the history of the band featuring many of the
musicians who played in the band over the years. Richard Thompson, Simon
Nicol and Dave Mattacks appear on more than half the tracks and other
musicians and vocalists include Ashley Hutchings, Judy Dyble, Vikki Clayton,
Dave Pegg, Dave Swarbrick, Bruce Rowland, Jerry Donahue, Ric Sanders and
many more. Songs includes Jack O'Diamonds/ Mr Lacey/ Genesis Hall/ Come
All Ye/ Matty Groves/ Walk Awhile/ Poor Will & The Jolly hangman/ Rain/
Sloth/ John barleycorn/ Red And Gold/ JohnGaudie/ Meet On The Ledge and
more.
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| ENGLAND |
STAN HUGILL |
Greenwich Village GVRXCD 207 |
Aboard the Cutty Sark |
● CD $21.98 |
Reissue of 1979 two LP set. A fascinating album featuring a
lecture by Hugill on the subject of sea songs, illustrated by performances
by him of songs like Blow The Man Down/ New York Girls/ Lowlands/ Santy
Anna and others.
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| AMERICAN FOLK |
JIM KWESKIN |
Universe 91 |
Relax Your Mind |
● CD $16.98 |
First CD issue for this 1966 Vanguard featuring Kweskin in a
trio setting with Mel Lyman/ harmonica and Fritz Richmond/ bass doing mostly
versions of traditional blues, gospel, folk, vaudeville and country tunes -
Look At The Ragtime Era/ Bye & Bye/ I Ain't Never Been satisfied/ I Got
Mine/ Make Me A Pallet On Your Floor/ My Creole Belle, etc.
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| IRELAND |
MAIGH SEOLA |
SE OCD 01 |
Beyond The Mearing Wall |
● CD $19.98 |
12 tracks, 43 mins, highly recommended A lovely collection
of traditional songs from Galway and Mayo performed by this splendid new
group. The songs are drawn from the Amhrain Mhaighe Seola collection of
songs which were collected in the early years of the twentieth century and
many are recorded here for the first time. The group features the lovely
lead vocals of Brid Cooley with senstive accompaniments on harp, flute,
whistles, violin, cello and concertina by the other members of the group. A
couple of songs are sung in English with the rest being in Gaelic. (FS)
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| SCOTLAND |
MATT MCGINN |
Greentrax CDTRAX 253 |
The Best Of Matt McGinn, Vol. 2 - The RCA
International Years |
● CD $15.98 |
25 tracks, 69 mins, recommended Complementing Essential 930
($13.98) this is a second disc devoted to the brilliant Scottish singer/
songwriter/ humorist/ political commentator. This CD features his two albums
issued by RCA International in 1971 and '72 along with a track from a 1973
Moonbeam EP. Accompanied by various small groups this features serious,
silly and topical songs including Take Me Back To The Jungle/ Cead Mile
Failte/ Hi Jack/ The Man They Could Not Hang (a song about John "Babbacombe"
Lee recorded a year before Fairport's tratment of the same theme)/The Wee
Kirkcudbright Centipede/ The Gay Liberation/ Lady Chat/ Yes, Yes, U.C.S./
Rich Man's Paradise/ Ibrox Disaster (a powerful song about a tragedy at a
football game in Glasgow) and more. (FS)
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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 |
THE PENTANGLE |
Castle CMRCD 207 |
Basket Of Light |
● CD $14.98 |
CD issue of Pentangle's 3rd LP from 1969 plus four bonus
cuts. Produced by Shel Talmy (!), better known for his myriad successes with
the Kinks and other Brit chart-toppers. Includes their beautiful Once I
Had A Sweetheart, their unlikely cover of Sally Go 'Round The Roses,
plus Hunting Song/ Train Song/ The Cuckoo/ Light Flight/ House Carpenter
(dig that crazy sitar!), etc. Bonus cuts include two alternate takes of
Sally Go Round The Roses and two singles b-sides.
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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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