Songs From The Derbyshire Coast - Keith Kendrick
Silks and Spices - Finest Kind
Wingin' - Steamchicken
The Old Tyne Bridge - Pauline Cato
A Yorkshire Christmas - The Watersons
Persona...Grata - Vin Garbutt
Of Many Hands - Steve Tilston
This Machine Kills Fascists - Woody Guthrie
Magnificent Seven - Blazin' Fiddles
Tears on the Tracks - Phil Hare
The vocal confidence and authority is almost tangible to the listener. The attention to detail and nuance would indicate a perfec-tionist at work. Listen to 'Lowlands of Holland',and you hear a song done by almost the entire folk revival but hear it here as if for the first time. The utter desolation of the delivered narrative chills the very soul. Move on to a reading of Mike O'Connor's 'Summon Up the Sun' and let this stark meditation on the regenerative power of the Green Man offer succour through the dark nights of the soul. Indeed this song has the elemental power of a song like 'The January Man'. Raw poetry stripped to the bone and delivered with a visceral intensity.
Hear Cyril Tawney's 'Sally Free and Easy',another song with the widest currency, and hear it not so much as the familiar lament but rather an unadulterated English blues,the vocal delivery emoting barely concealed anger and the skein of despair. It's both utterly compelling and convincing.
These 3 tracks alone are worth the price of admission. But this is before we take stock of Keith's vast range and eclecticism. He runs a gamut from ballads, lyric and epic,to shanties, a hymn, a Copper song, a joke song, and so on, from disparate sources from Sheffield to Fiji. A fine brace of dance tunes see Keith's concertina augmented by the likes of Cross 0'the Hands, Ralph Jordan, Alice Jones and Michael Beeke.
With absolutely no weak tracks or fillers this could be Keith's finest and most complete album to date. Catch KK at the very peak of his powers, solo or with superb harmony singing from Sylvia Needham or Lynn Heraud, both featured on this album.
Nick Barks
Finest Kind have been playing and singing together for over ten years, but Silks and Spices, though their third group recording, was my first encounter with them. And it’s absolutely superb – indeed, it has given me so much continued listening pleasure over the past month that I just hadn’t got round to reviewing it immediately ’cos I didn’t feel I could do it justice! Oh well, here goes… The trio, who comprise founder Ian Robb (vocals, concertina), Ann Downey (vocals, banjo) and Shelley Posen (vocals, guitar), mostly sing unaccompanied – here, as on around two-thirds of this CD – although they enlist album producer James Stephens for occasional fiddle, viola or mandolin duties here. Oh, and each one of the trio’s a darned fine solo/lead singer in his/her own right. The group’s based over in Canada, although Ian comes originally from England and Ann from North America (only Shelley being truly Canadian), so you’d be forgiven for wondering what kind of music (and style of performance) to expect. There’s a ready-made quote on the booklet, in fact: “Finest Kind’s repertoire has so many sources, our musical closet so many skeletons, and our performances so many opposing elements, there’s no neat summing up. ‘Folk Music’ serves as a point of departure, but in our case obscures as much as it explains.” Perhaps this makes you none the wiser, but to my mind it conveys precisely the dilemma of pigeonholing. Yes this is a folk album, in that the intrinsic styling of the performances is primarily English folk close-harmony. Direct reference to the Copper Family is probably pertinent here since Finest Kind cover at least two Copper-bottomed traditional classics here, but therein lies the contradiction – the Coppers may sing a harmony but aren’t necessarily as harmonious (in the strict sense of the word), if you hear what I mean. As I feel sure you will… for the Finest Kind of harmony singing is expressive yet at the same time light-textured and yes, genuinely harmonious. It’s crafted and rehearsed yet somehow spontaneous-sounding, easy on the ear with no attention-seeking tricksy vocal acrobatics. Finest Kind acknowledge that there are bound to be elements of other vocal traditions (Sacred Harp, sibling country duos, barbershop, doo-wop) in their delivery, tempered no doubt by the international mix of their voices, but by and large the English traditional style serves to produce what I hear as well nigh exemplary versions of these songs. Melodies are clearly enunciated, and not allowed to get submerged by the harmonies (intelligent and listenable though these always prove), while tempos are well judged, with no hint of either the rushing or dragging that can seriously ruin so-called traditional renditions. The CD’s 15 tracks run the whole gamut, from magnificently rousing hunting song (Bright Shining Morning), classic balladry (The Painful Plough, Fair Maid Walking, John Barleycorn), plaintive old-time (Blackest Crow) and ancient carol (Shepherds Arise), to Dylan (The Times They Are A-Changin’) and even the Shirelles, to some sincerely heartbreaking country done in a laudably unsentimental way (Marty Robbins’ At The End Of A Long, Lonely Day). Finest Kind are real professionals, accomplished performers who undoubtedly possess the knack (not as easy as it sounds!) of assembling a perfectly balanced, sensibly varied programme that cannot fail to attract and engage the listener who appreciates true quality. The Finest Kind of CD, in fact; just my kind of CD – and yes, unmissable. Catch them LIVE on their first British Tour 3-18 June – see www.prpromotions.org.uk for details.
Dave Kidman Copyright © 2006
16 tracks, 36 tunes from this virtuoso of the Northumbrian pipes. with Phil Cunningham on piano and cittern, Ciaran Boyle on bodhran, Christine Hanson on cello and Dave Wood on guitar. From driving jigs to the most gentle of airs the collection offers a rich mixture of works, some traditional, some from the pen of Billy Pigg or transcribed for pipes from the fiddle compositions of James Hill and James Scott- Skinner.
Whether it be the delicacy of Reed House Rant, the delightful slow air Bovaglie’s Plaid or the pacey Cow’s Corrant the material is delivered with a deftness of performance and the arrangements with a lightness of touch which allows the charm of the music to emerge. Above all else the performance exudes that regional style of playing so often lacking in these days of mass
communication.
This is an album of real craftsmanship, a thoughtful and varied selection of fine tunes superbly presented and strong enough to appeal to both the devotee of the Northumbrian pipes and the more general folk music fan alike.
Copyright Jim Hancock © 2005
A quick glance at the track list for this CD might give you the idea that you've heard it all a hundred times before. There's New Rigged Ship, Jenny Lind, Drops of Brandy and so on, but don't be fooled. You've heard a lot of the tunes but never quite like this!
The first track is Flop Eared Mule paired with Turkey in the Straw which is a combination played by just about every square dance band in the world but Steamchicken make it exciting listening just by playing it really well with a fast, driving beat and a well-constructed arrangement that draws you in and gets you wanting more.
The band claim influences from New Orleans Jazz to Playford, if you think that seeing those two in the same sentence is unlikely try listening to track three where Steamchicken decorate a Playford tune with sax riffs and blues harmonica and it works beautifully.
There isn't the space to talk about all the tracks but the variety is wonderful. You get all sorts of treatments from a track that sounds like the best fairground organ you've ever heard; through a cool jazz treatment (of a slip jig of all things); to a lovely solo piano waltz that they include as a sort of chill-out track.
Just occasionally they do something you really don't expect. Track five is Athol Highlanders, and just the A and B parts at that. You often get people transposing tunes from major to minor keys for fun but this is Athol Highlanders as a modal tune! Shouldn't work but it does.
Wingin' is a great CD and Steamchicken are booked for Cleethorpes festival. Two of the tracks were recorded live at Fylde and you can't pick them out from the studio tracks. The ceilidhs at Cleethorpes this year are going to be something else.
Copyright © Geoff Convery 2006
Recorded at Crathorne Hall, North Yorkshire, in December 1980 this CD is considerably more than a mere seasonal offering from the first family of folk. Combining songs, carols, reminicances and readings it is a social history of a time and culture not so far away in years but quite literally a lifetime away from the Christmas of 2005.
The album comprises 22 tracks, mixing the superb singing of the Watersons with stories from Kit Calvert, Mabel Race and Norman Benson. Eleven fine carols and wassailing songs are given the
Waterson’s unique treatment, The Holly & the ivy, While Shepherds watched and a version the lovely Gower Wassail being amongst them, together with a moving reminder of the crisp clear voice of Lal on a solo of Christmas Is Now drawing Near at Hand.
The stories and readings range from wonderfully humorous anecdotes of Christmas during the first quarter of the Twentieth Century to the tragic account of the Hawes rail disaster in 1910, all told by the people who were there. There are tales of pace egging, carol singing, Christmas presents and celebrations of the past and the day when Mabel Race discovered that there really was no Father Christmas.
Undoubtedly the pick of the seasonal releases and worth having just for Kit Calvert’s delightful story of the nativity in his lilting dales accent. Most importantly this album passes the ultimate test
for Christmas releases, it is so engaging as to keep you playing it right through the year.
Copyright Jim Hancock © 2005
A pleasure to see Vin back fit and well from his recent trials and tribulations and this new album is very much the Garbutt we have come to expect. Strong songs in his inimitable, powerful yet sensitive style.
The breadth of the material is considerable, from Morning Informs, a tale of lost love to Punjabi Girl a tale of love found, but at a price, and a lovely rendition of Shep Woolley’s fine song Down by the Dockyard Wall with its timeless story of loss in wartime.
The motif of war appears on two other tracks, Storm Around Tumbledown, from the Falklands War and The Flowers and The Guns by George Papavgeris. The latter poses the question “what happened to the peace generation of the late sixties and where did all their idealism go?”. In
contrast It Couldn’t be Done is a lovely little optimistic song from the poem by Edgar Guest which in its own way answers the question posed in The Flowers and the Guns. Given the will all things are possible, but peace requires the will of all, not just the handful born in a particular decade.
Watch out too for Bryn Phillips’ Silver & Gold, the true story of a redundant miner who discovers needlework as a fulfilling way of earning a living.
This album is everything we have come to expect from Vin, a very personal and perceptive view of our world with no punches pulled and no quarter given yet overlain with a powerful empathy for those with whom we share it. Many of Vin’s songs are about “issues” but most of all they are about humanity.
Copyright Jim Hancock © 2005
Singer / Songwriter Steve Tilston takes a step back to his roots on this, his latest album, with twelve strictly traditional, tracks.
Supported by Chris Parkinson, Martin Simpson, Nancy Kerr, James Fagan, Scott Devine Mike Hockenhull & Maggie Boyle, the album revisits some of the classic songs from the folk revival. Delivered with his trademark gentle vocals and stylish, slightly decorative guitar style he does full justice to the high quality material.Be it the lilting Girl I Left Behind Me or the romantic One Night as I Lay on My Bed, with its fine fiddle solo from Nancy Kerr, each track receives a very personal and carefully considered treatment.
There’s a fine version of Leaving of Liverpool which captures all the pathos inherent in the song and an impressive upbeat version of Willow Creek which is a real treasure. Look out too for a very personal and stylish arrangement of Lovin’ Hannah which typifies the album. Over all the album offers high quality musicianship and fine material sensitively performed and arranged, what more could one ask for?
Copyright Jim Hancock © 2005
A 3 CD boxed set comprising sixty six digitally remastered tracks from this hugely influential folk legend. A combination of traditional American material and Guthrie’s own compositions along with some of the popular contemporary songs from the 30s and 40s.
This set is more than a collection of songs, it represents a document of working class social history in America during the second quarter of the last century, from the poverty of the dust bowl to the arms factories of the second world war.
Most of Guthrie’s great songs are there, Talking Dust Bowl Blues, So Long It’s Been Good to Know You, This Land is Your Land etc. In some cases accompanied by magical names such as Sonny Terry and Cisco Houston, there’s even a 1946 recording of Stewball in the company of Leadbelly.
Guthrie’s influence on the development of American folk and to some extent the revival in Britain is undeniable, this set documents probably the most creatively influential period of his life. A must for everybody’s collection.
Copyright Jim Hancock © 2005
An absolute belter, five fiddles, a guitar and a piano playing good solid, no nonsense music. What a pleasure to hear fiddles played in that delightfully crisp and precise manner of the Highlands and Islands. by some of Great Britain’s finest performers.
There are twelve tracks in all, including, delicate airs, strict tempo waltzes, driving jigs and reels and even a touch of ragtime piano, all performed with a deft and sensitive musicianship which makes this album a real joy to listen to.
This is a CD which cannot fail to enhance this group’s already considerable reputation, Blazin’ Fiddles really do play their instruments with a Scottish accent.
Copyright Jim Hancock © 2005
Phil’s trademark, rich Bluesy voice and versatile guitar work give this album that unmistakable Phil Hare quality. 18 tracks combining Phil's own compositions with traditional songs and a couple of
instrumentals for good measure (Jay Ungar’s Ashokan Farewell and a set of jigs - Merrily Kissed the Quaker / Blackthorn stick) all delivered with his easy, laid back style.
On the traditional side Streams of Lovely Nancy is outstanding but matched readily by much of Phil’s own writing. At times quirky, always perceptive, be it the black humour of The Grim Reaper Two Step or the call for moderation in drink on Treat Me With Reason, these songs are
hugely relevant to the 21st. Century yet still firmly set in the tradition. Songs like Time for a Story with its reflections on the grubby trade of the tabloid press or the gentle and poetic Coming Home they reflect our everyday lives, disappointments and aspirations perfectly
Copyright Jim Hancock © 2005