|
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
| Updated: 28/01/08 | © 2008 Cool Bunny Media | Da Cool Bunny sez 'Splank that Plank, Baby!' | |
|
|
Mary-Kathryn
- Dreams & Visions
Mary-Kathryn is a new name to me, but apparently she has been creating music for the sacred/spiritual vocal market for some time. Dreams & Visions is her fourth album and continues her message of world humanity and harmony amongst all the peoples and religions of the world. This is a tall order, of course, but this album should certainly help if it can reach as many listeners as possible. I was expecting the usual vapid new age-style efforts I've heard so often before, but in reality this is quite a muscular sounding [in places] soft-rock album allied to world music rhythms and instrumentation and topped by the lovely voice of Mary-Kathryn. Many of the tracks are uptempo and with her voice gliding on top are reminiscent of Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac and even the Gaelic dream music of Clannad and Enya. Opening tracks Incense Of Praise and You Are There should win over any doubters that this is an album and artist to enjoy. Production values are very high - the clear recording of the excellent band and backing choir enhance the album immensely and take it to a different level to most of these types of albums. If you have a good audio set-up then buy this to impress the visitors! For more information about this artist and album and availability visit: www.rhythmhouse.com and www.mary-kathryn.com Fantasyy Factoryy - Tales To Tell
Uriah
Heep - Sonic Origami When I was doing my last year of school the Heep, along with Wishbone Ash and Yes, were the epitome of prog-rock, spewing out concept albums like there was no tomorrow. Thirty years on and here they are again with most of the original line-up. From the opening track, Between Two Worlds, this is bare-chested, muscle-flexing stuff, designed to roll off the walls of sports stadia and concert halls of a certain [huge] size. Subtlety doesn't really come into it here - this album is designed for an American audience wanting to pa-a-arty and wave a flaming cigarette lighter in the air. And if that's your style then this is most certainly for you, the songs are mostly upbeat, lots of riffing guitars, pounding drums and anthemic songs to air guitar to: Perfect Little Heart, I Hear Voices and Only The Young. It would be so easy to tear the Heep apart as being past their sell-by date and passé in a world of Blur, the Verve and Radiohead. Yet this album is so full of life, listener-friendly and yes, I'll say it, commercial that it deserves to find a wider audience than just the Heep's core fanbase. Bill
Chrastil - Bill Chrastil There are many styles of country music, the most popular (and derided) is the 'Nashville' Sound, and thankfully while this debut album by country singer/songwriter Bill Chrastil has elements of that sound, he also knows how to rock and swing as well. The opener, The World's Biggest Fool, is a country rocker that should get anyone's foot tapping furiously, while Lady Turn The Light Out is a gentle ballad very much in the Roy Orbison vein, and indeed, Chrastil's voice actually reminded me of a young Orbison at times during this song. Recorded in Hendersonville, Tennessee, rather than Nashville itself, the band backing Chrastil are superb - tight, rocking on the uptempo tracks and supporting his impressive voice on the ballads. The ten song thirty minute playing time is all too quickly over on this album, though I think that it will be played a lot here over the next few months. Not sure about UK availability, though I guess the usual import specialists might be worth trying - Midlands Records can be contacted at PO Box 2303, Hendersonville, TN 37075, USA. Email: RRice2303@aol.com Porcupine
Tree - Stupid Dream Porcupine Tree are new to me, though I gather from the press release that they've been around for some time and released several albums. Their music seems to be modern progressive, featuring elements from many types of rock music, though Pink Floyd and Marillion seem to be the bedrock (no pun intended) of their sound. Stupid Dream is a rich, extremely lush-sounding album, as typified by the opening tracks, Even Less and Piano Lessons. For a four piece band Porcupine Tree have a big sound, though it is restrained enough not to veer towards pomp-rock, and certainly more suitable for performance in theatres and clubs rather than sports stadia, where their intricate music would be lost in the echo. I rather like this and shall seek out more of the Tree in the future Love Sculpture
- Forms & Feelings This was the second album that guitarist Dave Edmund's Love Sculpture recorded before splitting in 1970. As such it's something of a collector's delight, containing as it does not just his hyper fast version of Khachaturian's Sabre Dance (the only hit single Love Sculpture enjoyed), but another classical workout on Bizet's Farandole, plus the psychedelic classic In The Land of the Few. A skid mark version of Chuck Berry's You Can't Catch Me hints at Edmunds' later rockabilly leanings. This new digital remastering comes in a digipak case which apes the original sleeve but offers no documentation. Love Sculpture were a trio, but it has to be said that only Edmunds' superior guitar and vocal skills really stand out. It was his later work as a solo artist and with Rockpile and his production work that really made his reputation. For fans like myself, this is a fascinating glimpse into a rock hero's growing pains. Huey Lewis
& The News - Huey Lewis & The News/ Picture This Back in the 1980's Huey Lewis & The News were big, very big indeed, playing a brand of adult pop-rock that sounded good in bars, jukeboxes, film soundtracks and cd. This cd contains their first two albums from 1980 and 1982, bringing them up to the point where they were about to breakthrough big time. And it is interesting to hear how well defined their sound was even then. If there was one thing that defined the Huey Lewis sound it was confidence - they might not swagger but boy did they strut their stuff with all the streetwise chutzpah you could imagine. So, this cd contains twenty tracks of good-time rock and roll, with a few early hits for good measure: Workin' For A Livin', Do You Believe In Love and Trouble In Paradise. Hats off to BGO as well for including a set of illustrated sleeve notes on the inlay that offer a concise history of the group and are actually worth reading. It seems that Huey Lewis has had his day (I don't think he even has a recording contract any more), which is a shame, but this cd should be snapped up by his fans still playing their now rather aged vinyl lps. Spaccanapoli
- Lost Soul [Aneme Perze] Spaccanapoli come from the Italian city of Naples and the industrial region that surrounds it, and they perform a type of folk/ethnic music specific to that region. They mix traditional instruments and tunes with new lyrics, arrangements, and, of course the odd rock instrument too. Imagine a Chumbawumba and Oyster Band hybrid and you are partly there. The music tends to be a hybrid taking elements from the differing ethnic music from around the Mediteranean basin: Italian, Turkish, Greek, Arabic, gipsy. As for the album, well, it is a vibrant masterpiece, full of colour, life, vocal gymnastics, percussive fireworks and most importantly bloody fantastic music. Highlights include O Mare, A'Ferreira, Aneme Perze, Moezzo A Festa and many more. Neapolitan music doesn't just consist of Pavarotti doing O Sole Mio, Naples has a vital and energetic music scene and this cd captures some of that. Ashley
Hutchings - The Guv'nor's Big Birthday Bash If there's one thing the British folk music movement love it's a birthday party, and this CD documents Ashley Hutchings' fiftieth birthday celebrations, recorded at The Mill, Banbury, in March 1995. Needless to say virtually everyone who is anyone in folk music was there: members of Fairport Convention, the assorted Albion Band line-ups, morris dancers, singers, musicians and basically anyone who liked a pint of Olde Peculiar and a singsong. Essentially there's little point being critical about an album such as this, it is a record of a party where everyone was paying their respects to a man who just about single-handedly took English traditional music and shook it about a bit. If you've no idea who Ashley Hutchings is you probably wouldn't be interested in buying this CD, but if you do know who Ashley Hutchings is then you'll know that this CD will contain a selection of fine songs, jigs and dance tunes performed by various stellar line-ups - all with the man himself at their heart, playing bass guitar and kicking things along with his usual flair. It sounded like a great party and I wish I had been there. Kees Aerts
- Slices Of Time Hailing from Holland, Kees Aerts music goes for slower beats and a more ambient, dreamy feel to the music. Most of the tracks on Slices Of Time tend to sequence into the next one, so the album is more like a symphonic poem in several sections. Balance is one of the best tracks, its beats gently insistent as it propels the hummable melody along. Friends, the only track where Aerts is joined by other musicians is one of those slow burners that build in intensity as it flows along. This is gentle stuff, an album for winding down after a stressful day, rather than gearing up for clubbing.
Jeffrey
Fisher - Triumph of the Spirit Jeffrey Fisher writes orchestral music for the modern electronic keyboard, and depending on your interpretation of the music it is either new age or contemporary classical. His new album, Triumph of the Spirit, is based on the paintings of New Mexico-based painter Charles Collins. As each sketch evolved into the completed painting Jeffrey Fisher composed his music for each piece of art and these were combined as a collaborative show. Unfortunately, the CD inlay only shows one painting as the cover artwork, so it is impossible for the listener to judge how well the music fits the paintings. In terms of musical style there is a distinctive baroque style to many of the tracks, and with titles such as The Beginning of Wisdom, Emperor of the Soul, Rituals of Paradox, Eternal Champions and, of course, the title track there is much here for the listeners' imagination to tackle. The album is certainly full of interesting melodies, but the keyboards' sonic representation of an orchestra lacks the dynamic presence that a full symphonic orchestra would have brought to the music. In other words the music lacks the sonic oomph it really deserves. For more information about this artist and album and availability visit: www.healingmusicofthesouthwest.com
|
Falkner Evans - Arc (CAP 1008) This is the second Falkner Evans albums that I have received for review here and as with the previous album Arc starts with a swinging opening track, Regatta, which sets the tone for what follows. Falkner Evans is a very versatile pianist, mixing elements of swing and melody and creating a very distinct sound indeed. The improvisation is always melodic but splashes of colourful experimentalism keep the mind alert and invigorates the listener as much as it did for the performers during the recording sessions. This is helped greatly by the in-synch support from bassist Belden Bullock and drummer Matt Wilson. Arc consists of a mix of self-penned numbers and a selection from the Great American Songbook: Come Rain, Come Shine, Lost In The Stars, plus John Coltrane's Central Park West and Wayne Shorter's Fee-Fo-Fi-Fum. This is one of many jazz albums I receive here and it is encouraging to see a musical genre thriving against the odds, considering so many jazz writers have proclaimed its death over the last few years. Arc is a fine album and should please both the fans of the trio format and classic jazz piano. For more information about this artist and album and availability visit: www.falknerevans.com Whaling City Sound Spring/Summer Releases The American label Whaling City Sound are a relatively new arrival at the Borderland, but their previously-received albums have always impressed in terms of quality - both music and production. And the three new albums here all share in the same high production values as before - and they are all beautifully packaged in digi-cases. First off is John Stein - Concerto Internacional de Jazz [WCS 031], an album guitarist John Stein recorded in Sao Paulo, Brazil, with a band made up of top local jazz musicians. So, essentially an album of latin jazz instrumentals with some added spice thanks to New Orleans rhythms and whatever else could be added to the 'stew'. However, if you are expecting the usual sort of samba-coloured jazz of, say, Sergio Mendes, then expect to be disappointed - this is a harder edged version, more Miles Davis-hued music. Thanks to the wider pallet of instrumental sounds here - flute and trombone - this album never outstays its welcome, and of the three albums reviewed here is the one I'm most likely to return to for pleasure. Second album is Ramona Borthwick - A New Leaf [WCS030], another jazz-based album with pianist Borthwick leading a small combo that adds a trumpet to the usual bass, drums and guitar scenario. It is a mostly instrumental line up of tracks but a few tracks have vocals or vocal embellishments, which add to the rich sound mix. This is Ramona Borthwick's debut album as a band leader but you wouldn't really know it from the assured performances here. Some of the tracks are a little too stark for my tastes, a solo trumpet always sounds lonely to me, but if you like your jazz to be challenging then you might like to give this album a try. Finally, the Marcus Monteiro Quartet - MM4 [WCS032], an album I have to admit that I enjoyed the least. The jazz on show here is of the fast and furious kind, based on a template that Miles Davis carved into stone tablets with his mid seventies fusion albums, led by alto sax playing bandleader Monteiro. It just doesn't appeal to me, my personal tastes in jazz are for the older swing and big band styles - I'm sure the musicianship on show across the nine tracks is excellent, but my heart and mind just can't get into it. But that doesn't mean I think this is a rubbish album, I'm sure that there is a huge and eager audience for modern jazz who will enjoy this album and the strong and vibrant interplay between the musicians. For details on these albums and artists visit www.whalingcitysound.com, and if there are sample tracks available do sample them before buying. Gary Tu - Look
East Guitarist Gary Tu is a new name to me here, not surprising as the musician hails from Taipei and works mostly in the USA. However, his new album, Look East, manages to fuse east and west into a melodic whole with his mellifluous guitar playing. Look East encapsulates the joys of small band music - just Tu on guitar and guitar synth along with Kurt Schweitz on bass and Andre Beasley on drums. It may be a trio but the sound is big and muscular on occasion and intimate and introspective at other times. Playing a mixture of self composed tracks and compositions by Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins and Frank Foster, Gary Tu plays in a style that mixes the ethereal technique of Pat Metheny and the more muscular stylings of Wes Montgomery. Throughout the album there is a strong rhythmic push vying with the melodic themes, and a strong love of the guitar. This is an album for guitar fans - of any genre - and it has been a frequent visitor to my cd deck over the last few weeks. For more information about this artist and album and availability visit: www.garytu.com Joe Beck, Santi W.
Debriano & Thierry Arpino - Tri07 The name Beck has a long and illustrious lineage in popular music, especially if your first name is Jeff, but the Beck whose name adorns this new album is Joe Beck, a jazz guitarist of not inconsiderable skills himself. This is a trio recording with Santi W. Debriano on bass and Thierry Arpino on drums and was recorded over a two day period in a studio at Joe Beck’s Connecticut home. The three musicians mesh together wonderfully, bringing forth some warm and intimate performances of old and new songs such as Laura, Cry Me A River, I Don’t Stand A Ghost Of A Chance With you and You And The Night And The Music. Several of the tracks evolve into lengthy explorations of the lyrical themes, but they never outstay their welcome by falling into mindless soloing. Every note is relevant and the mellow but focused mood is consistent throughout the album. This is a goodie, and wouldn’t it be interesting to hear music by both Becks? For more information about this artist and album and availability visit: www.joebeckmusic.com Matthew
Zachary - Scribblings (Intimations M5Z2G974),
Musically speaking, these albums fall somewhere within the spheres of classical, new age and jazz - a heady amalgam of all three genres. More essentially, the music veers away from being the sort of bland muzak that passes for much inspirational music these days. For some reason while listening to these CDs I am reminded of a Harry Connick Junior instrumental album that I have which is also "jazz-lite", and I'm also minded of the superlative piano playing of the late Dudley Moore. These two albums work on several levels, of course - as proof that one can fight and survive cancer, that one can be productive after a death-threatening illness, and finally that music can be an aid in recovering from the above. Zachary has certainly put his musical skills to good use since he recovered. The CDs have ten and eleven tracks respectively, and I am not going to select individual tracks to comment on as it seems redundant to do so on albums which work as a whole. Beside, these old ears of mine are used to more rock orientated music and the melodies on each album tend to run together over the duration of a listening session. What I can tell you is that these two CDs will help you relax and yes, inspire you to believe that there can be a future after a serious illness. I'm not sure about UK availability so check out www.intimations.com and www.matthewzachary.com for ordering details Various
Artists - The Kings & Queens of Bollywood
Performers on this album include the legendary Asha Bhosle, plus Mahendra Kapoor, Kishore Kumar, Mohamed Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar, and many others. The other element of the soundtrack that is now attracting much interest in West is the music itself - the Indian composers in Bombay [India's Hollywood] acted like sponges, soaking in all the popular music explosions coarsing through the Western hemisphere and absorbing and mutating them into something uniquely Indian. Tracks on this CD begin with traditional Indian instruments, then morph into rock and roll, big band jazz, even psycho-surfabilly guitar all in the span of five minutes. Meanwhile, over this melange of styles the playback singers soared, their vocals a mixture of local dialects and cod-english, all drenched in a warped echo. In many ways one has to hear this album to believe it, it's both weird and wildly entertaining and imaginative all at the same time. Recommended, if you're brave enough. Maddy
Prior - Ravenchild
Kevin
Leonard - Automatrix
Star Period Star Now I have to admit that loud discordant music isn't really my forte, so while this album by Illinois noise merchants Star Period Star isn't to my personal taste I'm sure it will appeal to those who enjoy industrial and grunge music. Having said that, the music on this CD is diverse, with several quiet songs punctuating the cacophony. Comparisons are always odious, but sometimes necessary when trying to describe the sound of a new group, and Star Period Star certainly have moments which remind me of Devo. Misery Index, with its funky trombone is my favourite, though there is a hidden instrumental track at the end of the CD which is pretty good as well. It appears that this album took some time to record as the group's line-up has changed considerably over the course of the tracks, with only multi-instrumentalist Dan Sweigert having stayed the course. That aside, the production values are high and despite the various permutations of group members the band are tight. (UK address: Music & Elsewhere, 6 Farm Court, Farm Rd, Frimley, Surrey, GU16 5TJ. Price £6.57, cheques payable to SJ Taylor)
Yes - The
Ladder
Steeleye
Span - The Journey
It's such a shame that this CD reissue hasn't been expanded from the original vinyl set of forty-one minutes - with the band in such great form this would have been a suitable time to expand it back to the full set and give us many more great moments to savour. But that doesn't take detract from the fact that this is an excellent live document of one of this country's greatest folk-rock groups kicking the dust off their heritage. To paraphrase someone in a movie: I'll have what they're having... Mr Love & Justice
- Homeground This album came out of the blue, so no idea who Mr Love & Justice are or how long they have been together. No bad thing as it leaves the ears and mind unfettered with pre-conceptions... The opening track Welcome To Our Garden takes me back to those heady days of the 60s when acoustic twelve strings guitars and Rickenbacker electrics vied for the tie-died t-shirts. Very folky sound, reminds me of the Byrds, Loving Spoonful, perhaps even Jefferson Aeroplane... I guess those much younger than me will have their own set of references, but the sound on this album certainly takes me back to the semi-acoustic west coast sound of the mid-to-late 60s when folk was making daring steps towards rock music. Mr Love & Justice seem to be a loose grouping of musicians based around multi-instrumentalist Steve Cox, Chris Anniss on drums, bassist Andy Jones, Stewart Palmer on guitar, and with help from Rob Beckinsale [a name familiar to those with an esoteric knowledge of my MusicWatch web pages]. I can't say that any of the songs stand out from the others, but this is a very listenable album, and I like the sound and style of this band. It is melodic, flows well and is the sort of pleasant rock music that sounds good in a car on a summers' day drive with the roof open. |
Indian
movies are gradually becoming more widely known outside their ethnic catchment
areas here in the UK and thanks to video/DVD releases anyone who's interested
in non-Hollywood entertainment can now sample the exotic delights of Bollywood.
One area of a Bollywood movie that has travelled better than most is the
music soundtrack, and this is highlighted exceptionally well on The
Kings & Queens of Bollywood. This superb compilation takes recordings
from the cream of the playback singers back in the 1960's - a golden era
of Bollywood musicals. The names I'm going to list might not mean much
to a western audience but to Indian and Pakistani immigrants all over
the world their vocal performances in the movies were a little bit of
home in an alien environment.
I
think this is Maddy Prior's first solo album since she retired from Steeleye
Span a year or so ago. Ravenchild is a tour-de-force of all that's
great about Prior's voice and folk heritage - a melding of traditional
vocal stylings with a fusion of traditional (uilleann pipes, tin whistle,
citern) and modern (electric guitar, electronic keyboards, ambient backings).
The album contains 13 tracks, some standalone like the effervescent
Twankydillo, and the pertinent Rigs Of The Time, but the jewels
of the album are two lengthy song-cycles: With Napoleon In Russia
and In The Company Of Ravens. These songs, based on traditional
music but with modern lyrics written by Prior are hauntingly beautiful
- the former set dealing with the futility of war and an apt warning (considering
the current NATO vs. Yugoslavia conflict) that no one 'wins' a war; while
the Ravens song cycle is about nature, the conflict for survival, the
trickster personality of the raven - but mostly about Man encroaching
on what belongs to the animals. These are heavy concepts and it would
be easy to make a mockery of them but Prior and her band are more than
up to the task. Ravenchild is one of the most luminous albums you
are likely to hear this year.
This
is one of those 'one-man-band' albums where the musician has composed,
performed and produced the whole thing, and in this case not fallen into
the usual vat of self-indulgence. This instrumental album is a cracker,
fast-moving electronic keyboards piling up more and more intricate layers
of music on top of each other. The opener Math Monk sets the pace,
proving that Kevin Leonard has both extremely nimble fingers and a deviously
fiendish mind to keep all the weird time signatures on the go. My ears
were relieved that there was some respite from the speed keyboards, notably
in the gentle, almost pastoral, In The Mist. This album should
appeal to fans of Robert Fripp/King Crimson, Frank Zappa, and other purveyors
of electro jazz/rock fusion music. Not sure about availability in the
UK, so write to PO Box 43, Glen Mills, PA 19342, USA.
Now
what have we here? Infectious latin, ska and reggae rhythms, a big brass
section and lashings of latino punk brashness. It's King Chango, an eight
piece band that rock, sway and shimmy like shit. Anyone whose opening
track on their debut album is called Don't Drop Your Pants is okay
with me, I can tell you. This is really great stuff, imagine the best
of the British Ska revival - Madness, Bad Manners, Selector, The Specials
- all put through the blender and mixed with the finest latin american
ingredients and you'll have some idea of how good this is. It's hi-energy,
a real band vibe and no drum machines. I'm not going to single out individual
tracks for comment, there's no need to, the whole album is a party happening
in real time. Put this on the cd deck, open the tortillas and pass the
tequilla!
If
it's on Real World then you know we're going to be listening to ethnic
music - this time Asian traditional music fused to western dance beats.
Imagine the Orb or Grid going for an Indian and you may have some idea
of what I mean. I'm a little unsure exactly who Joi are, but most of the
tracks are credited to F and H Shamsher, but there are a few others involved
as well. The opening track, Fingers and track 3: Asian Vibes
tend to set out Joi's stall: shuffling breakbeats, Indian percussion
and a haunting wail by an Indian woman. Mind you, this isn't that original,
the late Pakistani Qwawali master Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was mixing it
with the western beat boys years ago. Having said that, Joi have a very
commercial sound and I like it, though a little more Indian instrumentation
and a little less drum machine would have made the album more varied and
interesting.
I've
never been a dedicated Yes fan, I've dipped into the odd album now and
then but I always found their music to be more technique over content.
And it has to be said that the multiple disbandings, regroupings, reunions
grew very tiresome and meaningless. However, The Ladder, I must
admit, has been getting serious airplay on my CD deck ever since it arrived.
Instead of the usual lengthy song cycles, the group have come up with
9 reasonably shortish tracks of snappy, upbeat prog-rock and 2 nine minute
epics. The title track Homeworld (The Ladder) sets out the group's
wares: slow and gentle opening sequence with Jon Anderson's voice soaring
over an ambient synth line, then Steve Howe and Chris Squire's guitar
and bass lift it up a level until a funky chorus kick in. And the rest
of the album is like this, almost every track is upbeat, mixing in dance
loops, ethnic instruments, even a brass section, but at the heart of every
track is a revitalised, lean and ultra fit Yes. I can't think of another
Yes album where the songs actually have hooks and choruses that pull you
in and sing along. There's even a superb ballad in If Only You Knew,
and a track, Lightning Strikes, which swings like a latino stud.
Who'd a thunkit? SingalongaYes! Oh yeah, something for PC users - the
CD has an 'Enhanced' section containing a demo of a sci-fi game called
HomeWorld, based on the music on this CD. There's movie clips, interviews
with the group, screensavers and a fully interactive guide to the game.
I'm sure others will disagree but this is the best Yes album I've heard
in a long time, and its fun.
First
of all, a warning to all ageing T-Potheads - this isn't the Daevid Allen/Steve
Hillage version of Gong, but the later vibes-led jazz-rock-fusion group.
I never heard the former version of Gong but I can tell you that this
live 1988 recording shows a group of excellent musicians creating some
extremely vibrant instrumental music. Led by drummer and percussionist
Pierre Moerlen, and with a line-up featuring two vibes players, guitarist
and bass, this sounds very different to the usual rock soundscape. One
only has to hear the opening track Second Wind to realise that.
The sound of twin vibes taking the lead parts is quite distinctive and
there are some exhilarating 'duels' between the vibes (Benoit Moerlen,
Stefan Traub) and electric guitar (Ake Zieden) on this album. A lot of
fusion music isn't that good but Full Circle Live 1988 is the exception
to the rule.
In
these days of one hit wonders, anonymous dance music created by faceless
djs, and manufactured girl/boy 'bands' it is reassuring that quality will
out and that so many of the great groups of the 60's and 70's are still
working. And in many cases working to a high level of creativity. Steeleye
Span have been around for nearly 30 years now, and The Journey is a double
CD containing a record of the 25th anniversary gig where all the various
group line-ups joined together in celebration. The 'classic' line-up of
Maddy Prior, Tim Hart, Bob Johnson, Rick Kemp, Peter Knight and Nigel
Pegrum are joined by Gay Woods, Martin Carthy, John Kirkpatrick and Ashley
Hutchings in a collection of 24 Steeleye classics: Blacksmith, Dark-eyed
Sailor, All Around My Hat, Thomas the Rhymer and Rave On being the best
known. Packaged in a card slipcase and including a 40 page booklet packed
with photos and reminiscences, this is an excellent souvenir for those
who went to the gig, and an important archive for those who didn't. One
question for Park Records - why has it taken almost 5 years to release
this?
The
Fairports have had more upheaval in their lengthy career than most groups,
and yet they survive and grow better all the time. This live album features
what many would consider to be just about THE classic line-up: Dave
Swarbrick, Richard Thompson, Simon Nicol, Dave Pegg, Dave Mattacks and
Bruce Rowland, along with guests Judy Dyble and Ralph McTell - it just
needed the late Sandy Denny to make it perfection. But that is pretty
immaterial as this album captures the reformed Fairports in top flight
on a set of their timeless classics: Walk Away, Rosie, [a blistering]
Matty Groves, The Brilliancy Medley and Poor Will and the
Jolly Hangman, plus Joni Mitchell's Both Sides Now and
the Jerry Lee Lewis standard High School Confidential.