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NEWSLETTER #137
Folk Music - American, British Isles, etc.
Fairport Convention ->
Various Artists
 

 

 
ENGLAND FAIRPORT CONVENTION Talking Elephant 072 Who Knows? The Woodworm Archives, Vol. 1 ● CD $17.98
13 tracks recorded live in 1975 at an unknown date and place in 1975 - hence the cut enigmatic title. Featuring the line up of Sandy Denny, Jerry Donahue, Trevor Lucas, Dave Pegg, Dave Swarbrick and Bruce Rowland they mostly familiar songs and tunes like Rising For The Moon/ Hexhamshire Lass/ Stranger To Himself/ Sloth/ Iron Lion/ Sir B. Mckenzies/ Down In The Flood and others. Singing and playing are fine but sound quality is mediocre - sounds like an audience tape.

 
ENGLAND MAGPIE LANE Beautiful Jo 042 Six For Gold ● CD $19.98
Excellent collection of traditional songs and tunes by this fine six member group - fine solo and harmony vocals with accompaniments on fiddle, whistles, bouzouki, cello, concertina, hurdy-gurdy, etc. Includes some excellent unfamiliar songs and tunes or unfamiliar versions of more familiar ones. Includes The Jovial Cutler/ John Reilly/ O Once I Was A Shepherd Boy/ Bold William Taylor/ Stokes Bay/ My Old Hat That I Got On, etc.

 
IRELAND DONAL MAGUIRE Rossendale 001 The Star Of Sunday's Well ● CD $19.98
12 tracks, highly recommended
CD issue of 1979 album from superb Irish singer and multi-instrumentalist. Maguire, originally from Drogheda Co. Louth, sings a fine selection of traditional songs including Heenan & Sayers/ A Lady Fair/ Johnny And Molly/ The Widow Of Westmorland's Daughter/ The Forger's Farewell/ The Star Of Sunday's Well accompanying himself on mandolin, banjo, cittern and epinette des vosges and is joined by other musicians on guitar, bodhran and hurdy gurdy and the group perform a several traditional instrumental tunes. Lovely stuff. (FS)

 
MISCELLANEOUS THE CLANCY BROTHERS/ TOM PAXTON/ MAMOU CAJUN BAND Shanachie DVD 609 Pete Seeger's Rainbow Quest DVD ● CD $16.98
DVD Two more TV shows from the mid 60s hosted by Pete Seeger. The first features four songs by The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem, four by Tom Paxton and four by Pete himself. The second show features seven performances by the fine Mamou Cajun Band - a trio led by accordionist Cyprien Landreneau with his cousin Adam Landreneau on fiddle and Revon Reed on percussion. It also features six songs by Pete.

 
IRELAND DAVID POWER Claddagh CCF 37 My Love Is In America ● CD $17.98
Superb collection of traditional tunes performed on the uileann pipes by young piper from Waterford who now resides in New York. A varied collection of reels, jigs, airs and hornpipes from all over Ireland performed with skill, warmth and feeling and an absence of pyrotechnics.

 
ENGLAND JOHN RENBOURN Castle Music America 72060 The Lady And The Unicorn ● CD $11.98
11 tracks, highly recommended
Backed by fellow ex-Pentangler Terry Cox, Dave Swarbrick, and 4 others, Renbourn has created a superbly focused work, letting his love for medieval music, lute literature, and early English balladry shine. Included are airs Renbourn first made famous with Pentangle, La Rotta, Lamento di Tristan, and Bransle Gay being must-learn pieces for any folk guitarist. They simply never lose their charm, lilt, or inspiration, even after 20 years. CD technology is a little unkind here, revealing a number of off-mike bumps and squeaks that were once politely lost in surface noise. There is one silly moment, with Bach's Sarabande drenched in tremolo. Still, the final medley is as lovely as anything Renbourn has ever done. This new CD version has two bonus tracks - a vocal version of My Johnny Was A Shoemaker and a medley of dances by Pentangle. (DC/FS)

 
AMERICAN TOM RUSSELL Hightone 8177 Hotwalker ● CD $17.98
19 tracks, 72 min., highly recommended Russell's latest occupies the space between old public radio episodes of Joe Frank (think "Work In Progress") and the beat poetry of the 1960s. And although Russell is backed (as usual) by the supremely cool guitar of Andrew Hardin, no one should make the mistake of thinking this is a collection of songs. It is in the same universe as Russell's earlier "The Man From God Knows Where" but they are not neighboring planets. This is for the aurally adventurous, being as it is a sort of free verse documentary of the American underground during the beat era, with cussing. Principal contributors include circus midget Little Jack Horner (who explains the origin of the title), along with sound clips of Jack Kerouac, Lenny Bruce, Ramblin' Jack Elliot, Edward Abbey, and others. "Hotwalker" is no easy-listening experience; it requires its audience to pay attention and hold on for the whole ride--no getting out early. (JC)

 
ENGLAND THE CECIL SHARP CENTENARY COLLECTIVE Talking Elephant 057 As I Cycled Out On A May Morning ● CD $17.98
15 tracks, recommended
2003 marked the 100th anniversary of the year that noted folk song Cecil Sharp collected his first folk song and this CD features some of the best songs and tunes that Sharp collected on his travels throughout Britain plus the tribute song written by Ashley Hutchings 100 Year Ago. by a group consisting of Simon Care/ melodeon & anglo concertina, Ashley Hutchings/ vocal, acoustic bass guitar and tambourine, Emily Slade/ vocal, acoustic guitar & banjo and Roger Wilson/ vocal, fiddle, dulcimer & acoustic guitar with occasional guest musicians. Includes William Taylor/ The Trees Grow High/ Rosebud In June/ Morris Dance Medley/ The Wife Of Usher's Well/ The Pride Of Kildare, etc.

 
ENGLAND JUNE TABOR Topic 4003 Always ● CD $53.98
Four CDs, 67 tracks, approx 4 Hours 40 mins, essential
This wonderful set which includes 42 previously unreleased tracks (many songs not available by her in any other form) documents the career of one of Britain's very finest singers. It includes key tracks from all parts of her career, many live and unissued songs and collaborations with, among others, Maddy Prior, The Oyster Band, Martin Carthy, The Creative Jazz Orchestra, Nic Jones, Huw Warren and Martin Simpson. June's music is not for casual listening - she puts so much into the interpretation of the lyrics that one needs to pay attention to what she is singing in order to get the maximum out of them and what you do get out of them will send icy fingers down your spine. Occasionally the slowness of the pace and laid back arrangements can get a little ponderous, particularly in some of her 90s performances, but at her finest no one can top her. About half the songs are traditional and the rest are from the pens of songwriters like David Sudbury, Kris Kristofferson, Richard Thompson (her version of Strange Affair is simply mesmerizing), Si Kahn, Lal Waterson, Elvis Costello, Eric Bogle (her version of The Band Plays Walzting Matilda is definitive and helped introduce Eric to a worldwide audience), Bill Caddic, Les Barker and others. Set come in 6"x12" box and comes with 48 page full color booklet with historical photos, biographical essay and notes on the songs (the latter mostly by June herself). Gorgeous. (FS)
JUNE TABOR: 10,000 Miles/ A Cold Wind/ A Place Called England/ All Our Trades Are Gone (live **)/ All This Useless Beauty (live **)/ All Tomorrow's Parties/ Anachie Gordon (live **)/ April Morning/ Aqaba/ Beat The Retreat/ Behind The Wall (live **)/ Belle Rose/ Bonnie James Campbell/ Bonny May/ Buried In Kilkenny (live **)/ Casey's Last Ride (live **)/ Cold And Raw (live **)/ Dashing Away With The Smoothing Iron (live **)/ Eights And Aces/ False False/ Fine Horseman (live **)/ Four Loom Weaver (live **)/ Geordie/ Gypsum Davey (live **)/ Hard Love/ Hug Pine (live **)/ Hunting The Cutty Wren/ I Never Thought My Love Would Leave Me/ I Will Put My Ship In Order/ Illusions (live **)/ Joe Peel/ Johnny O'bredislee - Glory Of The West (live **)/ Love Henry + The Cherokee Shuffle/ Maybe Then I'll Be A Rose/ Meditation (live **)/ Mississippi Summer/ Mrs Rita (**)/ Now I'm Easy/ Pharoah (live **)/ Queen Cruelty (live **)/ Reynardine (live **)/ Roseville Fair (**)/ Shallow Brown/ Singing The Travels/ Sir Patrick Spens/ Skewball (live **)/ Strange Affair/ The Baker/ The Band Played Waltzing Matilda/ The Fair Maid Of Wallington/ The King Of Rome/ The Late Passenger + Unicorns (live **)/ The Nurse, Dorothy Nicol + The Long Long Trail + The Reaper (live **)/ The Overgate/ The Royal Oak (live **)/ The Seeds Of Love (live **)/ The Week Before Easter (live **)/ This Is Always/ Virginia's Bloody Soil (live **)/ Waiting For The Lark/ What Will We Do?/ While Gamekeepers Lie Sleeping (live **)/ Will Ye Go To Flanders (live **)/ Willie Taylor (live **)/ Wind & The Rain - The Falls Of Richmond (live **)/ Young Johnston (live **)/ Zaida's Poem (live **)    ** = unissued

 
AMERICAN SUZY THOMPSON Arhoolie 517 Stop & Listen ● CD $12.98
17 tracks, 47 min., recommended A versatile fiddler with musical sensibilities grounded in the 1920s and '30s, Suzy Thompson (ex-Blue Flame Syncopators, and current member of The California Cajun Orchestra) is adept at blues, bluegrass, cajun, rembetika, you name it. This disc captures a warm performance at Berkeley's Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse one April night in 2004. The album is heavy on instrumentals, but Thompson has an expressive voice that she presses into service on Georgia Tom's How Can You Have The Blues? and on Bessie Smith's Easy Come Easy Go Blues (with a reworked lyric), and on the familiar title track which listeners might know best by Howlin' Wolf, who called his version Smokestack Lightning. Backed by a talented band, including Del Ray on resonator guitar, Ben Sigelman on cello, and Eric Thompson (Suzy's spouse) on guitar, tenor banjo, and cuarto. (JC)

 
AMERICAN DAVE VAN RONK Rootstock 4005 The Mayor Of MacDougal Street ● CD $13.98
17 previously unissued sides drawn from concert, studio and apartment recordings made between 1957 and 1969 by this vitally important figure on the New York scene (he now has a street in New York named after him). It includes old favorites, songs not recorded elsewhere and performances unlike anything on his other records. Includes New Orleans Hop Scop Blues/ All My Trials/ The Butcher Boy/ two Trains Running/ Way Down In Lubyanka Prison/ Willie The Weeper/ The Cruel Ship's Captain/ Bird On The Wire/ In Conditional Support Of Beauty/ W.C. Fields Routine, etc. Includes 24 booklet with notes by compiler Elijah Wald including notes to each of the performances.

 
IRELAND VARIOUS ARTISTS DDST 001 Caipini - Traditional Music & Song FRom West Kerry ● CD $21.98
Fine collection of traditional unaccompanied singing and accordion playing by 11 veteran performers - many in their 70s. Includes notes on all of the performances though, unfortunately, they are all in Gaelic.

 
ENGLAND VARIOUS ARTISTS Mrs. Casey 4002 Evolving Tradition 4 - Generations ● CD $21.98
19 tracks, recommended
Previous volumes in this fine series have concentrated on some of the upcoming performers on the British Isles folk scene. Quite a few of these artists are the sons and dughters of artists who rose to prominence in the 60s and 70s and this disc features both generations. It includes John Kirpatrick by himself and then accompanying his son Benji, various members of the Waterson family (Martin, Eliza, Lal's son & duaghter and Waterson: Carthy), The Fagan Family, Taffy Thomas and his son and daughter, Carolyn Roberts with her daughters and more. Many of tracks are from previously available CDs though some are newly recorded for this compilation. (FS)
BOB CANN AND MARK BAZELEY: The Stein Song/ MARTIN CARTHY (BRASS MONKEY): The Maid Of Australia/ ELIZA CARTHY, NORMA WATERSON, MARIA GILHOOLEY: Little Gypsy Girl/ ROSIE DOONAN AND BEN MURRAY WITH PHIL MURRAY,: Gypsy Davy/ THE FAGAN FAMILY: Factory Lad/ MARIA GILHOOLEY AND OLIVER KNIGHT WITH CHRIS P: A Sweet Lullaby/ SARA GREY WITH KIERON MEANS: Hop High My Lulu Girl/ SANDRA AND NANCY KERR: The Lion's Den/ BENJI AND JOHN KIRKPATRICK: Toxic Haze/ JOHN KIRKPATRICK: The Bonnie Lass Of Bon Accord/ KIERON MEANS WITH SARA GREY: Run Mountain/ DAVID AND JOE OLIVER: Sitting In The Stern/ CAROLYN ROBSON AND THE TABBUSH SISTERS: Must I Be Round/ BARNABY STRADLING (SOEZA): They Glow At Night/ ROD AND DANNY STRADLING (OLD SWAN BAND): Curly Headed Ploughboy-the Quaker-3 Around 3/ TAFFY, SAM AND ANNIE THOMAS: Jack Turnip-snowfalls/ LINDA THOMPSON, TEDDY, KAMILA AND RICHARD THOMPSON: Dear Mary/ WATERSON : CARTHY: Goodbye, Fare Thee Well/ CHRIS AND KELLIE WHILE: Talke To Me Of Mendocino

 
MISCELLANEOUS VARIOUS ARTISTS Properfolk 01 Folk Awards 2005 ● CD $16.98
Two CD set, 27 tracks, recommended
Excellent set featuring artists and performances nominated for the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards - an event that has occurred for the past six years - sort of a British folk equivalent of The Grammys. Most of the recordings here are from the past few years along with a few earlier recordings from the 70s and 80s. Includes Bellowhead, Martin Simpson, The Big Session (with Oysterband, Steve Knightly & June Tabor), Brass Monkey, Susan KcKeown, Uiscedwr, Steeleye Span, While And Matthews, Whapweasel, Seth Lakeman, Chris Stout, Karine Polwart, Andrew Cronshaw, Planxty, The Kathryn TIckell Band, Dicka Gaughan, Eddi Reader, Aly Bain & Phil Cunningham, John Spiers & Jon Boden, Anna Massie, Kirsty McGee, Show Of Hands, Ramblin' Jack Elliot, Lunasa, Martin Carthy & Tom Paxton. An entertaining and varied selection and a chance to be introduced to some of the up and coming artists on British folk scene. (FS)

 

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