81 f
2 Magic Slim & The Teardrops Raising The Bar (Dixiefrog DFGCD 8690) Here’s another object lesson from the masterful Magic Slim in how to get the maximum blues effect from the minimum effort. There’s no excess with Slim’s stripped-to-the-bone approach. Hard blues born in the Delta, forged in Chicago on a thou- sand South Side gigs by the ever tight Teardrops and the man upfront on stinging guitar and searing vocals. Dig it! Via Discovery in the UK.
2 Cançonièr The Black Dragon (Cançonier CANCD 02) San Francisco early-music ensem- ble – male and female voices, recorders, vielle, lute, harp, psaltery, tromba marina, lauta, per- cussion – with medieval material from Ger- many, Hungary, Moldova, Italy, France, Turkey. We’ll never know what this music really sounded like; but these are a class E-M act and show a good grasp of a non-medieval Bulgari- an tune too.
www.canconier.com
2 Syster Fritz Existenso (Syster Fritz SFCD02) Far more sophisticated and substan- tial than the jolly stripy-legwear cover sug- gests. A Swedish quartet with female and group vocals, viola, piano, diverse flutes, dou- ble bass, percussion, melodica and more in inventive, multi-textured and multi-styled, fluent swingy-melodic-jazz, Scandinavian chanson, folk and world influenced original songs and instrumentals.
www.systerfritz.se
2 John Prine In Person & On Stage (Oh Boy OBR-039) A generous selection of songs from this
alt.country master at recent gigs with his trio. The drawled intros go down well. Amid original gems like In Spite Of Ourselves, featuring Iris Dement, the sole cover is Bear Creek Blues.
www.ohboy.com Distributed in the UK by Proper.
@ Rawiri Toia & David Anthony Clark Tribal Blood, Maori Heartbeat (Singing Frog SFM1110) Wai synthesise Maori voices and electronic beatery and make wonderful music out of it. These two don’t, by a Pacific mile.
www.singingfrog.com
1 Emily Spiers The Half-Moon Lovers (Bonna Musica BM 001) Oxford singer relocates to Germany, falls in with local musos and finds them sympathetic accompanists, records album. Result: bustling neo-Celtic-type arrangements of trad songs mostly about love. Emily’s singing is deeply stylish and it’s all very pleasing, but she might have benefited from retaining a sharper edge to better convey the keen nature of her interpretations.
www.myspace.com/espiers
1 Yair Yona Remember (Strange Attrac- tion Audio House SAAH062) Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but these John Fahey clones are boring, technically adept but without his skill in making the simple into something dark and complex. That said, Tel Aviv-based guitarist Yona has some very good textures, and the two long orchestrated pieces are dense and special. A CD of two halves.
www.yairyona.net
2 Dennis Rea Views From Chicheng Precipice (MoonJune MJR034) Experimental musician Rea blends traditional Chinese and Taiwanese pieces with his own free-form improvisations. There are some moments of icy beauty and lush melodic ensemble work, as well as a showcase wordless performance by vocalist Caterina De Re. Not for the faint- hearted, this is a splendid homage to Rea’s love of East Asian musics.
www.dennisrea.com
2 Iain Thomson Fields Of Dreams (own label IAT002) Isle of Mull shepherd performs his own songs, telling moving stories of people and places he’s encountered. The honest emo- tional appeal in his songs reminds me of Ralph McTell. Excellent accompaniment on guitars, bouzouki, piano, whistles, accordeon, fiddle, cello, double bass.
iainthomsonband.co.uk
1 Various Psych Folk 10 (Rough Trade RTPF10) Familiar names to fRootsters like The Owl Service, Jack Rose, Jason Steel, Alasdair Roberts and Trembling Bells rub shoulders with some retro folk rock (Espers), Nick Drake clones (Sam Amidon), lots of singer-songwrit- ers of varying degrees of interestingness, and a Pisces who aren’t the old Richard Digance band of the same name. Lots of OK and a few right duds.
www.roughtrade.com
2 Christy Leahy & Caoimhín Vallely Christy Leahy & Caoimhín Vallely (own label LVCD 001) Very pleasant pairing of the ex-North Cregg duo, accordeonist Leahy and pianist Vallely, on a well-chosen selection of Irish tunes.
www.christyleahy.com
@ Matt Schwarz The Lost Way (own label no cat. no.) “British-influenced folk”, it says here. Possibly the most tuneless rumpty- tumpty fake medieval singing ever heard, delivered by a bloke who seems to be wear- ing a Robin Hood model strait-jacket. Mind you, nobody in their right mind would use gothic blackletter typeface for song titles.
www.sleepyhollowband.com
2 Alex Hodgson Jeelie Jars ‘n’ Coalie Backies (Greentrax CDTRAX351) Heartfelt and lyrical songwriting from Scottish singer- songwriter with a voice like Davy Steele’s. His love songs Isobelle and Mercat Fair Lass sound like John Denver with an East Lothian accent. The four traditional songs include a beautiful version of Jock O’Hazeldean.
www.alexhodgson.net www.greentrax.com
1 The London Lasses & Pete Quinn By Night & By Day (LoLa LL005) The fourth album from the London-based Irish tradition- al quintet features two new members but largely fails to rise above the mundane. Dis- tributed by Proper.
www.londonlasses.net
1 The Young ‘Uns Man, I Feel Like A Young ‘Un (own label no cat. no.) This Hartle- pool trio has a good reputation for their live appearances. CD number three attempts to show they’ve more to offer beyond the rous- ing shanties and sturdy, imaginatively har- monised a cappella songs; problem is, their sensitive and poignant self-penned material tends to suffer due to bland instrumental backdrops.
www.theyounguns.co.uk
The Young ‘Uns
1 Old Blind Dogs Wherever Yet May Be (Compass 745422) Scottish traditional music with rhythmic complexity and eclectic flavours (Appalachian, jazz, Middle-Eastern), performed on pipes, whistles, guitars, bouzouki, fiddle, percussion, saxophones and trombone. The Dogs’ eleventh album displays their trademark zest. Room With A View is the standout track.
www.oldblinddogs.co.uk
2 King Pleasure & The Biscuit Boys Live At Last (Big Bear BEAR CD50) One of the tight- est jump jive outfits around, baritone honking King Pleasure and his boys romp through a superbly recorded live set that includes a bunch of splendid covers from the likes of Ray Charles, Roy Milton, King Perry and Big Joe Turner, plus a handful of originals. Makes me wish I could jive!
www.bigbearmusic.com
@ Lucy Bunce Penny On The Water (own label no cat no.) Harp accompanied tweeness and the occasional countryish Radio 2 jolly- along. So politely middle of the road it needs two white lines painted up the centre.
www.lucybunce.com
1 Mike Vass & Dave Wood Wait What? (Greentrax CDTRAX 349) Debut album from Malinky’s fiddler and guitarist. Relaxing, mel- low arrangements of Scottish traditional tunes (plus some of Mike’s own), performed on fiddle (Mike), guitar, bouzouki (Dave), double bass, percussion and guest vocal from Damien O’Kane. Lovely version of St Kilda Wedding.
www.mikevass.com
1 Water Tower Bucket Boys Sole Kitchen (own label no cat. no.) I am sure that live this Portland, Oregon quartet using blue- grass instrumentation for a more modern approach to the genre are most enjoyable. Unfortunately the experience does not trans- late too well to CD where the out-of-tune elements, particularly in their singing, are too evident.
www.watertowerbucketboys.com
DVD
2 Various Mike Harding’s Yorkshire Christmas (Jayjay Media/ Beautiful North BNDVD001) The good Mr H. is your genial host for a selective look at the county’s Christ- mas traditions, exploring the folklore through music and satisfyingly informative interviews. Folk interest comprises Jim Eldon, CB&S, Georgina Boyes, Sheffield Carols, Grenoside Longsword and Knaresborough Mummers, and the whole exercise comes off surprisingly well. Via Amazon.
www.mikeharding.co.uk
2 Various Piper’s Choice, Volume 3 (Na Píobairí Uilleann NPU DVD 009) The latest instructional DVD from the Dublin pipers’ association includes wonderful playing and tales from Paddy Keenan, Mick Coyne and Nollaig Mac Cárthaigh.
www.pipers.ie
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