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1 Chris Ricketts Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea (Acoustic Fusion AF03). Chris’s third successive venture into English maritime-themed folk-rock is the first to com- prise mostly self-penned songs. These draw on his experience and love of the sea while highlighting deeper social issues of wider than personal relevance. Accomplished and affectionate, if workmanlike.
www.rickettsmusic.com
2The Penny Black Remedy Inhale... Exhale... OK, Now You Can Panic! (Soun- dinistas no cat no). No nonsense, heads-down and full on, Penny Black Remedy roar out of the speakers like a runaway train heading for the buffers. Ska’n’roots hit off with honkin’ soul horns on tales of life and living in hard times. Lots of Dick Dale twang in the guitar is no bad thing either.
www.thepennyblackremedy.com
The albums – good (2), adequate (1) and bad (@) – which didn’t get the full-length treatment, contributed individually by a selection of our various reviewers cowering under the cloak of collective anonymity.
1 Souad Massi The Definitive Collection (Wrasse WRASS 313). 20-track career retro- spective, though in fact it’s largely drawn from the first two of the award-winning Algerian singer/ songwriter’s five albums. Wonderful music and good value for money at 79 minutes, but spoiled by a total lack of credits and notes to put her in context for the uninitiated.
www.wrasserecords.com
@The Day Of The Rabblement Night Time Rallies (Psychedelia). Psychedelia it definitely ain’t. Polite young Portsmouth quintet sounding like ’70s/ early ’80s folk club resi- dents. Fiddle, accordeon, strumalong guitar, over-prominent banjo and a singer who’s somewhere between Dolly Parton and Kate Bush in tone. It’s all gone a bit Mumford out there.
www.psychedeliarecords.com
2Ceolbeg Collected (Greentrax CDTRAX 374). With a varying line-up through 20-plus years and five albums, albeit part-time, the highly regarded and influential Ceolbeg was not so much a band as a club for some superb Scottish musicians and singers: here’s a well chosen and welcome reminder.
www.greentrax.com
2State Of The Union Snake Oil (Reveal REVEAL010CDX). Brooks Williams and Boo Hewerdine build their musical union ever stronger on this satisfyingly classy, equal- handed collection of self-penned material.
www.revealrecords.co.uk
@Phil Doleman & Ian Emmerson Turn (Own Label no cat no). Six tracks of heart- gladdening, genre-blurring and boundary- crossing original instrumental ukulele music that deserves something very much better than the godawful, knocked-off-on-a-home- computer CDR package in which it resides. Great gig demo, poor consumer product.
www.dolemanemmerson.co.uk
2Hornswaggle Heart, Soul & Blood (Point Hill no cat no). Eccentrics from darkest Staffordshire conjure an EP of potential and promise. Despite all the bluster in the promo literature, these people can play and have a developed writing team in situ. Five tracks of rustic romp and piratical daring with a chunky bass, gliding violin and a will to enter- tain.
www.facebook.com/hornswagglemusic
2Jennifer Byrne Suitcase (Haven Records HAVENCD10). Dublin-born chanteuse with sensitive approach to traditional song also introduces her own material into an appeal- ing programme that crosses through folk and Americana stylings. There’s a strong Celtic Connections feel to this Hewerdine-produced set, which enlists (among others) Messrs Drev- er and McCusker.
www.jenniferbyrne.co.uk
@Allan Johnston On The Muse (Cora-Linn Records ODR003). Fourth album from long standing Edinburgh singer/ songwriter, with thirteen original songs and two traditional ones, ranging from the ploddingly forget- table but vaguely humorous to the unpleas- antly scatological. He’s popular down under, apparently.
www.allanjohnston.co.uk
1 Various Artists Electro Blues Volume 1 (Freshly Squeezed ZestCD046). Nice packag- ing around this 2-CD compilation. CD1 pre- sents a selection of computer-based tracks from the likes of Swing Republic, Grant Lazlo, and, no surprise, Moby. CD2 collects twelve original artist tracks. This quirky selection holds the attention.
www.freshlysqueezed-
music.com
2Nancy Elizabeth Dancing (The Leaf Label BAY 84CD). If this is psych folk, let's be having more of it. Proving that imagination will get you everywhere, the young Mancuni- an's twelve pieces yield an album of both subtlety and substance. Co-producer Peter Philipson and her label do her proud.
www.nancyelizabeth.co.uk
2Jimmy ‘Duck’ Holmes All Night Long (Wolf 120.936 CD). Holmes pays homage to fellow Bentonia, Mississippi, resident Skip James with renditions of James’ Hard Time Killin’ Floor and Devil Got My Woman played in Holmes’ own mellow, easy flowing, acous- tic blues style. Blues to savour and relax with. A lovely album.
www.wolfrec.com
@The Stray Birds The Stray Birds (Own Label 7 00261 36169 7). Country folk-inspired Pennsylvania trio – fiddle, banjo, guitar – who are just too smooth and far too clean: it’s no surprise to find that they’re all classically trained. You’ve heard every sad self-written cliché before.
www.thestraybirds.com
The Stray Birds
2Drever Mcguire Young Gifts (Orcadian ORCCD006). Singer Ivan Drever, percussionist Frankie McGuire and multi-instrumentalist Richard Young – all widely-travelled musically with diverse backgrounds – team up on a pleasing acoustic album of Drever’s songs. Uncomplicatedly warm and comforting: lazy evening, log fire, Highland Park whisky…
www.drevermcguireyoung.com
2Various Artists Masters Of Their Craft (Tara Music Tara CD 3039). Dublin’s Tara Music’s output features some choice back pages from the works of Planxty, Davey Spillane and more. Masters Of Their Craft cherry picks some classic moments from their catalogue. Quality stuff, engaging and thrilling.
www.taramusic.com
1 Stone Angel Between The Water And The Sky (Own Label SSCD0010). East Anglian folk-rockers (whose eponymous 1975 album is a permanent fixture in ‘Top 20 acid-folk’, lists) return with the dulcimer, crumhorn, wonky recorders and eye-watering soprano vocals still intact but (with the advent of key- boards, drum programming and digital effects & recording) much of the initial charm sadly absent.
www.stone-angel.co.uk
1 Rod Sinclair Band Seascape: Wadden Sea Songs (Go’ Danish Folk Music GO513). Scottish songwriter plus Danish band with a collection of new songs (mostly in English) and tunes inspired by the special Wadden Sea landscape, wildlife and people: pleasant acoustic mood setting arrangements but nothing terribly memorable – a traveller’s keepsake maybe.
www.rodsinclair.com
@Tim Holehouse Fighter (Aaah!!! Real records KRUMM022). The PR sheet describes Tim Holehouse as “something like a cross between Tom Waits and Robert Johnson”. Crap! Affecting an irritating growl while monotonously thrashing his guitar over self- penned lyrics, he has absolutely none of the genius of those two.
www.real-records.co.uk
2Eddi Reader Live In Japan (Reveal Records 019CDX) / The Songs of Robert Burns [Deluxe Edition] (Reveal Records 020CDX). A change of record labels, and two re-issues to start the ball rolling. A knockout live performer, the 2009 Japanese concert ably captures Eddi’s essence with an atmo- spheric recording which puts you right there (and makes you wish you had been). The 2003 Burns album was recorded with the RSNO strings as well as her ‘usual’ band, and comes with an extra 30 minutes of music over the original release, including three Burns tracks from her follow-up Peacetime album. Fine, passionate singing and excellent arrangements.
www.revealrecords.co.uk
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