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fRoots is a truly independent, activist magazine that celebrates its 35th anniversary in 2014! We are very proud that we have published every single issue on time.
Bob Scarce (2nd left), Wickets Richardson (right) and the gang at the Blaxhall Ship
on page 23 of The Flax In Bloom booklet for a study of a life well lived), each contains its own little treasure chest of musical and cul- tural history.
Certainly every aspiring singer should listen closely to The Barley Mow, not just for material but the lessons of hearing traditional singers performing – and boy, how they perform – without thought of art or academic import, but for the
sheer joy of sharing music clearly dear to their hearts. Drawn from Peter Kennedy’s field recordings in Suffolk in the early 1950s, its crowning glory is a selection captured in its most natural environment of all, the local pub – in this case, The Ship at Blaxhall. Even more magical is a good quality DVD of those recordings where we can actually see the twinkle in Cyril Poacher’s eye as he sings The Nutting Girl and the wonderfully named Wickets Richardson acting not only as an authoritative MC, but beating out the rhythm on his shoes as he sings Fagan The Cobbler, while what looks like a rammed pub eggs the singers on all the way.
It’s awash with great songs like The Oak
& The Ash, The Yellow Handkerchief, Newlyn Town and Maggie May, full of lusty choruses, community spirit and a full-blooded delivery from the likes of Jumbo Brightwell, Fred Ling and Edgar Allington. If anything justifies that ubiquitous Voice Of The People tag, it’s The Barley Mow collection.
Plenty of outstanding unaccompanied singing can also be found on Travellers, one of three CDs of Irish music (the other two cover Fermanagh & Donegal and Dance) that make up The Flax In Bloom. I’ll point you instantly in the direction of Mary Doran, whose fabulous voice – which smacks you in the face on Here’s A Health Unto All Trav- ellers and The Rambling Irishman – would surely seduce anyone at any time, in any place, with any audience. There’s plenty of precious stuff, too, on the Fermanagh & Donegal CD – not least thanks to the decora- tive voice of Paddy Tunney (outstanding ver- sions of Lough Erne Shore and The Blackbird), the peerless fiddling of the great John Doher- ty, the slightly disconcerting style of Brigid Tunney, the passionate showmanship of fid- dle player / singer Néillidhe Boyle and a per- suasive version of The Wearing Of The Britch- es by Pat Bell Keown.
The other two collections in this new
series – which follow the same pattern of excellent presentation and impressively restored sound quality – are instrumental showcases which somehow do reflect the dis- tinctive extremes of their respective geogra- phy. While the floating voter may find these a niche too far, there’s a fetching freedom and wildness about the dance music of Orkney; while “Good Humour For The Rest Of The Night” – sub-titled “Traditional Dance Music In Northumberland And Cumberland” – allows us to hear fabled names like piccolo player Billy Ballantine, the melodeon and fid- dle of Willy Taylor and, even more extraordi- nary, the mouth organ of Jimmy Hunter and an amazing jew’s harp solo from Bob Clark.
Well played Mr Engle and Dr Hall, joint producers / compilers. The knighthood’s in the post. Or it should be…
www.topicrecords.co.uk Colin Irwin
SAM LEE & FRIENDS More For To Rise Nest Collective no cat no
Do we review EPs in this magazine? We do now…
It’s been a mad couple of years for young Master Lee, Mercury Music Prize nom- ination and all, and in those shadowy corners where the secret folk police gather by twi- light, there’s been much speculation about what he may do next. This is perhaps a halfway house, a continuation of rather than a departure from the highly individual style with which he interpreted the gypsy tradi- tion to such good effect.
Oddball rhythms, wandering brass, challenging instrumentation (and still not a guitar in sight) and songs like Phoenix Island, Moorlough Maggie and Over Yon- ders Hill that seem to grow several new lev- els of meaning when the beauteous Lee voice tenderly glides into play. If it’s knees- ups and lusty singalongs you’re after, best give it a miss, but for a new take on the tra- dition delivered with genteel care and enterprising arrangements, this is rather splendid. Local music from out there – way out there – is right.
www.thenestcollective.co.uk Colin Irwin
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www.frootsmag.com which includes albums by 9Bach, Catrin Finch & Seckou Keita, The Furrow Collective, SANS, Lisa Knapp, The Full English, Young Tradition, SANS, Eliza Carthy, Martin Simp- son, Three Cane Whale, Bassekou Kouyate, Karine Polwart, Kristi Stassinopoulou & Stathis Kalyvio- tis, Sam Lee, Lau, Orchestra Super Mazembe, June Tabor & Oyster- band, Snakefarm, The Copper Family and great compilations including You Never Heard So Sweet, The Rough Guide To English Folk, ’80s World Music Classics and Ghosts From The Basement.
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Photo: Peter Kennedy
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