59 f BOB COPPER


Prostrate With Dismal Ghosts From The Basement GFTB 7048


Bob Copper, that most revered of English tra- ditional singers, may have waited ’til his 85th birthday celebrations (in January 2000) to sing the blues in public, but his lifelong love and knowledge of the music went right back to the 1930s and the purchase of a second- hand Sleepy John Estes 78.


There are only five tracks here, but what treasures they are. Diving Duck Blues, Brownsville No 2 and Soul Of A Man have fine, authentically gutsy accompaniments from Ben Mandelson and Ian Anderson (sub- sequently known as The False Beards) on mandolin and guitar respectively, while the latter song also includes the entire Copper Family on chorus vocals.


The two solo tracks feature Bob’s rarely- heard concertina – Going Down To Brownsville and a particularly lovely version of Oscar Brown Jnr’s Rags And Old Iron.


In his recently published memoir, A Man Of No Consequence, Bob wrote: “After the club was closed for business we found that lis- tening to rare recordings from America of Bessie Smith (Gimme A Pig-Foot And A Bottle Of Beer), Jack Teagarden (Basin Street Blues), Big Bill Broonzy (How Long?) and Josh White (House Of The Rising Sun),was a most effec- tive way of winding down at the end of a long day.” Listening to “Good Old Bob Cop- per” wrap his unaffected Sussex vowels round these African-American songs that he loved so well is every bit as effective, and highly recommended.


bobcopperblues.bandcamp.com/ Steve Hunt


MAZ O’CONNOR This Willowed Light Wild Sound


THE ASKEW SISTERS In The Air Or The Earth Rootbeat


NANCY KERR Sweet Visitor Little Dish


Three albums that will command a high pro- file and much expectation – This Willowed Light has already been described by Neil Spencer in the Observer as the best folk album of the year so far while producer Jim Moray rather astonishingly reckons it’s the best thing he’s ever worked on. Not sure about either of those claims. Let’s be honest, O’Connor’s 2012 debut album, Upon A Stranger Shore, was somewhat limp and trite but, with Moray sur- rounding her with lovely blasts of trumpet and dancing strings, This Willowed Light is several thousand light years better than that. A couple of tracks stand out: her lightly arrest- ing Bird Song has a lively banjo arrangement and Derby Day, her thoughtful and deserved- ly celebrated take on the death of suffragette Emily Wilding Davison beneath the hooves of the King’s horse Anmer in the 1913 Derby, stands up well to repeated scrutiny. In fact her original material is much stronger than the trad stuff. Singing Of The Ocean sounds like a credible homage to folk of a 1960s vintage, Nightcap is fun and The Mississippi Woman has a structure and subject matter that sug- gests a serious songwriter in the making. She struggles, though, doing the hefty lifting on formidable traditional material like Awake Awake and The Grey Selkie when her voice still sounds a tad wan.


www.mazoconnor.com


Emily and Hazel Askew, too, have estab- lished a healthy reputation playing in a vari- ety of different outfits, including Lady Mais- ery (Hazel), The Dufay Collective (Emily) and


The Artisans (both). There is no doubt they are both top-notch musicians and this third album sparks into life when Hazel pitches her melodeon in earnest with Emily’s fiddle and they come up with a pleasingly chunky sound on a set of tunes like Room For The Cuckold / Beaux Of London City. Their arrangements also carry some clever early music references (The Whitehall Minuet is lovely) and they deliver a pleasantly bouncy Old Father William; but in other places they sound overly earnest, particularly when attempting to get to grips with a series of heavyweight ballads like The Unquiet Grave, The Wife Of Usher’s Well, Young Girl Cut Down In Her Prime… huge songs sensitively delivered. Too sensi- tively delivered. Vocal purity alone is insuffi- cient to carry drama of this magnitude and while I can imagine the closing track I Wish The Wars Were All Over stopping an audi- ence in its tracks when they play it live, this fresh-faced studio version lacks any real emo- tional clout or depth.


www.askewsisters.co.uk www.rootbeatrecords.com


A rather more seasoned performer, Nancy Kerr has been stretching her wings of late and takes quite a leap of faith with her very first solo album, further extending the trend of singers well versed in the tradition writing original material. We’ve tasted her burgeoning songwriting before in her work with James Fagan and Melrose Quartet, but here she takes the bull firmly by the horns on an entirely self-composed album with a star- studded supporting cast that includes Fagan, Tim Van Eyken, Rob Harbron, Martin Simp- son, Emily Smith and Tom Wright.


As with others who’ve followed a similar path into contemporary song, her writing exudes a clear link with the tradition in terms of subject matter, phraseology and melodic structure. Songs like The Priest’s Garden, My Little Drummer and Lie Low appear to have a direct lineage and sound almost like deliber- ate homages to traditional themes while an interesting choral element underlies some of the tracks. An assured Kerr performs with swashbuckling confidence and, with a crisp Andy Bell production, a torrent of cleverly assembled lyrics and a naturally richer voice than Maz O’Connor or Hazel Askew, Sweet Visitor has far greater presence than the other two albums. Indeed, the unfettered beauty of Sickle & Harvest, the arresting sadness of Days A Little Darker and the poetic flow of Apollo On The Docks are classily constructed exam- ples of an impressive song craftsperson.


If there is a shortcoming it’s the overload of ideas resulting in overcrowded arrange- ments to the detriment of Kerr’s songs. The


Nancy Kerr


opening track Never Ever Lay Them Down drifts worryingly towards hackneyed folk rock; The Priest’s Garden turns into a bit of a jungle and The Bunting & The Crown sounds plodding when it should be exhilarating. But it does have the courage of its own convic- tions and that goes a long way.


www.nancykerr.co.uk Colin Irwin


THE RAZORBILLS Like Everybody Else Lost Wasp LWR004


Jubilant individualists make a swift return after the noisy fun of To Hell With Youth. This offering is far more mature and controlled, a repertoire honed by touring in the Borders and such far-flung outposts as, er… Hull. The arrival of drummer Iain McLeod has beefed up a sound which, tightly controlled by the writing of guitarist Alan McClure, is starting to allow the odd glimpse of home into the brew, a reel closing Jock Harrow. Elsewhere they still love the easy lope of reggae and even come on with a good-time vibe, the third track inviting with the gruff refrain “you can be gloriously indiscreet, just make some goddamn noise”. Further Razorbill phi- losophy extends to Independence Referen- dum Blues – which topically asks what does it matter if control is in London or Edinburgh? The same types will pull the same strings. In fact the world is a weary place when viewed through their eyes. So-called fair trade, more platitudes than action; out of control Ameri- canised video games becoming addictive and obsessive. Lord, they even take a pot shot at themselves: CD For Sale documenting the frustrations felt by musicians with product to push. All lyrics on display in a natty booklet and band suitably moody alongside an old fishing boat – very arty. Jolly good fun with care displayed large throughout.


www.therazorbills.co.uk Simon Jones LES PRIMITIFS DU FUTUR


Cocktail D’Amour & Bluestory & The New Blue 4 Frémeaux & Associés FA590


Les Primitifs Du Futur were the French resis- tance. Cocktail D’Amour was first issued in 1986, a time of synthesiser and sequencing dominance. These brave men were armed only with acoustic instruments and the belief that music is an activity, not a product. The Frenchman were aided by one US citizen – the remarkable Robert Crumb, who created the countercultural cartoon characters Fritz the Cat and Mr Natural. His weapon of choice was the mandolin.


The masterminds behind the project were the guitarists Didier Roussin and Dominique Cravic who switch effortlessly between country blues and hot club styles. They are aided and abetted by occasional harmonica, accordeon and vocals. The mate- rial feels as if its birthplace lies somewhere between the Mississippi and the Marne. Stylistically it feels is if it was recorded in the studio just after Eddie Lang and Lonnie John- son walked out.


In addition to Cocktail D’Amour this


album includes Bluestory and The New Blue 4, which are recordings that preceded Cock- tail, made by Dominique Cravic. Mr Crumb is absent in these recordings, some violin appears, and the bass is provided by double bass rather than saxophone, but the same spirit is present.


Although this is an album of historical significance, the remarkable playing feels as fresh as if it had been recorded last week.


www.discovery-records.com Jon Moore


Photo: Judith Burrows


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