FREEDOM FIELDS - SETH LAKEMAN       I-SCREAM  ISCD007

The singer, songwriter and musician Seth Lakeman comes from Yelverton in Devon and began playing music with his parents and brothers from an early age. The brothers later went on to record and joined Kathryn Roberts and Kate Rusby to form Equation. Since leaving the group in 2001, the multi-talented Seth Lakeman has worked with Cara Dillon and her husband Sam Lakeman and has released several acclaimed solo albums, receiving a Mercury nomination for last year’s ‘Kitty Jay’. His latest CD, recorded on a modest budget in the kitchen studios of his brother’s cottage on the edge of Dartmoor, is released on his own label and features Seth’s regular band members, plus lilting vocals from Kathryn Roberts. ‘Freedom Fields’ takes its name from a skirmish which took place on 3rd December 1643. After vicious fighting, the Roundhead Garrison of Plymouth made their final rally and routed the King’s army (the Cavaliers) in an uprising that changed the course of English history. The album contains a compelling array of songs inspired by the West Country, exploring the turmoil of conflict, war and freedom. Several songs relate to the area’s naval traditions, while King & Country, along with the title track, examine the factions created by the English Civil War. The world above and below ground is recorded in The Colliers, taking its theme from the oppression of the tin and copper miners. Seth Lakeman sings and plays with real passion and this intriguing album will further add to his reputation as one of the most original talents on the British folk scene.

THERE IS NO EYE: MUSIC FOR PHOTOGRAPHS             SMITHSONIAN FOLKWAYS SFW CD 40091.

In Music For Photographs, photographer, film maker, folklorist and musician John Cohen (of the New Lost City Ramblers) presents some of the finest American roots recordings ever made. These songs are authentic and captivating and accompany a book of photographs, There is No Eye, showcasing the musicians featured here as well as many others. Experienced together, the music and photographs create a fresh understanding. The CD includes unreleased music from Rev. Gary Davis and Bob Dylan (the brilliant, previously unreleased Roll On, John), as well as classic tracks from Woody Guthrie, Roscoe Holcomb, Bill Monroe, Carter Stanley, Muddy Waters, and others. The 32-page booklet has fascinating photographs and extensive notes.

REV. GARY DAVIS - IF I HAD MY WAY   SMITHSONIAN FOLKWAYS SFW CD  40123

John Cohen made these historic recordings in the home of Reverend Gary Davis in early 1953 and these wonderfully informal tracks predate the Reverend’s seminal albums. The irresistible CD features Davis singing with his wife and another preacher, and the music provides a window into the world of a blind preacher caught between the blues and the church. The tracks include If I Had My Way, If The Lord Be For You, Twelve Gates to The City, You Got To Move, A Friend Like Lonely Jesus, Shine On Me, Say No to The Devil, Give Me A Heart to Love and Got On My Traveling Shoes. Ten of these 18 songs were never recorded again and are unavailable anywhere else, making this an essential album for the many peaople who appreciate Davis’s moving and accomplished artistry. Extensive notes and photographs are included.

JIMI HENDRIX           DISKY  SI 903505

James Marshall ‘Jimi’ Hendrix was born in Seattle in 1942 and died in London in 1970, aged only 27. In his short lifetime he became the best and most exciting electric guitarist in the history of popular music, as well as an fine singer and songwriter. Largely self-taught the left-handed Hendrix used a right-handed guitar that he restrung and played right side up. He was influenced by of blues artists such as B. B. King, Albert King, Buddy Guy, T-Bone Walker and Muddy Waters, as well by rhythm and blues and soul music guitarists such as Curtis Mayfield, and by modern jazz (Rahsaan Roland Kirk was one of his favourite musicians). Jimi Hendrix revolutionised the tradition of rock guitar by developing techniques such as feedback and distortion, making them an integral part of his compositions. Despite a frantic touring schedule and his notorious perfectionism, he was a prolific recording artist and left behind more than 300 unreleased recordings besides his five official albums and various singles. He became legendary as one of the all-time greats who, like Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Brian Jones, took the 1960s by storm then died young. This CD features nine outstanding live performances, including Hey Joe, Wild Thing, Purple Haze, and an extended version of Voodoo Chile. The music still sounds astonishing after forty years and this bargain-price CD is highly recommended.

SWEENEY’S DREAM - KEVIN BURKE        SMITHSONIAN FOLKWAYS SFW CD 40485.

Kevin Burke is a master of the highly ornamented Sligo style of Irish fiddling and this 1972 recording perfectly captures the stunning artistry of his earliest years in the United States. Instrumentation ranges from solo fiddle to group pieces that include guitar, mandolin, banjo, autoharp and bodhran. Rousing tunes include Murphy’s Hornpipe, Toss the Feathers and The Kid on the Mountain.

BRANDON SEYFERTH - HOT HEELS RECORDS

This is the first EP under the pseudo-band-name Hot Heels Records by Brandon Seyferth (pronounced ‘cypher’), a folk musician with blues roots and a commendably rebellious attitude. He became interested in folk music after arriving in Chicago late in 2004 following years spent wandering the U.S. East coast in a carnival and hitchhiking penniless through China. As a child, he used to scribble on paper before he could write. He was confined to an oxygen tent a lot because of asthma problems and used to read voraciously. His acknowledged musical influences include Nico, Howlin’ Wolf, Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Band, Bob Dylan, Kyuss, Count Basie, Dinah Washington, Stephen Foster and Woody Guthrie. His eclectic sound incorporates all of these together with his own highly indiviualistic take on the world and a flair for great tunes. Standout tracks among the seven featured here are Little Sister, Home and the plaintive These Days. Best of all is Hands, a great song with Brandon Seyferth’s passionate vocals complemented by excellent guitar and Dylanesque harmonica work. This is a terrific debut by an artist with a poetic sensibility and real promise for the future. Website: Hot Heels Records

THE DANCE AT THE PHOENIX - MELLSTOCK BAND     BEAUTIFUL JO  BEJOCD-28

Mellstock was the fictional Wessex name that the poet and novelist Thomas Hardy gave to his home parish of Stinsford in Dorset. Hardy was a musician himself and the Mellstock Band was originally formed to play the music he would have known, played using authentic instruments. Their debut album, released in 1986, was Under the Greenwood Tree, in which Hardy’s vigorous and detailed portrayals of song and dance - as well as music from his family's collection of manuscript books - provided inspiration for the band. Their repertoire has since expanded to include a variety of west gallery and village band music, the interpretations of which are based on the manuscript books of village musicians and the singing and instrumental traditions of rural England. In live performance, the Mellstock Band illuminate their music with period costume and spoken word, and have performed at many festivals as well as for productions at the National Theatre and Chichester Festival Theatre. The Dance at the Phoenix captures the dramatic character of the band’s live shows, as the album also includes brief readings of verse written by Thomas Hardy and the Dorset dialect poet he so much admired, William Barnes. The album shows the variety and excitement of the traditions of music-making in small ad hoc bands and ensembles, documented by Thomas Hardy and surviving in musicians’ manuscript music books and a few rare recordings. Highlights include The Ruined Maid, Hardy’s humorous and cynical poem on the themes of poverty and purity, and the writer’s favourite tune, Enrico, which his father often played to him on the fiddle. ‘The band’s combination of concertina, serpent, clarinet, oboe and fiddle is out there on its own and works perfectly’ - Folk Roots.

ENGLISH SONGS OF LOVE       BEAUTIFUL JO RECORDS  BEJOCD-19

English Songs of Love features the voices of Julie Murphy, Lynne Denman and Joanne Acty and 14 traditional songs, including Searching for Lambs, The Cuckoo, A Blacksmith Courted Me, The Dark-Eyed Sailor and a superb interpretation of The Lowlands of Holland. These are some of the finest songs in the English folk tradition and all are wonderfully performed here in sensitive arrangements played by the accompanying musicians: Stacy Bythe (accordion, harpsichord, cello), Ceri Matthews (clarinet, guitar, cittern, pipes), Dan Morris, Bernard Kilbride and Mat Green (fiddle), Peter Acty (guitar, mandola), Di Whitehead (cello, recorder) and Andy Turner (concertina). Fernhill’s Julie Murphy is one of the foremost singers of her generation and often performs in partnership with Lynne Denman, from the band Ffynnon. Their vocal harmonies can be heard on a stunning version of The Banks of the Sweet Primroses. Joanne Acty sings with the Oxfordshire band Magpie Lane. Exquisite singing and sensitive arrangements make this an album that should appeal to all folk aficionados and make converts of any who doubt the beauty and depth of the English tradition. CELTIC SONGS OF LOVE, also from Beautiful Jo Records (BEJOCD-16), is an equally rewarding exploration of a great tradition, featuring Julie Murphy again, together with Emma Christian, Moira Craig and Michael Henry, with songs from Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man. The album has 23 tracks, including four that are previously unreleased (How Can Ye Gang, Lassie?, Merched, Red Top Knots, and Deus Ganin Me D’Am Bro). Emma Christian is a leading light of the Manx Celtic revival and Scotland’s Moira Craig is co-host of the ballad sessions at Sidmouth International Folk Festival. All the tracks are a delight and Moira Craig, in particular, sings with great purity and tenderness, especially on the ravishing Will Ye Go, Love. The musicians include Peter Acty, Ceri Rhys Matthews, Anne-Marie Boisard and fiddler Chris Leslie from Fairport Convention.

MAGPIE LANE - SIX FOR GOLD           BEAUTIFUL JO RECORDS BEJOCD-42

Magpie Lane is a six-piece band from the Oxford area, originally formed as a one-off recording project in the winter of 1992-93 to record an album called The Oxford Ramble, a collection of songs and tunes from Oxfordshire. The lineup has changed over the years but the founder members still in the band are Ian Giles (vocals, hurdy-gurdy, side drum and bodhran), Mat Green (fiddle and vocals), and Andy Turner (vocals, and anglo-concertinas). They are joined on this their sixth album by newcomers Marguerite Hutchinson (vocals, whistles and flute), Sophie Polhill (vocals and cello) and Benji Kirkpatrick (vocals, bouzouki and guitar). The songs on Six of Gold are varied but all are unmistakably English, although sung with little trace of regional accent. All are traditional tunes, except for ‘Stotty Cake Polka’ (Andy Turner) and ‘Ganivelle’ (Fredric Paris). Highlights include ‘Juniper Gentle and Rosemary’, ‘The Constant Lovers’ (a haunting song learnt from the Copper family), Ralph Vaughan Williams’ ‘John Reilly’, the Oxfordshire shepherd Shadrack Hayden’s ‘Once I Was a Shepherd Boy’ (collected by Cecil Sharp in 1909) and ‘The Foggy Dew’, a song well known in Thomas Hardy’s Dorset. Magpie Lane are one of the best traditional English music groups, and even when the tunes are familiar they are performed with a freshness and vitality that make this an infectiously enjoyable album.

KRISTINA OLSEN - THE TRUTH OF A WOMAN         TAKE A BREAK  TAB 2008

Born in San Francisco and raised in Haight-Asbury during the 1960s, Kristina Olsen is one of the most entertaining and compelling performers on the international folk circuit. A superb instrumentalist (acoustic guitar, steel-body slide guitar, saxophone, concertina and piano) as well as a fine songwriter and singer, her songs are in the troubadour tradition. As well as Kristina Olsen (guitar, steelbody slide guitar, hammered dulcimer, concertina, vocals and pizza box!), The Truth of a Woman features Peter Grayling (cello, mandocello, mandolin & harmony vocals). Highlights include the soulful Spend the Whole Night With You, The Truth of a Woman, The Yellow Piper, Phoebe’s Iceberg (a touching slide-guitar instrumental), Headlights on the Highway,  the wonderfully plaintive If I Stayed and an outrageous live track finale, Big O. These are great songs performed by an artist who has clearly experienced and felt much on her travels. Kristina Olsen’s unique and appealing personality is further revealed in her many highly enjoyable concert performances. You can get a good idea of these on All Over Down Under (TAB 2009), an atmospheric live album recorded in Australia with Peter Grayling and accordionist George Butrumlis. Also check out Kristina Olsen’s most recent release, the late night music of  In Your Darkened Room (TAB 2010).

THISTLEDOWN - FLOSSIE MALAVIALLE       MAMBO MUSIC  CDMAMBO 68

Flossie Malavialle is a French singer who became involved in the British folk scene while working as a teacher in the North East of England. Having previously taught English in France and been singing there for years, it was natural to turn up at the Darlington folk club one night to meet the locals and sing a song. After returning to France for a while she missed life in England and decided to come back to focus on her singing, recording the first of her four albums, Thistledown, in 2002. Flossie’s warm, clear voice is heard here to great effect on a wide range of songs, including ‘More hills to Climb’, Beth Nielsen Chapman’s ‘Sand and Water’ and Kate McGarrigle’s beautiful ‘Mendocino’, together with several atmospheric French and Spanish ones. As well as her impressive voice, the singer also backs herself with exquisite vocals and some fine guitar work. Her blossoming talent can also be heard on subsequent albums such as ‘Mistral - Let's do it!’ (CDMambo681), the self-explanatory ‘Flossie Sings Piaf’, with such favourites as ‘La Vie en Rose’ and ‘Je ne Regrette Rien’ (CDMambo682), and her latest, ‘Making up the Miles’ (CDMambo683).

SIMPLY BLUES       UNION SQUARE MUSIC  SIMPLYCD018

The third disc in this superb box set of four CDs features 15 essential  tracks by blues pioneers such as Robert Johnson (Hellhound On My Trail), the eery voice of Blind Willie McTell (Statesboro’ Blues), Blind Lemon Jefferson, the underrated Bukka White (Fixin’ To Die Blues), Mississippi John Hurt, Leadbelly (The Bourgeois Blues) and Blind Willie Johnson (Dark Was The Night). The other three discs are titled Blues Legends (including Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, Little Walter, John Lee Hooker, Elmore James, B.B.King, Memphis Slim, John Lee Hooker and Jimmy Witherspoon), Blues Divas (Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Victoria Spivey, Memphis Minnie, Big Maybelle and Big Mama Thornton) and Blues ‘n’ Boogie (Little Esther, Big Joe Turner, Billy Eckstine, Johnny Otis and The Ravens). Altogether there are 60 tracks and more than three hours of superb blues music. Many of the classic tracks will be very familiar to blues addicts but it’s also good to hear music by some less well-known artists, especially divas such as Ida Cox (the wonderful Hard Times Blues), Mamie Smith (first black female singer to record a vocal blues), Ethel waters (a heartbreaking version of Stormy Weather) and the wonderfully expressive Sippie Wallace (I’m A Mighty Tight Woman). Simply Blues is the latest compilation in an wide-ranging series from Union square that also includes Simply Jazz and the excellent Simply World (SIMPLYCD019).

SWAN-UPMANSHIP - THE OLD SWAN BAND   WILDGOOSE STUDIOS  WGS 320 CD

The Old Swan Band started life in 1974, when they were known as ‘The Cotswold Liberation Front’, and played a major part in the movement for English music as oppose to the Celtic trend. Old Swan’s band style was deliberately slow to encourage dancers to dance and the band was criticised greatly by less tolerant members of the English Folk Dance and Song Society for ‘playing the wrong tunes for the dances, playing too slow, changing tunes, using melodeons instead of proper instruments like accordions and worst sin of all, using brass instruments’. After Rod and Danny Stradling left in 1982, the band became an all fiddle line-up with founder member Fi Fraser joined by Paul Burgess and Flos Headford. They were soon augmented by Jo Freya (jaunty tenor sax and penny whistle), John Adams (trombone and fiddle), pianist Heather Horsley and Neil Gledhill (bass saxophone). Together they make a unique sound that is well captured on this CD. The fifteen tracks (not counting the ‘false start’) include many reels and hornpipes as well as the lovely laziness of Wenlock Edge/Summer Waltz. The tunes on this album are almost exclusively English, although a Basque tune forms the basis of ‘Basquet of Oysters’ and ‘Schottis fran Havero’ is a wonderfully lively Swedish jig. The joyous, foot-tapping music on this album should encourage even the most reluctant on to the dance floor.

THE RECKONING - JOHN TAMS       TOPIC TSCD 551

John Tams is a versatile musician and singer who performs traditional material as well as songs he has written himself, such as Harry Stone and the lyrical Hugh Stenson & Molly Green. On this highly accomplished new album he reworks several traditional songs and unveils more of his own original compositions. Highlights include tenderly sung performances of Amelia and A Man Of Constant Sorrow, the extraordinary Bitter Withy, a sequence titled  The Sea (Pretty Nancy, A Sailor's Life, One More Day  and As I Looked East, As I Looked West) and the jazz/blues inflected Including Love. As well as John Tams (vocals, acoustic guitar, button accordion, bass guitar, five string banjo) the album features Barry Coope (vocals, keyboards, harmonium, percussion, drums), Graeme Taylor (electric guitar, acoustic guitar, five string banjo, dobro, ukelele), Keith Angel (drums, percussion), Andy Seward (string bass, bouzouki, five string banjo), Steve Dawson (trumpet, cornet, flugel horn) and Roger Wilson (acoustic guitar, fiddles).  ‘An absolutely fantastic album’ - Linda Thompson.

NEW HISTORY - DERRIN NAUENDORF     ONLY BLUES MUSIC      

Derrin Nauendorf (pronounced No-en-dorf) is a young Australian singer and guitarist who played in rock and blues bands before going on to explore roots and acoustica in a more sophisticated way. His music is melting pot of roots influences that has produced a unique and powerful sound. He has performed almost a thousand shows in the UK and Europe, gaining a strong following of hardcore supporters, and has also become a main stage act at festivals in Europe, the UK and his native Australia. Brilliant guitar technique, sometimes using of feedback creatively, combines with sharp lyrics and powerful singing to win over his many fans and critics alike. He is also one of the hardest working musicians on the world circuit, playing 250 shows a year, and is also self managed. This honest, hardworking approach is reflected in his exhilarating new album - the only one so far that features a completely solo Derrin Nauendorf performance showcasing his remarkable guitar work, evocative voice, and often moving songwriting. This is about as close as you can get to a live show without actually being there, making it perfect introduction to his music. Outstanding tracks include Queensland, Careless Hands, the stunning Let It Go, Shipwrecked, the soulful Shatter Like Stars and a driving finale, Get Behind The Mule.

NATIVE SOIL - DANA AND SUSAN ROBINSON   OFFSPRING RECORDS TM 0048

Dana and Susan Robinson Dana are based in Asheville, North Carolina, although Dana was raised in California and Susan in America’s Northeast. Together they make music that convincingly blends tradition with contemporary songwriting in a style of which the great Woody Guthrie might approve. Dana is a fine singer, songwriter and instrumentalist (guitar, fiddle, mandolin, banjo) and Susan contributes rich harmonies as well as an effective clawhammer-style banjo to the mix. This excellent album shows how the music of Scots, Irish, African and native Americans has been continually reinterpreted and recycled through generations to become something uniquely American. Outstanding tracks include traditional songs such as The Cuckoo, Lost Girl (an irresistible instrumental with some great fiddle-playing), the touching When First Unto This Country, East Virginia Blues, Cider’s Dream (Chasing Squirrels), Waterbound, Ain’t No Cane, and the jaunty Goin’ To Cary. As well as Dana (vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, fiddle and mandolin) and Susan (vocals, banjo, guitar), Native Soil features John Herrmann (banjo), Meredith McIntosh (acoustic bass, vocals), Mike Alexander (acoustic bass), Pat Madsen (drums) and River Guerguerian (percussion).

RED WHITE & BLUES       DISKY CB 902138

Blues music, which evolved from African American spirituals, work songs, shouts and chants, has been a massive influence on modern Western music styles. In the 1940s and 1950s, electric blues music predominated, with artists as Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, T-Bone Walker and John Lee Hooker. In the 1960s, a remarkable surge of interest in the blues took hold among young white audiences, especially in the UK. Bands such as Fleetwood Mac, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and the Animals covered classic early Delta Blues numbers as well as electric blues from Chicago. These musicians in turn inspired American acts such as Canned Heat and Johnny Winter, both of whom feature this eclectic collection. The 54 tracks are more or less equally divided between classic greats (such as Muddy Waters, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Memphis Slim, Son House and John Lee Hooker) and some of the finest 60s revival groups (Canned Heat, John Mayall, Alexis Korner, the underrated Groundhogs and Johnny Winter). This fascinating release is a great introduction to late twentieth century blues. It is one of a series of great value 3-CD box sets from Disky, with others including Hail Rock ‘n’ Roll (CB 902118), Rock Explosion (CB 902728) and Punk Explosion (CB 902727).

ROUGH GUIDE TO BOTTLENECK BLUES  WORLD MUSIC NETWORK RGNET 1151D

The sometimes eerie sound of a bottleneck slide guitar has been heard on many film soundtracks, including Ry Cooder’s music for Paris, Texas. But the technique’s origins can be traced back to traditional West African tribal instruments that had a gourd resonator and strings, over which a bone or metal object would be dragged to produce music.  African musical influences were introduced into America’s Mississippi Delta region, where many emancipated slaves migrated after the civil war and where the blues form was largely created. Delta blues still influences popular music today and the bottleneck style continues to fascinate. The Rough Guide To Bottleneck Blues features many fine recordings of original blues legends such as Fred McDowell, Blind Willie Johnson, Son House (Country Farm Blues), Robert Johnson (Come On In My Kitchen), Muddy Waters, Blind Willie McTell, Charley Patton and the wonderful Bukka White (Sic ’Em Dogs On). The album also includes bottleneck masters of more recent vintage, including Stefan Grossman, Jim & Bob (The Genial Hawaiians), John Fahey and Martin Simpson. This is music played with great skill and spell-binding intensity by masters of the bottleneck art.

MARTIN CARTHY - WAITING FOR ANGELS         TOPIC  TSCD527

Martin Carthy has been one of the most versatile and influential figures in English folk music for more than 30 years. His first solo album for six years, Waiting for Angels was produced by his daughter, Eliza Carthy, together with Ben Ivitsky. It shows the distinctive singer/guitarist at the peak of his creativity on four tracks that feature him solo and seven more on which he is backed by talented musicians such as Martin Simpson (slide guitar), Ben Ivitsky (percussion, viola, trombone), Toby Shippey (trumpet) and Eliza Carthy (fiddle, melodeon and harmonium). The title track is a rare Carthy original composition, inspired by the Scottish poet Hamish Henderson. There’s also a definitive 10-minute version of the remarkable Famous Flower of Serving Men, a classic first recorded by Martin Carthy at the beginning of his professional career. Other songs here include The Foggy Dew, Young Morgan, The Royal Lament, Bold General Wolfe and a quirkily effective performance of The Harry Lime Theme, taken from the wonderful 1940s Carol Reed/Orson Welles film.

THE CELTIC ROSE - MARITA BRAKE     MK81

This album is a mystical jorney through all things Celtic. All the tracks are original compositions by Marita Brake and her collaborator/producer, Kent Thompson. Brake’s wistful lyrics blend perfectly with Thompson’s ethereal arrangements and can be heard to great effect on the title track This is a mythical tale about Joseph of Arimathea fleeing the Holy Land with a piece of the cross, planting it outside Glastonbury Chapel in England, where it blooms into a sweet-smelling, blood red, rose. Other standout songs include the opening instrumental track (The Celtic Spirit, reprised later), Heart in Hand, the exquisite Standing Stones, On Me Mother’s Grave and the delightful By The River (written about a ‘meander along the Mackinaw River’ which flows through Marita Brake’s native Midwest). Although she has never visited Ireland, her music is heavily influenced by the ancient ballad tradition that travelled to America with Scottish and the Irish immigration. The singer’s pure, expressive voice is well complemented by the accompaniment of her fellow musicians Kent Thompson (keyboards), Christine Bock (viola and violin), Orrin Star, Gil Moore, Regan Thompson, Danny Green and Tim Delaney.

THE CARTER FAMILY - COUNTRY LEGENDS   RCA NASHVILLE/BMG  82876 59266 2

Probably the most influential group in country music history, the Carter Family switched the emphasis from hillbilly instrumentals to vocals, made scores of their songs part of the standard country music canon, and made a style of guitar playing - 'Carter picking' - the dominant technique for decades. The group comprised of a shy gospel quartet performer called Alvin P. Carter and two reserved country girls - his wife, Sara, and their sister-in-law, Maybelle. Together they sang a pure, simple harmony that influenced countless other groups of the 1930s and 40s, as well as folk, bluegrass and rock musicians such as Woody Guthrie, Doc Watson, Bob Dylan and Emmylou Harris. A.P., the family patriarch, collected hundreds of British/Appalachian folk songs and sixteen of the most popular feature on this excellently produced CD, including Worried Man Blues, Lonesome Valley, Wabash Cannonball, Wildwood Flower and Keep on the Sunny Side.

THE COMPLETE SONGS OF ROBERT BURNS       LINN CKD 213

Robert Burns, author of  Auld Lang Syne and My Luve’s Like a Red, Red, Rose, remains Scotland’s most celebrated writer. Born the son of a gardener at Alloway, near Ayr, in 1759, he worked at a succession of labouring jobs and was inspired by his first love, Nelly Kirkpatrick, to begin writing poetry. He later moved to Edinburgh and worked on editing a collection of Scottish folk songs. Called ‘The Scots Musical Museum’, it was published in 5 volumes over sixteen years and Burns himself contributed over 150 songs, including Auld Lang Syne, a reworking of an earlier folk song. This superbly produced box set of 12 CDs is the culmination of seven years of ambitious artistic endeavour by Linn Records and a wide range of outstanding Scottish performers, bringing these timeless songs to life for a new audience. The first complete, definitive archive of its kind, this collection comprises over 360 songs recorded by some of Scotland’s finest traditional musicians, including members of Battlefield Band, The Cast, The Corries, Deaf Shepherd, MacAlias, Malinky and Old Blind Dogs. This is an essential series of recordings that will delight any admirer of the ‘ploughman poet’ and his work.

STEPPING UP       TOPIC TSCD752

Compiled and annotated by lan Anderson, the editor of fRoots magazine, Stepping Up is a rousing anthology of the distinctive English folk musical movement from its beginnings to the present day. The album is a greatly expanded version of a vinyl LP first assembled by fRoots magazine in 1988 under the title Tap Roots. The entertaining repertoire features polkas, jigs, hornpipes, step dance tunes and waltzes, and the varied instrumentation includes melodeons, hammered dulcimers, concertinas and tambourines. There are 44 tunes drawn from the English tradition, performed by 23 English roots dance bands, including the Morris Motors Band, Walter & Daisy Bulwer, Oak, The Leeds Band, Webb’s Wonders, The Old Swan Band, Flowers & Frolics, Ashley Hutchings, The New Victory Band, Umps and Dumps, The English Country Blues Band, Oysterband (Kentish Cricketers), The Cock and Bull Band, Gas Mark 5, Tiger Moth, The Old Hat Dance Band, The Geckoes, The Posh Band (Duke of Cornwall’s Reel), Mark Bazeley & Jason Rice, Dr Faustus, Grand Union, Eliza Carthy Band (No Man’s Jig/Three Jolly Sheepskins) and Whapweasel. ‘Energy, commitment and imagination’ - fRoots magazine.

BLUE BOY - RON SEXSMITH             COOKING VINYL   COOKCD 214.

The songs of acclaimed Canadian singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith have been covered by artists ranging from Rod Stewart to the opera singer Anne Sophie Van Otter. He conjures up more intriguing images and characters on this his latest CD, produced by Steve Earle in Nashville, Tennessee. It feature a rockier, more upbeat sound sound than usual, especially on tracks such as 'Not Too Big', 'Don't Ask Why' and 'Keep It In Mind'. Other outstanding songs include the reggae-influenced 'Never Been Done', the dark 'Parable', a hymn-like ‘Thirsty Love' and the bluesy 'Not Too Big'. Blue Boy has the sort of fine writing and outstanding melodies expected from Ron Sexsmith and its live ambience reveals another side of this much-admired singer.

ENGLAND, HALF ENGLISH - BILLY BRAGG         COOKING VINYL COOK CD 222.

Billy Bragg, as ever, stays true to himself with this fine collection of brave, reflective songs performed by himself and The Blokes (who include Ben Mandelson, Lu Edmonds, Martyn barker, Simon Edwards and the excellent Ian Mclagan on keyboards). The music ranges from gritty folk-protest (NPWA, Take Down the Union Jack), through more upbeat songs (such as the title track, England, Half-English) to introspective and soulful compositions (Some Days I See The Point). The lyrics are full of wit and intelligence, and the performances throughout are assured and powerful. This is a CD that rewards repeated listening.

THE TRUE LOVER’S FAREWELL - CUSTER LARUE         DORIAN  DOR-90213

Custer LaRue was born in the Allegheny Highlands of Virginia and, though best known for her her early music performances as a member of the Baltimore Consort, she maintains an active interest in traditional song. Her unique style is heard to great effect here as she and the Baltimore Consort perform a selection of Appalachian folk ballads, mostly taken from those collected by Cecil Sharp in his English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians. Outstanding among the 16 tracks are the solidly rhythmic Soldier Boy for Me, Lord Bateman, an irresistibly feisty Berayna, The Outlandish Knight, Johnny Home from the Sea, a lilting version of The Nightingale, The Rebel Soldier and the well-known True Lover’s Farewell. This outstanding disc brings these wonderfully evocative songs to life in a series of sensitive and beguiling arrangements.

WHEN THE SUN GOES DOWN         BMG  BLUEBIRD 09026-64006-2

Subtitled The Secret History of Rock and Roll, this four CD box set is a treasure trove of historic, mostly blues reissues from the vaults of Bluebird and RCA Victor. The 100 superbly remastered tracks feature music ranging from 70-year-old blues and country jug bands to the work of many influential post-Second World War performers. The first volume, Walk Right In, has Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers, Alberta Hunter (Beale Street Blues from 1927, with Fats Waller playing organ), Bukka White, Leadbelly and Paul Robeson's 1926 recording of Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child. Volume two, The First Time I Met the Blues, features Blind Willie McTell, Jimmie Rodgers and the wonderfully named Daddy Stovepipe & Mississippi Sarah. The third volume, That's Chicago's South Side, has such classics as Leroy Carr's When the Sun Goes Down, Big Bill Broonzy’s Keep Your Hands Off Her, and the great Sonny Boy Williamson’s Good Morning School Girl. The final volume, That's All Right, includes Doctor Clayton (Pearl Harbor Blues), boogie woogie piano pieces and such rock 'n' roll precursors as Arthur ‘Big Boy’ Crudup's That's All Right, Sonny Terry’s Ride and Roll, and Little Richard's first recording from 1951 (Get Rich Quick). This invaluable collection, also available as individual CDs, is a rare treat for blues fans,  and will interest anyone wanting to know how the blues influenced 1950s and 60s rock and roll. ‘A surprises-all-the-way switchback ride through one of the great catalogues of 20th century music’ - Mojo.

CARA DILLON - SWEET LIBERTY       ROUGH TRADE RTRADECD123

Ever since her eponymous debut album (see below), Cara Dillon has been acclaimed as one of the outstanding new voices in folk music. As well as winning two BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards (for Horizon and Best Traditional Track) she also won the Best Traditional Album at the Hot Press Awards and was voted ninth in the HMV Choice Magazine Critic’s Poll. The mostly traditional music featured here is impressive and lyrical, with tracks that include The Winding River Roe, The Gem Of The Roe (a traditional song from County Derry), Erin The Green, Standing On The Shore (made famous by Anne Briggs) and The Emigrant’s Farewell (which gives the album its title). Cara Dillon’s voice is enthralling and the excellent band lineup consists of Sam Lakeman (keyboards), Ben Nicholls (double bass), Calum MacColl (guitar), James O’Grady (Uilian pipes) and Liam Bradley (drums). ‘...amongst the very finest to be heard today’ - Folk Roots Magazine.

CARA DILLON - CARA DILLON           ROUGH TRADE RECORDS RTRADECD019

The debut solo album of Co. Derry-born Cara Dillon, formerly of Equation, features mostly traditional music subtly arranged by the charismatic singer and Sam Lakeman, who also here plays piano, harmonium and organ. Dillon’s beautiful, dreamy voice explores the songs with great poignancy and she is backed by a fine band of musicians who include Justin Adams (electric guitar), Seth Lakeman (violin, viola, tenor guitar, mandolin) and Mary Dillon (harmony vocals). Among the most outstanding tracks are Craigie Hill, Lark In The Clear Air, a melancholic Maid Of Culmore and the touching Green Grows The Laurel. This is an irresistible album that should appeal to folk purists as well as a much wider audience.

COLIN REID - SWIM         TOPIC TSCD541

Colin Reid’s new album features 12 self-penned tracks of music that include a number of ensemble pieces on which he is joined by Liam Bradley (kit), Brian Connor (piano, Wurlitzer, Hammond organ), Becky Joslin and Neil Martin (cellos), Buffy North (violin) and Alan Shields (double bass). Colin Reid is a virtuoso guitarist, acclaimed as such by no less than Bert Jansch, and on these recordings he shows that as composer he can folk, jazz and blues into a unique blend of music that defies classification. Standout tracks include Samson And Delilah, Small Steps, Tilt, The Secretive Agent, The Fool's Bridge, This Broken Rapture, Say Goodbye To The Riverbed, Chase Tea and New England House. ‘Both as a performer and composer he is a huge talent’ - The Independent.

ROBERT JOHNSON - OLD SCHOOL BLUES       UNION SQUARE METRO  METRDCD524

Robert Johnson, probably the most influential delta blues singer and guitarist in history, was born in Hazelhurst, Mississippi in 1911. By the time he died in 1938, allegedly as a result of drinking poisoned whisky, he had recorded only 29 songs on a total of 41 tracks in two recording sessions. The best of these recordings, including Sweet Home Chicago, Crossroads Blues and Terraplane Blues, feature here on the first of two great value CDs. Despite Johnson's undoubted originality he did not invent the blues, and the second CD explores some of his influences, many of them legends in their own right. These include Bukka White (Parchman Farm Blues), Bessie Smith, Blind Willie McTell (Mama, 'Tain't Long Fo' Day), Charley Patton (Screamin' And Hollerin' The Blues), the great Son House, Memphis Minnie, Roosevelt Sykes, Blind Lemon Jefferson (Easy Rider Blues) Lead Belly, Ma Rainey, Lonnie Johnson, Rev. Blind Gary Davis and Big Bill Broonzy. This essential double album serves as both a definitive collection of Robert Johnson’s work and a fascinating introduction into how the blues evolved.

IF NOT NOW - e2K             TOPIC TSCD538

One of the most exciting bands on the UK folk scene, e2K has an enviable reputation as a live act and festival favourite, having re-invented itself from its previous incarnation as EII and the Red Hot Polkas. The original band was primarily a dance outfit but the addition of Kellie While on vocals has produced a unique fusion of folk, world, jazz and dance influences. As well as Kellie, the band’s line up consists of Neil Yates (trumpet, bodhran, whistles, etc.), Kwame Yeboah (keyboards, guitars), Neil Fairclough (bass), Paul Francis (drums), Andy Morel (saxes), Gareth Warren (melodion), and Jon Moore (guitars, mandolin). Special gusts include Mike McGoldrick (uilian pipes) and John McCusker (fiddle). ‘Superb instrumentalists performing in multi-layered tapestry are complemented by the beautiful voice of Kellie While’ - www.rootsreview.co.uk.

GREEN SHADOWS - FLEETWOOD MAC     UNION SQUARE METRO  METRDCD111

This collection of singles, studio out-takes and live performances captures all the energy and excitement of one of the world’s best-known bands in its earlier blues incarnation. Man Of the World, included here, is the famous single version featuring Peter Green’s world-weary vocal and superb guitar playing. Among the other tracks are studio out-takes, alternative versions of blues classics or several live recordings. Black Magic Woman again features Green’s immaculate guitar work and there’s an rousing version of another hit single, Oh Well. Best of all, perhaps, is the powerful and disturbing performance of The Green Manalishi. There are hugely atmospheric performances recorded at London’s Marquee club (including great versions of Shake Your Moneymaker and Dust My Blues) where the fuzzy sound quality is more than compensated for by the verve and urgency of the music. This outstanding album will bring a nostalgic tear to the eye of anyone who experienced the British 1960s blues scene first hand, and proves that the music was every bit as good as remembered.

RIGHTEOUSNESS & HUMIDITY - MARTIN SIMPSON             TOPIC TSCD540

This latest album by guitar virtuoso Martin Simpson was mostly recorded in New Orleans and uniquely combines British folk music with blues and ballads from the American South. As well as acoustic guitar, Simpson plays ukulele, electric guitar, lap-steel, percussion, 5-string banjo and stunning slide guitar. He also sings with sensitivity and writes great tunes, many of which can be heard here along with his arrangements of traditional songs. Highlights include a moving version of Blind Willie Johnson’s I Can’t Keep from Crying (singing with his wife, Jessica Simpson), John Hardy, the traditional ballad Georgie, the delicate instrumental Horn Island, a rousing Rollin’ and Tumblin’ and Wild Bill Jones (with its spooky thunderstorm conclusion). Among the fine acompanying musicians are Steeleye Span’s Rick Kemp (electric bass, percussion), Carl Budo (drums), Amassa Miller (organ), Dave Malone (electric guitar) and Mike Skinkus (percussion). The songs have all clearly been chosen with love and care and are superbly recorded, making this a worthy follow-up to Simpson’s award-winning Bramble Briar. ‘The nearest thing this country has to Ry Cooder’ - The Big Issue.

THE LEGENDARY STORY OF SUN RECORDS   UNION SQUARE METRO  METRDCD501

Sam Phillips opened his Memphis Recording Service at 706 Union Avenue in 1950 and this double CD gathers together a cleverly chosen selection of the marvellous music recorded there in the following ten or twelve years. Phillips had an uncanny knack for finding talent and this album features electric bluesmen such as Howlin’ Wolf, B.B.King, Little Junior Parker and Ike Turner, plus the artists who helped change the face of the twentieth century by inventing rock’n’roll. These include Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison and the underrated Charlie Rich, heard here to great effect on three outstanding tracks. Among the lesser-known but highly enjoyable performers featured are The Miller Sisters, Charlie Feathers, Harold Jenkins (later Conway Twitty), Barbara Pittman and the splendidly named Narvel Felts. This generous 60-track collection makes a fine tribute to one of the greatest record labels ever.

THE ROUGH GUIDE TO CHICAGO BLUES WORLD MUSIC NETWORK RGNET1118CD

Some of the finest blues performances of the second half of the twentieth century were produced in Chicago, where thousands of African-American migrants moved from the poor rural farm-based economy of the southern states. Blues music thrives today among second and third generation performers and The Rough Guide To Chicago Blues features a broad range of styles that evolved into the mature electric ensemble sound that characterises Chicago blues, delving into less-reissued performers, labels and styles, and illustrating the great and varied musical heritage that musicians repeatedly return to for inspiration and structure. Artists include John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Charlie Musselwhite, James Cotton/Billy Boy Arnold/Elvin Bishop, Elmore James, Nolan Struck, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Otis Rush, Little Walter, Magic Sam, Roosevelt Sykes, Johnnie Jones, Koko Taylor, Hound Dog Taylor, Valerie Wellington, Eddy ‘The Chief’ Clearwater, Robert Nighthawk, Otis Spann, Robert Lockwood Junior/Otis Spann and John Littlejohn.

EDDI READER - THE SONGS OF ROBERT BURNS       ROUGH TRADE  RTRADECD097

Eddi Reader Sings the Songs of Robert Burns finds the former Fairground Attraction vocalist in beguiling folk music mode with sensitive performances of Jacobite rebel songs, romantic tragedies and tender love songs, including a wonderfully touching version of My Love Is Like a Red Red Rose. Reader’s voice admirably interprets the lively and often bawdy songs of Robert Burns, Scotland’s great 18th Century ‘ploughman poet’. The singer is joined by some prestigious names in the contemporary British folk world - John McCusker, Colin Reid, Boo Hewerdine and Kate Rusby, who duets memorably on Wild Mountainside. Kevin McCrae's string arrangements with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra also serve to make this is an album that impresses with its musicality and charm.

COME WRITE ME DOWN - THE COPPER FAMILY         TOPIC TSCD534

The inspirational Copper Family of Rottingdean in Sussex has roots in traditional song that are at least two hundred years old, and their style of southern English harmony singing has influenced many groups such as The Watersons and The Young Tradition.. The classic recordings in this outstanding collection date from from the 1950s and early '60s, when Bob and Ron Copper came to prominence during the early part of the folk revival. As well as newly remastered recordings, the CD also features earlier recordings involving Bob and Ron's fathers, Jim and John, which are available for the first time. The generously packaged album includes fascinating historic photographs, a 60-page booklet of  history, biography and social context as well as a 36-page booklet of song texts. ‘Educational and inspirational - Time Out.

ANGLICANA - ELIZA CARTHY             TOPIC TSCD539.

Eliza Carthy's brilliant new album, Anglicana, is an expression of Englishness as felt by her - ‘with people who were around at the time, no border checkpoints, nobody pushed out, just what it is’. The music remains true to its traditional sources yet features performances in fine contemporary style. Highlights include excellent arrangemants of Worcester City, Pretty Plowboy and Bold Privateer, as well as Dr MCMBE (written for father Martin Carthy’s 60th birthday and featuring him on guitar). The musicians are Eliza Carthy (fiddle, singing, one-row accordion, keyboards), Martin Green (piano accordion, keyboards), Barnaby Stradling (electric & acoustic bass, percussion, Moog), Sam Thomas (drums, percussion, Moog), Ed Boyd (acoustic guitar), Olly Knight (electric guitar), Lucy Adams (backing vocals), Rory McLeod (harmonica) and Andy Thorburn (guest keyboards). ‘faultless’ - Amazon.co.uk.

NOTES FROM A HEBRIDEAN ISLAND           LINN  AKD 197

Brilliant multi-instrumentalist William Jackson and the wonderfully pure voices of the Mackenzie sisters (Eilidh, Gillian and Fiona) from Lewis perform evocative Scottish and Gaelic singing and instrumental music. Jackson plays harp, whistles, laud and piano, and the album also features guest musicians James Macintosh (percussion), Iain MacInnes (pipes), Tony McManus (guitar), Aidan O'Rourke (fiddle) Ian Lowthian (accordion) and the recording’s producer Calum Malcolm (bass and keyboards). Among the spellbinding Gaelic songs is a stunning interpretation of Ba Mo Leanabh (O My Baby) which is a Canadian version of Griogal Cridhe. The instrumental tracks are played with assured musicianship rather than reckless speed, much to the advantage of the melodies. ‘The crystal clear voices ... steal the show’ - The Observer.

RETURN TO ME - EQUATION             ROUGH TRADE RECORDS  RTRADECD083

Equation's long-lost debut recording was shelved by the original record company (Warner) in the mid-1990s, but is now thankfully released on Rough Trade. Cara Dillon’s wonderful voice is heard on standout tracks such as He Loves Me, Song Of The Well and No Goodbyes, as well as the traditional Golden Bird and Cloths Of Heaven (words by W B Yeats, no less). The other outstanding musicians featured are Cara Dillon (vocals, low whistle), Sam Lakeman (piano, keyboards), Sean Lakeman (guitars), Seth Lakeman (violins, vocals), Kathryn Roberts (vocals) and Darren Edwards (bass).

I’M ON MY JOURNEY HOME             NEW WORLD RECORDS 80223-2

This rewarding album is from the admirable New World Records label, which specialises in documenting American music mostly ignored by commercial recording companies. I'm On My Journey Home: Vocal Styles and Resources in Folk Music is a loosely structured survey of different types of vocal styles and resources found in rural Anglo-American lower- and middle-class communities. Some of the modes of performance, such as hollering and solo ballad singing, have almost died out. Others, such as Sacred Harp singing, formal duet singing and square-dance calling, continue to flourish. This well chosen and  sequenced collection demonstrates once again the extraordinarily rich musical legacy of the ‘old, weird America.’ Highlights include Hollerin’ (Leonard Emanuel); Whooping (“Red” Buck Estes); Tobacco Auctioneering (Two unknown auctioneers); Bold McCarthy, or The City of Baltimore (Bill Cramp); The Black Sheep (Darby and Tarlton) and I’m On My Journey Home (The Denson Quartet). Essential listening for lovers of American folk music.

OPEN - COWBOY JUNKIES                   COOKING VINYL   COOKCD 216.

The expressive voice of Margo Timmins again leads Cowboy Junkies on  their 11th CD, together with the other core members,  including Michael and Margo’s brother Peter Timmins on drums and Alan Anton on bass. This album is their heaviest recording so far, adding dark, brooding guitar sounds to the band’s usual hypnotic/reflective/quiet character. Open is about growing old: and all that this entails death, birth, faith, betrayal, love and, hopefully, revelation. Outstanding tracks include the lamenting ‘Thousand Year Prayer’, ‘I'm so Open’ and the lovely, mournful ‘Bread & Wine’.

HOME - JOHN TAMS           TOPIC TSCD533.

John Tams’ follow up to his award winning ‘Unity’ again shows him to be one of the finest writers of English songs on the contemporary folk scene. His performances are always intelligent and his voice expressive on these outstanding new songs. The band is the same one assembled for the previous album are now even more assured in performance. As well as John Tams (acoustic & electric guitar, keyboard, melodeon, vocal) the album features Graeme Taylor (acoustic & electric guitar, mandolin, lap steel), Barry Coope (keyboards, string synth, crematorium organ, harmonium, vocal), Andy Seward (electric bass), Alan Dunn (hammond organ, piano accordion, keyboards, whistle, anglo concertina), Keith Angel (drums, marimba, mbira, surdo, congas, djembi, tambourine, percussion) and Rosie Tams (backing vocals). ‘one of the best UK folk albums of the last decade’ - MOJO.

INTO THE LIGHT - CHRISTINE COLLISTER         TOPIC TSCD1002.

Christine Collister’s second solo album for Topic finds her great voice as this fine recording captures the live quality and personality of an outstanding singer. Its style is more acoustic than her previous release, An Equal Love, but it again it features her songwriting skills alongside a selection of excellent covers of classic contemporary songs. Christine Collister (vocals and acoustic guitar) is joined by Steve Lima (acoustic guitar, bass, drums, percussion, piano, organ), Misha Nikolic (guitars, bass), Dave Armstrong (bass, keyboards, percussion), Roger Leece (drums), George Hughs (electric guitar), Anglin Buttimore (organ, piano) and Charles Guard (celtic harp). ‘Collister's effect is transfixing’ - fROOTS.

OLD & IN THE GRAY                ACOUSTIC DISC ACD-51.

This vibrant CD reunites Peter Rowan, David Grisman and Vassar Clements from the original bluegrass boundary-breakers, Old & In The Way. These three outstanding musicians have combined with veteran banjo player and vocalist Herb Pedersen, who takes over the slot left by the late Jerry Garcia. Brynn Bright plays an inspired upright bass, replacing the late John Kahn. Together the group produces joyful bluegrass music that includes great versions of Bill Monroe’s On the Old Kentucky Shore, Flatt and Scruggs’ Let Those Brown Eyes Smile at Me, John Hartford’s Good Old Boys, and a masterly Pancho & Lefty, written by the legendary Townes Van Zandt.

HOME - JAMES KEELAGHAN         APPLESEED APR CD 1059.

The outstanding Canadian singer songwriter James Keelaghan returns to his undisguised folk roots, using spare instrumentation on ten compelling songs which show that his idea of ‘Home’ covers his own state of mind as well as the lives and situations of other people, today and in the past. The subject matter ranges from the plight of a British convict sent to Tasmania in the 1820s (the traditional Henry's Downfall) to the reconstruction of Canada's Parliament buildings in the late 1900s (Stonecutter) and separatist terrorism in Quebec (October 70), plus tributes to nature (David Francey's Red-Winged Blackbird, The Flower of Magherally), love (You Know Me) and longing (Sing My Heart Home, Woodsmoke and Oranges). Keelaghan's intimate renderings of these diverse stories are accompanied mostly by his own guitar and by multi-instrumentalists Oliver Schroer and Hugh McMillan. ‘He displays a genius for finding his way deep inside big stories, building them outward from palpably intimate moments’- The Boston Globe.

FASHIONABLY LATE - LINDA THOMPSON           TOPIC TSCD821.

Although Linda Thompson hasn't made a recording for seventeen years, the pure, fragile beauty of her voice remains intact and time has increased the emotional quality of her performance. This marvellous comeback album features nine songs written or co-written by Linda Thompson, plus one by Lal Waterson. Among the dazzling array of performers are Teddy Thompson, Van Dyke Parks, Kate Rusby, Kathryn Tickell, Eliza Carthy, Rufus Wainwright, Kamila Thompson, Richard Thompson, Danny Thompson and Martin Carthy. ‘Linda Thompson may be rock's best woman singer’ - Time Magazine.

SILVERY MOON - AOIFE CLANCY           APPLESEED APR CD 1065.

Aoife (pronounced ‘Ee-fa’) Clancy, daughter of Bobby Clancy (a member of the Brothers for the last quarter century) resumes a solo career after five years as lead vocalist with the NewYork-based Cherish the Ladies. On this immaculate new CD she explores the world of Irish, Scottish, English, Appalachian and contemporary folk music in a most assured and beguiling manner. There are traditional ballads (Banks of Sweet Primroses, Across the Blue Mountains, Silvery Moon) and apt arrangements of poetry (Are You Sleepin', Maggie, The Sliprails and the Spur) as well as modern compositions by modern folk musicians such as Mark Simos. Among the fine musicians here are Donal and Bobby Clancy, percussionist Liam Bradley, bassist James Blennerhassett, fiddler/solo artist Lissa Schneckenburger and flutist Larry Nugent.

OJO DE TIBURON - MICHELE GREENE          APPLESEED APR CD 1064.

Michele Greene, the actress best known as Abby Perkins in the television drama, L A Law, has made a stunning CD that travels across styles, languages and cultures. Ojo de Tiburón (‘Eye of the Shark’) was produced by the brilliant Peruvian guitarist Ciro Hurtado and reflects the singer’s Mexican/Nicaraguan roots with six of the nine songs sung in Spanish, accompanied by a rich, fluid fusion of traditional and contemporary Latin sounds and North American folk influences. Most of the songs, all co-written by Michele Greene, are delicately sung reflections on the joys and sorrows of love (Siempre Volvemos, Somos Iguales, Destino), interspersed with understated social comment about poverty (Ojo de Tiburon) and cultural dislocation (La Tierra del Alma, The Ballad of Robert Martin). With intimate instrumental backing by Hurtado and a group of Mexican, Peruvian and American musicians, Greene achieves an entrancing mix of folk and pop, Español and Ingles. ‘She has the voice of an angel’ - Don Was.

THE ACOUSTIC FOLK BOX          TOPIC TSFCD4001

This exciting CD box set is a journey through four decades of the folk revival in Britain. A rich acoustic tradition is explored through the work of dozens of fine artists, from Lonnie Donegan and Ewan MacColl, via Richard Thompson and Emmylou Harris, to modern icons such as Kate Rusby and Eliza Carthy. The 85 tracks, many of which have not been heard on CD before, are in chronological order and come with a 56 page booklet containing photographs, illustrations and notes. The producer, David Suff, describes the music and puts it all in context. An unmissable treat for folk music fans and sure to bring back warm memories. ‘Definitive stuff’ - The Observer Review.

A DARK LIGHT - WATERSON:CARTHY         TOPIC TSCD536.

England's finest folk group return with the trio of Martin Carthy, Norma Waterson and Eliza Carthy joined by new member Tim van Eyken on vocals and melodeons. Also featured are Martin Simpson (guitar), Ben Ivitsky (fiddle) and Barnaby Stradling (acoustic bass guitar). This spellbinding album reflects the influence on the group of some of our greatest traditional singers and includes songs from The Copper Family, Packie Byrne, Seamus Ennis and Sam Larner. Among the highlights are the sombre ballad Death and the Lady, Crystal Spring (a love song that includes a vocal duet between Norma and her daughter Eliza) and the jaunty old Morris dance tune, Balancy Straw.

MERMAID AVENUE - BILLY BRAGG & WILCO           ELEKTRA 62204-2 / 625522-2.

Billy Bragg and the highly talented American band Wilco combine admirably on these recordings that set some of the legendary Woody Guthrie’s lyrics to music for the first time, producing two outstanding albums. Billy Bragg and Jeff Tweedy take turns on lead vocals, and the group’s sound reflects the folk and country rock tradition made popular by Bob Dylan and Gram Parsons. Outstanding tracks on Volume One include Walking Guthrie's World War II, Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key, and the flawless Ingrid Bergman). Among Volume Two highlights are Hot Rod Hotel, Secret of the Sea, the playful I Was Born and an atmospheric Black Wind Blowing. Beautiful music that pays true service to Woody Guthrie’s memory and integrity.

FAIRPORT CONVENTION - ENCORE ENCORE          FOLKPRINT FP001CD.

After 12 years recording and playing, Fairport Convention split up in 1979 after virtuoso fiddle player Dave Swarbrick was told to ‘give up playing live or go deaf’. The rest of the band played a farewell tour in 1979 and this release was the final souvenir (originally released on vinyl by Woodworm Records). Now remastered and re-issued with three previously unreleased bonus tracks, it includes such standout tracks as Matty Groves, Orange Blossom Special, Sir Patrick Spens and Meet on the Ledge.

SHINING BRIGHT - THE SONGS OF LAL & MIKE WATERSON           TOPIC TSCD 519.

In 1972, Mike and Lal Waterson released an amazing album of original songs, Bright Phoebus, on the Leader Records label. Tribute is paid to that classic collection of quintessentially English songs on this fine new recording, Shining Bright, which features songs recorded for Bright Phoebus as well as others written at the same time but not previously recorded. The making of this album was prompted by the untimely death of Lal Waterson and it is a worthy homage to some of the greatest songs to emerge from the British folk revival. The outstanding performers include Maddy Prior (Winifer Odd), Norma Waterson (Song for Thirza), Dayteller, Richard Thompson (Red Wine Promises), Eliza Carthy, Blue Murder, Dick Gaughan, Linda & Teddy Thompson, Helen Watson, Billy Bragg (Danny Rose), Martin Carthy (Never the Same), Christy Moore, Jody Stecher & Kate Brislin, Christine Collister and Oliver Knight.

THE SONG MAKERS PROJECT, VOL. 1          NESTA RECORDS NC1001.

The Song Makers Project is a collection of songs from outstanding, unsung artists as well as some more familiar performers such as Billy Bragg, Eric Bibb, Bert Jansch and Ted Hawkins. The album spans the fields of folk, roots and acoustic music performed by, among others, Emily Slade, Jezz Hall and Sam Genders (voted the class of 2001 by the excellent Folk Roots magazine). The music is melodic and soulful, especially the inspired tracks by Maureen Monroe (the seductive Damned Understanding), Ted Hawkins (a great version of Please come to Boston) and Buick 6 (Get Real). 10% of the profits from this album will be donated to the Charity Shelter. ‘A tasty compilation of some of the best singer songwriters currently on the scene’ - Get Rhythm.

LOOKING FOR THE MOON - TOM PAXTON         APPLESEED APR CD 1069.

This is the first solo studio album from the great singer-songwriter Tom Paxton since 1994 but the wait has been well worthwhile. The thirteen original songs on this CD emphasise personal themes and reflect on modern day life, often concerned with the inevitable march of progress and aging and their effects on the average citizen. Tom Paxton may be in the fifth decade of his illustrious career but his voice is as fine and expressive as always, heard here to wonderful effect on songs with evocative, personal lyrics and titles such as ‘Looking for the Moon’, ‘My Pony Knows the Way’ and ‘Homebound Train’. ‘Tom Paxton embodies the spirit of folk music...He’s the coolest’ - Ani DiFranco.

SKIRTING THE RIVER ROAD - ROBIN WILLIAMSON           ECM 016 372-2.

Subtitled ‘Songs and Settings of Whitman, Blake and Vaughan’, the legendary Scottish singer/songwriter Robin Williamson’s latest album brings together sung poetry, jazz, improvisation and aspects of world folklore. The result is a highly original, idiosyncratic form of chamber music in which his unmistakable voice is supported by the American viola player Mat Maneri, Swedish multi-instrumentalist Ale Möller, and two English jazzmen: Paul Dunmall (reeds and bagpipes) and Mick Hutton (double-bass). Highlights include settings of Walt Whiman’s ‘Dalliance of Eagles’ and ‘Crossing Brooklyn Ferry’, and ‘The Four points Are Thus beheld’ (inspired by William Blake’s ‘Jerusalem’. Those who recall Williamson's avant-folk group, the Incredible String Band, will find references here as well as evidence of further inspired experimentation.

ROSA MUNDI - JUNE TABOR            TOPIC TSCD532.

Rosa Mundi is June Tabor's tender celebration of the rose - an eclectic programme of material material that ranges from Tchaikovsky (The Crown of Roses) to Robert Burns (O My Luve’s Like a Red Red Rose), and from the 15th Century to the present. All the music relates to the rose; whether sacred, secular or as a symbol of love. June Tabor's graceful singing brings a unique purity and transcendent beauty to these delightful and often moving songs. ‘A subtle masterpiece’ - The Guardian.

MYSTERIOUS DAY - OLIVER KNIGHT         TOPIC TSCD528.

The brilliant guitarist Oliver Knight has recorded an outstanding debut solo album that features mostly his own excellent compositions. His fine array of vocalists include Christine Collister (Mysterious Day), Eliza Carthy (From My Window), Norma Waterson (Once In A Blue Moon), John Tams (Hush), Barry Cope (Summer Lightning) and Maria Gilhooley (My Sweet Lullaby). Oliver Knight plays acoustic, electric and bass guitars as well as mandolin, and does a fine job on the production and recording side.

COME WRITE ME DOWN - THE COPPER FAMILY             TOPIC TSCD534.

The Copper Family of Rottingdean in Sussex has roots in traditional song that are at least two hundred years old. These outstanding classic performances are from the 1950s and early '60s, when Bob and Ron Copper became a vital part of the folk revival scene. These newly remastered recordings are included in their entirety, together with earlier recordings involving Bob and Ron's fathers - Jim and John - available for the first time. The excellent accompanying booklet provides extensive history, biography and social context as well as the song texts and historic photographs. ‘Resonates with a weird primitivism’ - Sunday Times.

ABELARD AND HELOISE - THIRD EAR BAND           BLUEPRINT BP310

This recording from 1970 is the soundtrack for a film made for German Television, retelling Alexander Pope’s tragic medieval love story about the French philosopher Abelard (1079 - 1142) and the niece of Canon Fulbert, Heloise. Third Ear Band were formed in 1969 and were a regular feature of the free concerts in Hyde Park during the late sixties and early seventies, and this is the first time that this recording has been available on compact disc. The hypnotic drone like quality of their songs, in this context can best be described as medieval chamber music.

UNRULY - ENGLISH COUNTRY BLUES BAND             WEEKEND BEATNIK WEBE 9040.

In the early 1980s, the English Country Blues Band brought together musicians from opposite corners of the English folk scene in an innovative, barrier-demolishing blend, naturally anglicising blues and old-time country and finding new ways of looking at British traditional songs and tunes. These tracks from their two albums and one single feature the band’s core trio of Maggie Holland, Rod Stradling and Ian Anderson, regular members Chris Coe, Sue Harris and John Maxwell, and guests including Nic Jones, John Kirkpatrick, Dave Peabody and Danny Stradling. The tracks have been remastered from original tapes and there’s an extra new recording featuring the veteran English folk performer Bob Copper. Other standout tracks on this highly enjoyable CD include Weary Blues, Handsome Johnny and Rambling Boys of Pleasure.

BLUE MOON - ROBERT FORD             CONCORD CCD-2147-2.

The brilliant American guitarist and singer Robben Ford plays a compelling fusion rock, jazz and soul influenced blues. While crossing these musical genres this CD retains the power and essence of the blues in a most distinctive way, and the guitarist/vocalist/songwriter creates rich, rewarding sounds. As well as Robben Ford (guitar, vocals, wurlitzer electric piano and piano) Blue Moon also features Russell Ferrante (piano), Neil Larsen (organ, piano), Tom Brechtlein (drums), Vinnie Colaiuta (drums), Roscoe Beck (bass, 5-string bass), Jimmy Earl (electric bass), Lee R. Thornburg (trumpet, trombone), Dave "Woody" Woodford (tenor sax, baritone sax), Julie Christensen (vocal on Make Me Your Only One) and Louis Pardini (background vocal on Don't Deny Your Love).

THE STARBOARD LIST         ADELPHI GCD 1025/27.

The rousing songs on this CD are those of the sailors who served on merchants ships over the last few hundred years, and include working shanties, songs of bravery and sentimental ballads. Wherever there is hard work and hard times there are song to lighten the labor, coordinate the muscles of dozens of men and often give working men their only opportunity to express their feelings about the hard masters they served. The performers’ style is in sympathy with the traditional origins of the music and shows a considerable experience and the love of the sea. Starboard List members are Charles O'Hegarty, David Jones and Peter Marston, assisted by friends Brian Brooks, Dan Milner, John Townley, Christine Townley, Jerry Epstein, Tom Cerone, Sylven Seid and John Kilgore.

MISSISSIPPI BLUES          PUTUMAYO PUT 196-2.

The music on this outstanding CD takes you on a journey that follows the history of the blues from Minnesota back to the Deep South and the Delta. All the artists - a brilliantly chosen mix of classic and contemporary performers - demonstrate a close connection with the rural blues traditions as the CD features tracks by Luther Allison, Junior Wells, Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup, Artie White, Ike & Tina Turner (a stunning version of B B King’s 3 O’Clock in the Morning Blues), Bobby Bland (St James Infirmary), the great Mississippi John Hurt (his timeless Make me a Pallet on Your Floor), Chris Thomas King, John Lee Hooker (Baby Don’t do me Wrong), Memphis Minnie (I Got to Make a Change Blues) and Memphis Slim. This superb music is elegantly packaged with informative liner notes by Scott Jordan and a collection of highly evocative photographs.

A CHESAPEAKE SAILOR’S COMPANION            ADELPHI GCD 1032.

European exploration of and expansion into North America was made possible by three important elements: beef bouillon, sauerkraut and melody. The latter has been lovingly recreated on this fine recording by the Press Gang with a selection from ‘Four Centuries of Maritime Music on the Chesapeake Bay’. The music ranges from traditional songs dating back to the reigns of Elizabeth and James I to Tin Pan Alley numbers of the early 20th Century. The Sailor’s Companion charts the history of a fascinating musical journey that has been meticulously researched by John Townley, who leads the Press Gang - a group of friends and fellow musicians ‘shanghaied’ into a recording studio for these sessions. Among them are the cellist Anne Waple, pianist Blanton Bradley and brilliant Scots fiddler John Turner. The CD comes complete with informative liner notes and evocative vintage maritime illustrations.

SOFIA KARLSSON - FOLK SONGS            AMIGO MUSIK AMCD 748.

On this entrancing CD the gloriously pure voice of Stockholm-born Sofia Karlsson brings a sensitive beauty to a selection of traditional Swedish folk songs, religious hymns and chorales. Unobtrusive accompaniment by a fine group of musicians ensures the music’s integrity is maintained throughout. The other performers include Esbjorn Hazelius (citern, violin and voice), Leo Svensson (cello), Harald Haugaard (viola, violin) and special guest Johan Hedin (tenor kee fiddle).

SWAP - MOSQUITO HUNTER             AMIGO MUSIK AMCD 750.

The brilliant Swap’s music successfully blends Celtic and Swedish traditional influences with their own compositions to produce a highly individual sound. This lively, energetic music has become increasingly popular around the world, including England, the USA, Germany and Japan. The group consists of Ola Backstrom (violin), Ian Carr (guitar), Carina Normansson (violin and voice) and Kren Tweed (accordion). Highly recommended.

JOURNEY OF THE CELTS               CHACRA CHACD 056.

Will Millar, together with fellow musician Paul Horn, perform a blend of music in Celtic tradition, a fusion of music and history that draws on memories of Ireland, old family tales and historical records telling of the devastation and mass emigration that lay in the wake of the Irish Potato Famine of the mid 1800's. Spirited jigs, reels and melancholy ballads recall a time when the boats left Ireland behind for a chance at a better life in Canada, America, Australia and New Zealand. Instruments on this evocative recording include flutes, tin whistles, goatskin bodhran drums, lute, banjo, guitar, mandolin, keyboards, Irish harp, fiddle, coronet, fluegel horn, hammered dulcimer, conga drums, accordion and Uillean pipes.

GOING & STAYING - BRASS MONKEY             TOPIC TSCD531.

This latest recording from Brass Monkey features folk standards together with 14th century compositions and the poetry of Thomas Hardy and William Blake. The unique instrumentation incorporates trumpet and trombone as well as squeezeboxes, mouth organ, percussion and guitar, giving the band an instantly recognisable sound. The fine musicians involved are Martin Carthy, John Kirkpatrick, Howard Evans, Richard Cheetham and Martin Brinsford. ‘...a vitality about the whole thing ... lending majesty and a refreshingly different landscape on which to place these songs’ - fRoots Magazine.

JUNE BABIES - REBECCA HOLLWEG            EMU RECORDS EMU 02.

Rebecca Hollweg is a British singer and songwriter among whose influences are James Taylor, Alannis Morissette and, inevitably, Joni Mitchell. There are also touches of Suzanne Vega on her more intimate songs and the music is a winning blend of melodic pop, jazz and folk. The ten self-penned songs on June Babies are all perceptive and well observed and Rebecca Hollweg is at her best on the most intimate of them, such as Sorry and Is It Me You’re Looking For? The album features an excellent band, some fine string arrangements and a guest appearance by Jeb Loy Nichols. ‘...exquisite vocals’ - The Guardian.