 |
| Track list: 1. Worcester City 2. Just As the Tide was Flowing 3. Limbo 4. Little Gypsy Girl 5. No Man’s Jig / Hanoverian Dance / Three Jolly Sheepskins 6. Pretty Ploughboy 7. Bold Privateer 8. Dr McMBE 9. In London So Fair 10. Willow Tree Running time: 54 minutes Released: 2002 |
Perhaps this will blow away a cobweb or two. I have a love/indifferent relationship with Eliza Carthy's music; when she is good she's very good indeed, but when she is not I struggle to maintain an interest. She is, of course, well rooted, Britain's "First Family of Folk" and all that. This record also features my two favourite folk musicians - John Spiers and Jon Boden - in the backing band, before they made it on their own (and later with Bellowhead).
Worcester City (I keep forgetting Worcester is a city) is a more vibrant tune than I remember. There is something life affirming about the fiddle/melodeon combination that makes it very easy for me to see how it survived into the thriving modern folk scene. The tune is a little more raucous than I would like (too many musicians, I think) but it is enjoyable enough. The vibrancy ebbs away though, in favour of a slow, low song without enough depth of arrangement or lyrical interest to hold full attention in a good example of how Carthy's music can go from captivating to just there in the background. The song itself is sung nicely, played proficiently but just... lacking - and at 8 minutes long, the tide was flowing for far longer than it should have.
Limbo is an enjoyable track, but I think I prefer Ruth Notman's version which has a bit more tempo and accompaniment. Then we dip into more stereotypical folk - a staccato accordion piece with a gypsy theme. It is a little twee for my taste, though it is accomplished in delivery. I am coming to the conclusion that this album, as acclaimed as it was, is not really for me... or is it?
The dance tune set could have come off a Spiers and Boden album and so moves closer to my taste in folk. This is partly because both are playing (the backing musicians on the disc are different from track to track), as they are on Pretty Ploughboy which shares a style with some of their songs. It is these intersections where I find Carthy most pleasant on this disc - trusted hands and all that. It makes me wonder a little about how the arrangements were set up, and whether the similarities are because John and Jon had influence here, or because Eliza was a major influence on them. At the point this was released, Spiers and Boden had released one album as a duo already, but the sound here is more reminiscent of their later material and the credits point to Carthy so I guess the latter is more true.
I like her voice, and admire her drive, diversity and talent, but sometimes I find Eliza Carthy very flat indeed. Bold Privateer is just... not quite there in the same way that her version of Limbo was too dead to be a favourite; the exaggerated length (7 minutes) just emphasises the lack of arrangement, and whilst the fiddle/guitar combo works there is just not quite enough life to the tune. Dr McMBE is her one original tune on this disc, played with her father Martin on guitar. Again the composition of the track is missing something. It tends to lament, and there is a lack of energy as a result. Personally I find folk music much stronger when it plays up the celebratory roots of tradition or has a touch more life. There is a place for sadder material, for sure, but on this listen, I think Anglicana overdoes it. In London So Fair continues that theme, but is far more interesting for me because it is a live delivery and the backing is a simple but melodic piano piece. Still too long though.
The album closes with Willow Tree, which is actually the tune I most associate with this album; its the one that I can hear in my head when I see the cover image. The rest of the material here never created a strong association with the album when heard on shuffle, but this tune did. Amusingly the tune itself is different enough from my recollection of it to make me smile wryly. It's a more upbeat tune though and a welcome change of tone to end on.
Overall? I am not a huge fan of this album. All of it is decent, but it struggles for pacing and too many laments make it hard to listen through in full. The three longer tracks pump up the running time and all in all I think it is better enjoyed piecemeal where Carthy's talents can shine then be replaced by something that picks up the mood or otherwise counterbalances. I am not cutting any tracks here - I can see enough in each individual track for the right circumstance to make it welcome - but I can also say with some certainty that I will never sit down to listen to Anglicana right through again.
Worcester City (I keep forgetting Worcester is a city) is a more vibrant tune than I remember. There is something life affirming about the fiddle/melodeon combination that makes it very easy for me to see how it survived into the thriving modern folk scene. The tune is a little more raucous than I would like (too many musicians, I think) but it is enjoyable enough. The vibrancy ebbs away though, in favour of a slow, low song without enough depth of arrangement or lyrical interest to hold full attention in a good example of how Carthy's music can go from captivating to just there in the background. The song itself is sung nicely, played proficiently but just... lacking - and at 8 minutes long, the tide was flowing for far longer than it should have.
Limbo is an enjoyable track, but I think I prefer Ruth Notman's version which has a bit more tempo and accompaniment. Then we dip into more stereotypical folk - a staccato accordion piece with a gypsy theme. It is a little twee for my taste, though it is accomplished in delivery. I am coming to the conclusion that this album, as acclaimed as it was, is not really for me... or is it?
The dance tune set could have come off a Spiers and Boden album and so moves closer to my taste in folk. This is partly because both are playing (the backing musicians on the disc are different from track to track), as they are on Pretty Ploughboy which shares a style with some of their songs. It is these intersections where I find Carthy most pleasant on this disc - trusted hands and all that. It makes me wonder a little about how the arrangements were set up, and whether the similarities are because John and Jon had influence here, or because Eliza was a major influence on them. At the point this was released, Spiers and Boden had released one album as a duo already, but the sound here is more reminiscent of their later material and the credits point to Carthy so I guess the latter is more true.
I like her voice, and admire her drive, diversity and talent, but sometimes I find Eliza Carthy very flat indeed. Bold Privateer is just... not quite there in the same way that her version of Limbo was too dead to be a favourite; the exaggerated length (7 minutes) just emphasises the lack of arrangement, and whilst the fiddle/guitar combo works there is just not quite enough life to the tune. Dr McMBE is her one original tune on this disc, played with her father Martin on guitar. Again the composition of the track is missing something. It tends to lament, and there is a lack of energy as a result. Personally I find folk music much stronger when it plays up the celebratory roots of tradition or has a touch more life. There is a place for sadder material, for sure, but on this listen, I think Anglicana overdoes it. In London So Fair continues that theme, but is far more interesting for me because it is a live delivery and the backing is a simple but melodic piano piece. Still too long though.
The album closes with Willow Tree, which is actually the tune I most associate with this album; its the one that I can hear in my head when I see the cover image. The rest of the material here never created a strong association with the album when heard on shuffle, but this tune did. Amusingly the tune itself is different enough from my recollection of it to make me smile wryly. It's a more upbeat tune though and a welcome change of tone to end on.
Overall? I am not a huge fan of this album. All of it is decent, but it struggles for pacing and too many laments make it hard to listen through in full. The three longer tracks pump up the running time and all in all I think it is better enjoyed piecemeal where Carthy's talents can shine then be replaced by something that picks up the mood or otherwise counterbalances. I am not cutting any tracks here - I can see enough in each individual track for the right circumstance to make it welcome - but I can also say with some certainty that I will never sit down to listen to Anglicana right through again.
No comments:
Post a Comment