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| Track list: 1. Cold Haily Rainy Night - The Imagined Village 2. Hug Air A Bhonaid Mhoir - Julie Fowlis 3. The Big Man Set - John McCusker 4. Felton Lonnin - Rachel Unthank & The Winterset 5. Unity (Raise Your Banners High) - John Tams & Barry Coope 6. Pulse - Joe Townsend & Martin Green 7. Jack Common's Anthem - Jez Lowe 8. Three Black Feathers - Bella Hardy 9. Oliver's And Two Beers - Blowzabella Featuring Andy Cutting 10. Blacksmith - Lisa Knapp Running time: 47 minutes Released: 2008 |
Now we enter the first run where I
am likely to play with the order of my posts: a number of BBC Folk Awards
albums. I like to think I listen to a fair bit of folk, but I rarely
found myself branching out to recordings from those on these discs, more
liking the ones I already knew about. I
also seem to have an odd listing of these discs - I have 2 for 2011, 3
for 2013 and 1 for 2014 but none for 2012. But we start with the first of three from 2008, though I have nothing between then and 2011. It is a madhouse of
disorganisation, so I'll fit them in as and where I see fit from here on I think.
I am pretty certain that I had Cold Haily Rainy Night from The Imagined Village's eponymous album before this. I remember seeing them do this piece on Jools Holland and buying the album almost immediately, then loving it for a bit. Chris Wood Eliza and Martin Carthy are the leading lights on this one, but other contributors to that project included Tunng and Billy Bragg. The lineup later changed but the later releases did not agree with me so much. This is a strident piece blending Indian strings and backing with a very British stand and deliver vocal. It has a nice roll to it, and the beat sustains it nicely. I do not need it twice though so this one can go. The next song is one of my favourite folk tunes. Julie Fowlis' bright, pacey delivery of this Gaelic tune just makes me smile. I do not understand a word of it, and I suspect if I did it would not sound so magical. Again, I have it elsewhere (on Cuilidh) and do not need to keep this version too. Really nice playing, fantastic voice and a pace to make you want to spin about though... lovely.
I do not know the next tune, but I recognise McCusker by name. The levels on this recording seem wrong, with the fiddle so loud as to drown out its accompaniment which lends it an overly harsh edge, at least in the first tune in the set. It seems silly to criticise the star for wanting the stage, but there is taking the stage and frightening others into the shadows and that first tune verges on the latter for me. It then improves a lot as the next tune kicks in. I have to say I generally prefer it when tune sets are listed with all their titles though, because it helps identify the same pieces by different musicians. The tone changes then as a song from The Bairns which I listened to recently is included. Another to go for duplication and I have to admit to a strong temptation to skip on here. That is against the spirit of the project though, so I do not, though I do rather space out. It is a long track, and relatively recently heard. The intro/outro does make me think of Careless Whisper though, probably because I was pointed to an odd version of it today on G+:
Now we come to three in a row that mean nothing to me - not the artist names, nor the songs. Genuine surprises in store, perhaps. Unity does not strike me as folk really. I can see why it counts and I am far from a purist in this regard, but it reminds me more of Van Morrison than anything else, then something else that I cannot put my finger on. I am not taken with the song though. It falls into a decent enough outro, but everything that preceded it gave me a "meh" reaction so I think I will pass. Pulse starts interestingly, plucked strings and a dark wandering theme... but the interest is lost when it does not go anywhere in good time. I keep expecting a track to start but instead it is permanently stuck on intro mode. If I were a proper writer I would chuck in an acerbic simile here but instead I explain what I would do were I better at this. Brief flashes of interest do spark later in the piece but it really feels like an unfulfilled promise, hanging open and dirtying the air between once-friends. Oh did I find a simile? It is cut like a ribbon at a ceremonial opening.
Jez Lowe's effort is much more recognisable. Acoustic strumming, light singer/songwriter fare with a Celtic air to it which makes me think of The Waterboys. Light and forgettable, but totally pleasant, it would be much more effective in a live performance - but then so much music is. I think it is particularly true of folk though. Bella Hardy disappointed me when I picked up her debut; yes she was young and yes she wrote Three Black Feathers but I far prefer Jim Moray's version of the song, and Ruth Notman's debut at a similar age captured me more. Here the accompaniment (primarily a harp, I think?) is too sparse for me. This goes because I have it elsewhere, and it may go again when I get to that but I will re-assess at that point. I think that this next track was responsible for possibly one of my worst purchasing decisions. Oliver's and Two Beers is a pleasantly raucous tune that has a decent melody and a nice buzz to it. The Blowzabella album I picked up on the back of it (a rare case of using these awards gubbins as a sampler) was pretty bad, so much so that I cannot remember the name to bold it and set up for a future link. Actually I think I might get rid of this, it is not so enticing 6-plus years on when I have had more folk exposure and bad experiences. This collection is looking very thin after I get through with it. The final tune here is by Lisa Knapp and again I have it elsewhere on Wild and Undaunted which, whilst I can bold it ahead of a link, may never get linked because W is a very long way away indeed. I love Knapp's voice, her breathy style and this song shows it off nicely without being a favourite of mine (that would be the title track from Wild and Undaunted, which I can listen to on repeat for a long while quite happily).
I am left with two tracks here - McCusker (because the second tune in the set rescued it) and Lowe. Everything else underwhelmed or is owned elsewhere. I wonder if the other BBC Folk Awards albums will get quite so gutted?
I am pretty certain that I had Cold Haily Rainy Night from The Imagined Village's eponymous album before this. I remember seeing them do this piece on Jools Holland and buying the album almost immediately, then loving it for a bit. Chris Wood Eliza and Martin Carthy are the leading lights on this one, but other contributors to that project included Tunng and Billy Bragg. The lineup later changed but the later releases did not agree with me so much. This is a strident piece blending Indian strings and backing with a very British stand and deliver vocal. It has a nice roll to it, and the beat sustains it nicely. I do not need it twice though so this one can go. The next song is one of my favourite folk tunes. Julie Fowlis' bright, pacey delivery of this Gaelic tune just makes me smile. I do not understand a word of it, and I suspect if I did it would not sound so magical. Again, I have it elsewhere (on Cuilidh) and do not need to keep this version too. Really nice playing, fantastic voice and a pace to make you want to spin about though... lovely.
I do not know the next tune, but I recognise McCusker by name. The levels on this recording seem wrong, with the fiddle so loud as to drown out its accompaniment which lends it an overly harsh edge, at least in the first tune in the set. It seems silly to criticise the star for wanting the stage, but there is taking the stage and frightening others into the shadows and that first tune verges on the latter for me. It then improves a lot as the next tune kicks in. I have to say I generally prefer it when tune sets are listed with all their titles though, because it helps identify the same pieces by different musicians. The tone changes then as a song from The Bairns which I listened to recently is included. Another to go for duplication and I have to admit to a strong temptation to skip on here. That is against the spirit of the project though, so I do not, though I do rather space out. It is a long track, and relatively recently heard. The intro/outro does make me think of Careless Whisper though, probably because I was pointed to an odd version of it today on G+:
Now we come to three in a row that mean nothing to me - not the artist names, nor the songs. Genuine surprises in store, perhaps. Unity does not strike me as folk really. I can see why it counts and I am far from a purist in this regard, but it reminds me more of Van Morrison than anything else, then something else that I cannot put my finger on. I am not taken with the song though. It falls into a decent enough outro, but everything that preceded it gave me a "meh" reaction so I think I will pass. Pulse starts interestingly, plucked strings and a dark wandering theme... but the interest is lost when it does not go anywhere in good time. I keep expecting a track to start but instead it is permanently stuck on intro mode. If I were a proper writer I would chuck in an acerbic simile here but instead I explain what I would do were I better at this. Brief flashes of interest do spark later in the piece but it really feels like an unfulfilled promise, hanging open and dirtying the air between once-friends. Oh did I find a simile? It is cut like a ribbon at a ceremonial opening.
Jez Lowe's effort is much more recognisable. Acoustic strumming, light singer/songwriter fare with a Celtic air to it which makes me think of The Waterboys. Light and forgettable, but totally pleasant, it would be much more effective in a live performance - but then so much music is. I think it is particularly true of folk though. Bella Hardy disappointed me when I picked up her debut; yes she was young and yes she wrote Three Black Feathers but I far prefer Jim Moray's version of the song, and Ruth Notman's debut at a similar age captured me more. Here the accompaniment (primarily a harp, I think?) is too sparse for me. This goes because I have it elsewhere, and it may go again when I get to that but I will re-assess at that point. I think that this next track was responsible for possibly one of my worst purchasing decisions. Oliver's and Two Beers is a pleasantly raucous tune that has a decent melody and a nice buzz to it. The Blowzabella album I picked up on the back of it (a rare case of using these awards gubbins as a sampler) was pretty bad, so much so that I cannot remember the name to bold it and set up for a future link. Actually I think I might get rid of this, it is not so enticing 6-plus years on when I have had more folk exposure and bad experiences. This collection is looking very thin after I get through with it. The final tune here is by Lisa Knapp and again I have it elsewhere on Wild and Undaunted which, whilst I can bold it ahead of a link, may never get linked because W is a very long way away indeed. I love Knapp's voice, her breathy style and this song shows it off nicely without being a favourite of mine (that would be the title track from Wild and Undaunted, which I can listen to on repeat for a long while quite happily).
I am left with two tracks here - McCusker (because the second tune in the set rescued it) and Lowe. Everything else underwhelmed or is owned elsewhere. I wonder if the other BBC Folk Awards albums will get quite so gutted?
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