Various Artists
Album: Hail Be You Sovereigns, Lief And Dear
Label: Cold Spring
Tracks: 15 + 15
Website: http://coldspring.co.uk

Before getting into the review proper, a couple of quick ones. One of the artists that appears on this compilation is one of the regular Fatea reviewers, David Kidman, but as we've reviewed a number of the releases from Coldspring that he doesn't appear on, I'm happy to press on. The other is more of a comment, this has been out for a while and I've been playing and enjoying it quite a bit, the only thing is, as pointed out to me recently, I'd not actually got around to writing the review, doh!

Coldspring have released dark folk compilations before, most notably "John Barleycorn" and as a genre, folk has got more than its fair share of rich gothic tales, murdered lovers, slaughtered innocents and guilty, people that come to bad ends generally, which combined with modern recording techniques that allow todays artists the opportunity to ramp up the atmosphere in a way their predecessors couldn't, even when using exactly the same instrumentation.

"Hail Be You Sovereigns, Lief And Dear" is an album to be listened to and by that I mean, sat down with and time spent appreciating the narrative. That said like all albums it's not just about the one element, it's also the way those songs are brought to you. The cyclic nature of songs performed in the round, the simple elements of plain song, the folk orchestra elements of songs that might not have found their way into a minstrels' gallery would certainly have found their way into the pub afterwards.

As well as the dark and gory, "Hail Be You Sovereigns, Lief And Dear" also reflects the nature of our relationship with folklore, with the spirit world and the faye. Across the two cds are a fair number of tales that draw on the tales that have fascinated for so many years that the original, if it was ever written down has long since passed.

Adding to the atmosphere across the cds is a disproportionate number of drone instruments giving the songs a certain resonance upon which to build the more intricate. As you would expect with this sort of compilation, you'll find a number of the songs familiar, even if you don't always recognise them by the name listed on the sleeve notes.

"Hail Be You Sovereigns, Lief And Dear" is not only a collection of great songs, it's a collection of great performers, solo artists, duos, bands to bring them together. Coldspring work hard to pull these collections and it's easy for you to reap the rewards of those efforts.

Neil King