Kim Beggs
Album: Beauty And Breaking
Label: Out Of A Paper Bag
Tracks: 15
Website: http://www.kimbeggs.com

Kim Beggs is one of a long line of new names to me in recent months; a folk singer hailing from Yukon in Canada.

Fifteen tracks is very generous on a CD these days, and I have to admit this led me to have mixed expectations. What a surprise then, to discover that none of those fifteen tracks feels like mere filler music.

Thirteen were penned by Beggs, one, Moonshiner, is traditional and Chemin de Rondin/Corduroy Road was co written with a writer named Leith Hill.

Immediately striking is the quality of the musicianship; there are more guest musicians on this release than I could even attempt to list, but what a talented bunch they are. Kim's exquisite vocals slip in like a hot knife through butter, complementing their efforts beautifully.

I found there to be something quite refreshing about this collection; not least in offering GS such as Not Only, Only From the Whiskey and the intriguingly titled Not A Mermaid Song.

Unusually for those musicians out there, the booklet also includes chords for each song.

Certainly a CD I will come back to from an artist I will be watching out for.

Helen Mitchell