Various Artists
Album: Songs For The Voiceless
Label: Haystack
Tracks: 10
Website: http://www.songsforthevoiceless.co.uk

It seems rather unfulfilling to label this album under 'various artists'. Featuring some of the UK's finest folk singers and musicians, the album is very much a collective effort to mark the upcoming centenary of the First World War. In fact the list of contributors is almost like a Who's Who of folk - bringing together some major award winners in Jon Boden and Bella Hardy alongside Kat Gilmore, Jamie Roberts, Ian Stephenson and The Young 'Uns, whose combined various projects are so copious, listing them would double the word count.

However, the project itself was the brainchild of Bright Season's Michael J Tinker whose idea to bring some of the stories of the Great War to a wider audience before the passing of time sees more and more of them fading and lost.

The ten tracks have all been inspired by the artists delving into stories, poems, diaries, memoirs and books and represent perspectives from soldiers to civilians and in locations from the villages to the trenches. The cover notes include a telling and heartfelt introduction from Jon Boden who also provides a bonus track in 'If You Want To See The General' from his Folk Song A Day project.

The Young 'Uns two contributions bookend the set in typical Young 'Uns fashion. The opening 'Theo Jones' sets the scene for the set perfectly, with Sean Cooney's story of the Headteacher of a village school setting off to enlist armed with a prayer book from his pupils and sung against a low drone and some mid song fiddle caresses. Yet in total contrast, they end the set with the unaccompanied "three true tales to raise a titter in the trenches" - it's typical of both the Stockton trio and the humour which the honest Tommy would find amidst such despair and tragedy.

Josienne Clarke's sparse arrangement on 'As The Dust Settles' is based on personal experience with her great grandfather being a member of the Scottish Rifles, whilst research into the period provided the material for both Bella Hardy's 'Jolly Good Luck To The Girl That Loves A Soldier' and Jamie Robert's 'Billy Green'. The latter, based on the diary entries of a soldier praying for the survival of one of his comrades as opposed to himself is an emotive piece which shows the compassion and benevolence of man to man.

'Harry and Nellie's First Dance', penned by Tom Oakes is another family tribute, on this occasion to his great grandparents and in particular Harry who survived the ordeal, returning home to marry Nellie in 1919. It's a bright melody played out on wooden flute and harmonium, reflecting the happier side, and perhaps the overwhelming relief too, of those who were fortunate enough to be reunited after the conflict.

This touching and poignant set is perhaps best summarised in Ian Stephenson's first ever song - 'Trenches'. Based on interviews with a WW1 veteran, it contrasts the initial enthusiasm of a young recruit to the disillusioned view from his time at the front, while touching on the controversial subject of conscientious objectors.

The whole set is overseen by the omnipresent Andy Bell who finds himself at the producer's helm again and alongside Sam Sweeney's 'Made In The Great War' set and the Show Of Hands fronted 'Words and Music Of The Great War', 'Songs For The Voiceless' adds both another dimension and a strong contribution from the folk scene to the centenary.

Mike Ainscoe