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Eliza Carthy & Jim MorayEliza Carthy & Jim Moray
Album: The Wayward Tour Live (CD/DVD)
Label: Scarlet
Tracks: 12+
Website: http://www.eliza-carthy.com
http://www.jimmoray.com

Sophie Parkes' 2013 book Wayward Daughter was a celebration of Eliza's achievements and immense contribution to the music scene (not just folk) over 20 years, through a frank and fearless exploration of her personality and philosophy; the resulting CD compilation of the same name cemented Eliza's status. Now comes a further celebration of Eliza's pivotal role in the renaissance of folk music, instigated this time by Eliza herself and reflecting her undying ambition to live life as part of the most healthy, creative scene on the planet. She had identified the (in his own way) similarly iconoclastic Jim Moray as a kindred spirit who over a (mere) ten-year career to date has undergone comparable trials and successes to those experienced by Eliza herself. She then invited Jim to be part of this celebratory project, taking musicians who had been with her since the beginning along with others that had worked with Jim, and bringing them all together to form one band. A 13-piece monster that would inevitably invite comparison with Bellowhead (whose Sam Sweeney is common to both ensembles).

For yes, Eliza, Jim and their assorted chums make a mighty noise, and of course both bands share the ability to turn traditional folk on its head, spin it round with world rhythms and beats and make it relevant to today and the global scene; they share a penchant for frightening the horses and flaunting preconceptions, a liking for lusty, bold treatments of shanties and hornpipes, and an overwhelming desire to party. The audience is stunned into submission - but in the nicest possible way; no prisoners are taken, and you can't argue with this magnificent combination of talents or with the incredible standard of performance that's been achieved by what amounts to a band convened for an "occasion" (albeit an occasion involving multi-date touring).

The recordings now being released on this DVD and companion CD emanate from two such tour dates, in Saltaire (Victoria Hall) and Islington, London (Union Chapel), I believe in June 2013 (tho' the booklet doesn't specify). The gigs capture both protagonists at a real artistic peak, stronger than ever I'd say, and clearly relishing every minute of the project. Abundant energy, allied to respect for the material, seriousness of intent and intelligence of execution, characterises these performances, and while they may not entail quite the same (slightly overblown) sense of exhibitionist theatrical spectacle of the approved Bellowhead model, there's no lack of conviction in the Carthy/Moray setup either - far from it. These guys all work together fabulously, and the unbridled, sheer-joyous expression of the music is a real treat, no exaggeration. Eliza is of course on brilliant form as ever, whether fiddling or singing (or both!), while Jim turns in some really persuasive singing and exceptional complementary musicianship.

The camerawork is close and involving, really taking you in there without being obtrusive or resorting to gimmicks or visual tricks, and admirably allowing due perspectives on the contributions of Eliza and Jim's colleagues. These comprise Sam Sweeney, Beth Porter, Lucy Farrell, Barnaby Stradling & Saul Rose (both veterans of Kings Of Calicutt), David Delarre (Mawkin), Willy Molleson (Peatbog Faeries), Andrew Waite, Laurence Hunt, Nick Malcolm and Adrien Toulouse, The set-list embraces material from all corners of Eliza's career to date, from the vibrancy of Cold Wet & Rainy Night and the wild, full-on calypso Good Morning Mr. Walker through to the ingenious and radical treatments of Adieu Adieu and Turpin Hero and along the way including a couple of obscurities, the self-penned shanty-style whaling song Great Grey Back (aka Dancing With Penguins!) and Rolling Sea (which Eliza had previously recorded for the Rogues' Gallery project).

The 55-minute DVD presents ten tracks in all, while the companion audio CD appends two further (bonus) tracks with an altogether sparser setting (for all that they were recorded on the same tour dates): these being the piano-backed Diego's Bold Shore and - best of all - Eliza's spine-tingling rendition of Mike Waterson's song Jack Frost (which first outed on the Waterson:Carthy Holy Heathens album).

David Kidman