Various Artists
Album: Bob's Folk Show Live Sessions Vol.1
Label: Self Released
Tracks: 17
Website: https://www.facebook.com/bobsfolkshow

For those within the Radio Wey broadcast area or regular listeners via the internet, Bob's Folk Show needs no introduction, for the rest of you a quick introduction is probably appropriate.

Bob's Folk Show, hosted by Bob Meyer, is broadcast on Radio Wey between nine and eleven on a Tuesday evening and has become a bit of an underground hit, with an active facebook group of regular and new listeners. A key aspect of the show are the studio guests, who as well as engaging in a good batch of banter, get to play a goodly number of songs live on the show.

It can be real seats of the pants stuff, recording live, with no safety net, straight into the microphones in the studio, no mixing desk, just straight out to the listening world, any mistakes or flaws literally there for anyone to hear. More often than not what you get to hear is stunning and unique versions of songs in the artist's repertoire and it's these that get further distilled down for "Bob's Folk Show Live Sessions Vol.1" with the Vol.1 providing delightful hints that there may be more of these to come.

The set up in the studio is highly favourable of solo artists and duos and it's no coincidence that these dominate the album, but slightly larger combos have appeared both in the studio and on the album.

Whilst the show and the album include the word folk, it's used in its broadest context pretty much taking in the acoustic spectrum from country, blues and Americana at one end, through singer-songwriter through to a more traditional folk sound at the other, the consistent factor being the strength and beauty of the songs.

These are a unique collection of songs, recorded bare bones, the basic recording method giving the songs a real edge, so even if you've got these songs on the artists albums, you aren't going to listen to these in quite the same way.

As I went through the album I consistently found myself asking why the artists aren't already better known. Some like Josienne Clarke, Louise Jordan and Trent Miller are starting to achieve that recognition, others like Michelle Stodart and Pete Greenwood might already be considered there, but hopefully it won't be long before the like of Dylan Walshe, Keston Cobblers Club and the Kilcawley Family join them.

The album got a deserved allstar launch at the Betsey Trotswood, elsewhere on the site. Also worth mentioning that with a pound from every sale going back to Radio Wey, the album is also providing support to the organisation that made it possible.

Bob Meyer has collected together a great series of songs and here's fingers crossed that this is just the start of a series.

Neil King