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Great British Folk Festival
Venue: ButlinsTown: Skegness
Date: 2nd-4th December
Website: http://www.bigweekends.com
Album Reviews
Emily Smith And Jamie McLennan
Album:Adoon Winding Nith
Label:White Fall
Website:http://www.whitefallrecords.com
Being a Celt gives you the advantage of being able to write music for the words of your national bards and poets without being accused of capitulating with the right. And given that the words were either written by or documeted by Robert Burns that would be ridiculous any way. Emily Smith And Jamie McLennan have taken high quality source material and through their tunes and arrangements turned them into an album that the twenty first century should be glad to own. A fitting collection of songs from a great wordsmith and fantastic musicians.
Album:Adoon Winding Nith
Label:White Fall
Website:http://www.whitefallrecords.com
Being a Celt gives you the advantage of being able to write music for the words of your national bards and poets without being accused of capitulating with the right. And given that the words were either written by or documeted by Robert Burns that would be ridiculous any way. Emily Smith And Jamie McLennan have taken high quality source material and through their tunes and arrangements turned them into an album that the twenty first century should be glad to own. A fitting collection of songs from a great wordsmith and fantastic musicians.
Joe O'Donnell's Shkayla
Album:Celtic Cargo
Label:Sid Norris Recordings
Website:http://www.joe-odonnell.com
Joe O'Donnell played the Saturday afternoon with his fiddle conected to the sound system by a giant kettle lead. He played with such passion at times almost anger almost as though he wanted to wring every last note from the fiddle before he broke its neck. I'm happy to report "Celtic Cargo" captures much of that energy between the silvery grooves. Recorded with many of the musicians that joined Joe on stage, the album is a great collection of songs and tunes that capture a real fighting spirit, a man who often lets his heart rule his head to make great music.
Album:Celtic Cargo
Label:Sid Norris Recordings
Website:http://www.joe-odonnell.com
Joe O'Donnell played the Saturday afternoon with his fiddle conected to the sound system by a giant kettle lead. He played with such passion at times almost anger almost as though he wanted to wring every last note from the fiddle before he broke its neck. I'm happy to report "Celtic Cargo" captures much of that energy between the silvery grooves. Recorded with many of the musicians that joined Joe on stage, the album is a great collection of songs and tunes that capture a real fighting spirit, a man who often lets his heart rule his head to make great music.
Rusty Shackle
EP:Hounds Of Justice
Label:Self Released
Website:http://www.rustyshackle.co.uk
An unexpected, last minute replacements for the Outcast Band, hit at the twenty eleven Great British Folk Festival, Rusty Shackle stormed the Saturday night taking the audience partying towards the midnight hours. "Hounds Of Justice" provides all the clues to that success. There is a real swagger to their debut EP, it smacks of a band that know they've got something that sets them apart. There is a real positive vibe that comes up this release and I defy anyone not to feel better for the time spent listening to it, music to brighten your day, now there's a good idea.
EP:Hounds Of Justice
Label:Self Released
Website:http://www.rustyshackle.co.uk
An unexpected, last minute replacements for the Outcast Band, hit at the twenty eleven Great British Folk Festival, Rusty Shackle stormed the Saturday night taking the audience partying towards the midnight hours. "Hounds Of Justice" provides all the clues to that success. There is a real swagger to their debut EP, it smacks of a band that know they've got something that sets them apart. There is a real positive vibe that comes up this release and I defy anyone not to feel better for the time spent listening to it, music to brighten your day, now there's a good idea.
The Anthony John Clarke Band
Album:It's A Cover Up
Label:Self Released
Website:http://www.anthonyjohnclarke.co.uk
Playing as part of Fairport Connections, Anthony John Clarke, took just one song and two quipps to charm the audience into being his friends, singing along, laughing in all the right places and listening intently to the songs. Anthony John Clarke is a genuine entertainer, one with the ability to write genuinely witty songs that won't age or end up sounding cheesey. He is a spectacularly good observer of not only the here and now, but also the history of people and places. "It's A Cover Up" is a top way of getting into the man's extensive catalogue with profits going to the British Heart Foundation
Album:It's A Cover Up
Label:Self Released
Website:http://www.anthonyjohnclarke.co.uk
Playing as part of Fairport Connections, Anthony John Clarke, took just one song and two quipps to charm the audience into being his friends, singing along, laughing in all the right places and listening intently to the songs. Anthony John Clarke is a genuine entertainer, one with the ability to write genuinely witty songs that won't age or end up sounding cheesey. He is a spectacularly good observer of not only the here and now, but also the history of people and places. "It's A Cover Up" is a top way of getting into the man's extensive catalogue with profits going to the British Heart Foundation
Jane Taylor
Album:Compass
Label:Bicycle
Website:http://www.janetaylor.co.uk
Superseded by her very recently released "The Live Album", "Compass" is Jane Taylor's last studio album and arguably the album that firmly cemented her growing reputation as a writer, which had started with her debut album "Montpelier". "Compass" is the album that allows you to really engage with Jane Taylor and whilst it's not written as a conversation, there are times where you definitely feels like one as she appears to respond to the questions she has so cleverly put into your mind, the real art of the songwriters craft. Jane Taylor is a real wordsmith and backs it with melody.
Album:Compass
Label:Bicycle
Website:http://www.janetaylor.co.uk
Superseded by her very recently released "The Live Album", "Compass" is Jane Taylor's last studio album and arguably the album that firmly cemented her growing reputation as a writer, which had started with her debut album "Montpelier". "Compass" is the album that allows you to really engage with Jane Taylor and whilst it's not written as a conversation, there are times where you definitely feels like one as she appears to respond to the questions she has so cleverly put into your mind, the real art of the songwriters craft. Jane Taylor is a real wordsmith and backs it with melody.
Tansads
Album:Rough And Ready - The Early Tapes
Label:Voice Of Reason
Website:http://www.merryhell.co.uk
Ok, I know the Tansads didn't actually play on the Sunday night, that honour fell to Merry Hell whose album "Blink...And You'll Miss It" is reviewed elsewhere in this magazine. Merry Hell still have plenty of Tansads DNA in their veins and play a number of the old songs. Listening to "Up The Shirkers" brought it all back and if you have that youth to relive "Rough And Ready" will provide many of the prompts. Merry Hell satisfied the curiosity that got me to the gig. They've built hugely on the legacy and are a great festival band with a social conscience, they are the future, this history.
Album:Rough And Ready - The Early Tapes
Label:Voice Of Reason
Website:http://www.merryhell.co.uk
Ok, I know the Tansads didn't actually play on the Sunday night, that honour fell to Merry Hell whose album "Blink...And You'll Miss It" is reviewed elsewhere in this magazine. Merry Hell still have plenty of Tansads DNA in their veins and play a number of the old songs. Listening to "Up The Shirkers" brought it all back and if you have that youth to relive "Rough And Ready" will provide many of the prompts. Merry Hell satisfied the curiosity that got me to the gig. They've built hugely on the legacy and are a great festival band with a social conscience, they are the future, this history.
Great British Folk Festival 2011
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