Kate Rusby
Album: 20
Label: Island
Tracks: 20
Website: http://www.katerusby.com

This is a rather special album. It celebrates Kate Rusby's first twenty years of making music.However, it is not just a compilation album,it is much more than that.

It would have been easy enough to simply put out a "Best Of" album but Kate has not chosen the easy option but a far more satisfying one. What Kate and husband Damien O'Kane have done is to have selected nineteen of Kate's favourite songs [plus one new song] and recorded them with with some very special guests from the worlds of British folk [ Nic Jones, Dick Gaughan, Richard Thompson, Bob Fox, Dave Burland and Jim Causley], rock [ Paul Weller, Eddi Reader, Paul Brady, Philip Selway [Radiohead] and Stephen Fretwell] and Americana [Jerry Douglas, Sarah Jarosz, Sarah Watkins, Chris Thile and Mary Chapin Carpenter].

As if this was not enough, Island Records have decided to use this album to resurrect their famous, much-loved " Island Pink" label, which was originally home to some truly classic albums by the likes of Fairport Convention, Nick Drake, John Martyn and Fotheringay, not to mention Traffic, Jethro Tull,Free, King Crimson and Cat Stevens and so on. It is somehow fitting that this label should be revived for Kate's album as she has done much to bring authentic folk music to a wider audience, much in the same way that the likes of Fairport and their Island label mates did in the late 1960's. The Guardian accurately described Kate as a "Superstar of the British acoustic scene ".

This album is also a canny move from a marketing point of view as even die-hard Kate Rusby fans [myself included] will want to buy it because the new versions of the old songs are substantially different from the originals.

Before hearing the album, I was fearful that the superstar guests would somehow overshadow Kate's performances but I am happy to report that this is not the case. In the words of the late Kenny Everett "Everything is done in the best possible taste".

There are too many highlights to mention but my personal favourites include a gorgeous "Sho Heen" with Eddi Reader and the incomparable Jerry Douglas on dobro; " Annan Waters " which features one of my favourite singers, Bob Fox and "The Lark", on which it is really great to hear the wonderful Nic Jones singing harmony with Kate.

The one new song, "Sun Grazers", features Paul Weller who duets beautifully with Kate - it's hard to believe it's the same person who sang "In The City" with The Jam!

A particularly poignant moment comes with "Bitter Boy", a song that Kate wrote for her late Uncle Stan who passed away unexpectedly, just two weeks after his mother died.

In conclusion, this album comes highly recommended. If you are new to Kate's music, this is an excellent place to start. If you are already a fan, you will love these new versions.

Peter Cowley