Various Artists
Album: Wrecks, Rucks, Riots & Resurrection (Songs And Tunes From The Leigh Folk Festival 2012)
Label: Thames Delta
Tracks: 23
Website: http://www.leighfolkfestival.com

The long-running Leigh Folk Festival celebrates its 21st anniversary this year by expanding its already impressively eclectic musical mix of tradition and modernity even further. It gives itself the best possible advance publicity by following its customary practice of releasing a generously-filled limited-edition taster-cum-souvenir CD that delivers music from many of its participating artists (this time 20 are represented). And it goes without saying that the quality is uniformly excellent, and the sequencing is both satisfying and fulfilling throughout the course of the disc's 74 minutes, so boredom never really gets the chance to set in.

This year's disc continues in the approved tradition of the series by focusing on giving exposure to performances from (for the most part) artists who don't tend to enjoy a higher folk-scene profile, wider promotion or mainstream coverage (which probably explains the absence of Mawkin and Jez Lowe from the CD even though they're key figures in the festival lineup). It also takes pride in sourcing a goodly proportion of its tracks from previously unreleased recordings - here, only eight are drawn from existing CD releases, and only one (Martin Carthy's, from his 2004 Topic release Waiting For Angels) could be termed widely or easily available although those by Blueflint and Lucky Strikes seem currently to be enjoying wider distribution. The "unreleased" category here includes some live recordings (those by Gilmore & Roberts and Rattle On The Stovepipe for instance), but the sheer quality of the rest begs the inevitable question as to why so many of these artists haven't been accorded proper release status.

This year's menu kicks off its dusty trail in contemporary Americana territory with a fine piece of songwriting by K.C. Mackanzie, then veers back to the tradition with said Mr. Carthy's epic Child ballad (James Hatley) and an uncharacteristic Alasdair Roberts item (a deft rendition of an Irish jig) which leads us neatly onwards to Simon J. Onions' tribute to John Fahey. The alluring yet contrasting voices of Nancy Wallace, Kate Denny and Roshi form a cannily complementary triptych, after which the disc moves more left-field for Matthew Boulter's thought-provoking Once I Was A Blackbird and Darren Hayman's expansive One Tree Island (the only selection on the disc that marginally outstays its welcome for me). The epic tale of the Vergulde Draeck is retold by The Doomed Bird Of Providence in a shattered style that's a little reminiscent of David Thomas/Père Ubu, after which Burton Bradstock's curiously convincing bebop treatment of John Barleycorn comes as quite a surprise. Owl Service offshoot Greanvine (Diana Collier and Steven Collins) deliver an innovative adaptation of Charles Wesley's Idumea (from the Sacred Harp tradition) and Rosemary Lippard & Tim Graham a superlative account of the classic ballad Long Lankin; both are standout tracks (on the latter, I could almost swear I was hearing an early Eliza Carthy). Perhaps I was mildly disappointed by the offering from festival regulars Straw Bear Band, but as compensation another LFF stalwart, Jason Steel, turns in a stunning banjo-backed rendition of Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down to close the disc.

I've no hesitation, then, in definitely recommending this admirably-bargain-price disc, not least for its intoxicating air of discovery and its proud celebration of the diversity of folk music. It's an ideal sampler for the uniquely all-encompassing LFF itself, as you'll find if you can possibly get along to this transformed part of Essex for any part of its enterprising four-day tenure.

David Kidman