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DVDfever.co.uk – James Yorkston & The Big Eyes Family Players: Folk Songs CD reviewElly Roberts reviews
Domino Records
- Released: August 2009
- Rating: 8/10
- Vote and comment on this album:View Comments
Former Fence Collective founder goes trad.
Not only is James Yorkston a writer of great original songs, hes also a master interpreter of traditional folk songs. Hes also a pretty hot live act, which I witnessed at Central Station Wrexham a few years ago.Here he teams up with The Big Eyes Family Players (players hes met on his many travels apparently getting one of their CDs at a gig) to unleash material from the length and breadth of Britain and Ireland, and one from Galicia, in north west Spain.
The 11 re-workings of popular folk songs, which hed been planning since 2000/1 prove that Yorkston is still on top of his game, and one thing that never ceases with the Scotsman is, his deadpan vocal accounts. For sometime hed been listening to songs on cassettes and CDs by luminaries of the genre like Anne Briggs, Shirley Collins, Jean Richie, Nic Jones, Eliza Carthy and Nancy Kerr, with many of them coming from the 60s folk revival. Some have been adapted or tweaked to Yorkstons preferences, so no harm done there.It has to be said he hasnt sonically chosen the most uplifting of songs, with a sombre mood streaming through the much of the collection, such as longing and sadness found on Just As The Tide Was Flowing (lyrics 19th Century, tune dating back further).
Some are perkier than others like I Went To Visit The Roses and slightly less so, but equally as fascinating, as the Spanish instrumental piece with gorgeous gypsy-like violin, and the (almost) frenetic Irish shuffle of Mary Connaught & James ODonnell with Yorkston writing a new melody and arrangement.
The gentle opening instrumental sequence instantly transports you back to a time way back, soon followed by Yorkstons plaintive singing while the instruments tinkle away on the this sublime Anne Briggs classic, (about hunting a hare) originally from Northern Ireland circa 1770 with attributed authorship to James Sloan of Ballyrock. He recorded a bluegrass breakdown version of Thorneymoor Woods for Radio 3s Late Junction, whereas hes gone for a more sedate and more indigenous cut here.
Messing with the melody again, he does a beguiling and tender cover of the 16th century Little Musgrove, probably the top cover on the collection absolutely gorgeous with swooning violin sweeps.Another hes changed the melody a wee bit for is the fantastic Rufford Park Poachers, with the interesting inclusion of a pedal steel ghosting the background.
Closer, Low Down In The Broom, was an afterthought rattled out quickly, and a belting way to close an stupendous compilation.
The Verdict Classy album.
Weblinks:jamesyorkston.co.uk /dominorecordco.com
The full list of tracks included are :
1. Hills Of Greenmoor
2. Just As The Tide Was Flowing
3. Martinmas Time
4. Mary Connaught & James ODonnell
5. Thorneymoor Woods
6. I Went To Visit The Roses
7. Pandeirada de Entrimo
8. Little Musgrave
9. Rufford Park Poachers
10. Sovay
11. Low Down In The BroomView the discussion thread.blog comments powered by Disqus= 0) {query += ‘url’ + i + ‘=’ + encodeURIComponent(links[i].href) + ‘&’;}}document.write(”);})();//]]]]>]]>
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.