Ashes and Diamonds

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Total Tracks: 11   Total Length: 43:50

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Steve Hochman

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Steve Hochman has been a music critic since he was 7 -- when the Beatles came to America -- but didn't turn pro until he was 27. He covered pop music for the L....more »

04.22.11
One of the most remarkable voices in English folk music.
1989 | Label: Topic / IODA

Tabor's husky, earthy voice stands as one of the most remarkable instruments in English folk music — seemingly able to capture and convey the sorrows and struggles of centuries in just a word or two. And with her 1977 second album — along with her debut Airs and Graces and her Silly Sisters teamings with Steeleye Span's Maddy Prior — she established herself among the field's elite alongside Prior, Sandy Denny and Shirley Collins. Arrangements run the gamut from the playful, a cappella "The Devil and Bailiff McGlynn" (with a Carthy-like staggered cadence) to ace guitar backing by Nic Jones to the almost country-rock band on Eric Bogle's "Now I'm Easy," though Bogle's haunted returning soldier tale "No Man's Land" is the emotional triumph. And yes, Jon Gillaspie's synth backing on "Lisbon" sounds dated today, but still makes for tasteful, atmospheric accompaniment to the melancholy tale and Tabor's broken-soul delivery.

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stunning

SmileyinFesserton

June Tabor's voice is stunning in it's emotional intensity...No Man's Land is worth the whole album. I hope it stays in my children's memories as it did for me hearing it growing up...not to mention its message.

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They Say All Media Guide

There’s not a single June Tabor album that isn’t worth owning, and this one is as worthy as any other. That said, “Reynard the Fox” didn’t really need a phase-shifted synth accompaniment (note the recording date), and the line “A whole generation that were butchered and damned” doesn’t need any more brutality in its delivery than is already contained in its imagery. But that’s exactly two mistakes in the course of 44 minutes, and you’ll forget them instantly at the sound of her calm, ironic assurance on “Streets of Forbes” and “Now I’m Easy.” And if she makes “I’ll kiss your mouth ten thousand times” sound a bit more like a threat than a promise on “Lord Maxwell’s Last Goodnight,” think of it as further evidence of her artistic depth — any moppet could have delivered that line as sensual promise. The drums on “Now I’m Easy” are as perfect as the synth was inappropriate on “Reynard the Fox,” by the way, and so is Nic Jones’ guitar everywhere it appears. – Rick Anderson

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