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Avg: 4.0 (82 ratings)
- Date Released: September 25, 2006
- Genre: Country/Folk
- Style: Traditional Folk
- Label: Westpark Music / Zebralution
It's probably no exaggeration to call this the most ambitious folk album ever made.
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We Say...
It's probably no exaggeration to call this the most ambitious folk album ever made. It's mad — an 11-piece band (fronted by the ubiquitous Spiers and Boden) with a taste for the adventurous, ranging from "Flash Company," which seems to take its cue from the wilder aspects of Tom Waits, to the relatively straightforward "Jordan," but all with a slight circus tinge (it's not called Burlesque for no reason). "Courting Too Slow" offers an almost-baroque delicacy and the shanty "Across the Line" loses its rhythmic emphasis to highlight a gorgeous melody by Brazilian singer-songwriter Milton Nascimento(!), while the brass on "One May Morning Early" takes its cue from Salvation Army bands. At times the band's reach exceeds its grasp — both "Flash Company" and "Death and the Lady" are unfocused and messy — but when you take chances, sometimes you miss. It might be a disc to be more admired than loved overall, but it's a starting point for a new folk direction.
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They Say...
If Tom Waits ever decided to make an album of traditional English folk, it might sound a little like Bellowhead, the folk big band. The aptly titled disc has a real circus quality to the sound, especially on the opener, "Rigs of the Time" and the more abstract "Flash Company," which make full use of the mix of brass and strings. But this very ambitious full-length debut takes in a great deal, from the ballad "Death and the Lady" to the more gospel-ish "Jordan" (actually a shanty tweaked a little) and some instrumentals, like "Sloe Gin" that have been expanded from their original form to sound very full (as well they might with an 11-piece group). "Courting Too Slow" is revisited from an early Spiers & Boden album, with Jon Boden showing just how his singing has improved, a mix of deep emotion and fairground barker. It's a record that's to be praised for the chances it takes -- they could have played it fairly safe and been praised as groundbreaking -- even though they don't all succeed. But even the failures, like the clumsy "Flash Company" are never less than interesting. Kudos to the producers, who bring clarity to a dense sound. This is a summation of the formation of this sound; where they take it will be the fascinating part.
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| 01. |  |
Rigs Of The Time |
3:58 |
|
| 02. | |
Jordan |
4:07 |
|
| 03. | |
Across The Line |
5:09 |
|
| 04. | |
London Town |
3:53 |
|
| 05. | |
Sloe Gin |
5:18 |
|
| 06. | |
Courting Too Slow |
6:09 |
|
| 07. | |
Flash Company |
3:10 |
|
| 08. | |
Hopkinson's Favourite |
3:56 |
|
| 09. | |
One May Morning Early |
2:50 |
|
| 10. | |
The Outlandish Knight |
7:03 |
|
| 11. | |
Frog's Legs & Dragon's Teeth |
4:53 |
|
| 12. | |
Fire Marengo |
4:02 |
|
| 13. | |
Death And The Lady |
5:44 |
|
13 Total Tracks, 60:12 Total Length
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