Pressworks - WA78.DTP - Devon Folk

ReviewsWAGERDr. Faustus Fellside FECD 189Bring four individually highly respected youngsingers and musicians together to give a newslant to traditional ballads, add a couple oforiginal compositions and you have the essenceof Dr Faustus.On their debut album, though very good, Ifeltthat the quartet were still experimenting to findthe best combination of their talents. On theirlatest CD, there's still some experimentation butgenerally amuch more cohesive feeling in thepresentation. The opening track, BroomfieldWager, already asubstantial ballad, is quite amarathon, and demonstrates particularly well theblending of voices and instrumental for maximumdramatic effect. It's good also to hear moreuse of the voices in harmony.The songs generally are given the full instrumentalbacking and interludes, which, though possiblyirritating the purist, certainly gives addedinterest. Ididn't find the accompaniment distractingor intrusive. There are ten good tracks on thealbum, with Lord Ellenwater, acomposite versionof an epic ballad, and 'The Shepherd's Song'from the Gardiner collection being particularlyworthy of note.Tim Van Eyken, Benji Kirkpatrick, Paul Sartinand Robert Harbron bring an exciting approachto English traditional material as Dr Faustus.(Available from:Fellside RecordingsLtd, P.O. Box 40,WORKINGTON,Cumbria, CA14 3GJ01900 61566info@fellside.comwww.fellside.com).Colin AndrewsSounds Direct advertFLOATINGVERSES WGS322CDMary Humphries &AnahataFollowing in the footsteps of their two previousalbums, Mary & Anahata again serve up adelightful selection of traditional English songsand tunes researched and culled from avariety ofmanuscripts and collections. Always on the lookout for less familiar versions of a well-knownsong or an unusual but appealing tune, theirmaterial, well-supported by detailed sleevenotes, never lacks interest.The accompaniments on cello, melodeon andanglo concertina from Anahata perfectly complementMary's voice, which carries the samewarmth and feeling for the songs that sheexpresses in live performances. Ican honestlysay that there are no tracks which fail to appealto me, but the first and final songs, Green GrowThe Laurel and If IWere ABlackbird ,epitomiseMary's unique style and quality. Iparticularlylike Anahata's cheeky interposing of Morristunes between the verses of The Prickly Bush -not an obvious partnership! Though accompanyingherself on banjo on some songs, theinstrumentals feature Mary on English concertinaalong with Anahata's melodeon in amedleyof 3/2 hornpipes (one composed by Purcell) andaselection of other hornpipes influenced in partby playing for Molly Dancing in their EastAnglian home -all great to listen to, and arealchallenge for lesser melodeon players to copy.Once again, congratulations to WildGoose and toMary &Anahata for producing amost enjoyableCD.Colin AndrewsAny folk websitesofinterest?Please let usknow,so we can pass onthe details toothers.41PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com