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(Virgin/EMI) 4 stars Bob Dylan has inspired generations of musos, from Joan Baez and the Grateful Dead to Bryan Ferry, whose first effort was a soulful 1973 version of ‘A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall’. Since then the elegant Brit has added occasional Zimmerman staples to what he terms his “ready-mades’’ – including two on 2002’s […]
Archive for the ‘FOLK’ Category
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Diamond Days – Eric Bibb | CD
June 13th, 2012 
admin (ABC/WEA) 4 stars Cool and urbane, Eric Bibb is the 21st-century folk-blues troubadour. More salon than saloon singer, Bibb is the son of a New York folk singer/actor and as a kid he mixed with the likes of Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, Odetta and jazzman John Lewis (his uncle). His godfather was Paul Robeson and […]
Harry Smith Project: Anthology of American Folk Music Revisited – Various artists | CD/DVD review
June 4th, 2012 admin (Shout Factory/Shock) 5 stars The sheer wealth of material alone on this splendid boxed set is worth a five-star rating. Two CDs, two DVDs and a 40-page booklet are all dedicated to the work of Harry Smith, whose original seminal folk `Anthology’, released on Folkways in 1952, helped transform the American musical landscape.
I’m Your Man – Leonard Cohen/Various artists (soundtrack CD)
June 4th, 2012 admin (Verve Forecast) 4.5 stars Leonard Cohen’s songs get under your skin. Although he’s no great singer – Cohen freely admits it – and his melodies often tread well-worn paths, those lyrics are wickedly seductive and drolly self-deprecating.
Modern Times – Bob Dylan | CD review
June 4th, 2012 admin (Columbia) 4.5 stars Despite its title – or perhaps perversely – `Modern Times’ is rooted in American traditional music, continuing in style and mood where Dylan left off on 1997’s `Time Out of Mind’ and 2001’s `Love and Theft’. Another stripped-back, loosely structured self-production (under his Jack Frost pseudonym) and backed by the “never-ending’’ tour […]
Adieu False Heart – Linda Ronstadt-Ann Savoy | CD review
June 4th, 2012 admin (Vanguard) 4.5 stars Linda Ronstadt’s vintage voice has ripened and matured over the years into a rich, expressive instrument and on the beguiling `Adieu False Heart’, she found a kindred spirit in Cajun folkie Ann Savoy. Dubbing themselves The Zozo Sisters, the duo first combined on Vanguard’s excellent 2002 compilation `Evangeline Made: A Tribute to […]
1000 Years of Popular Music – Richard Thompson | CD/DVD review
June 4th, 2012 admin (Cooking Vinyl DVD/2CD) 4 stars Richard Thompson’s `1000 Years of Popular Music’ is an inspired DVD/CD concert set. Apart from RT’s delicious spoken intros to each song (but on the DVD only) the diversity of this collection intrigues. Playboy magazine asked musos to select 10 favourite songs of the millennium, but Thompson took them literally […]
We Shall Overcome: Seeger Sessions – Bruce Springsteen | CD/DVD review
June 3rd, 2012 admin (Columbia CD plus separate video disc) 5 stars This affectionate tribute to folk legend Pete Seeger (who’d just turned 87 at time of first publication) is a joyous celebration of the genre’s hootenanny tradition. As Bruce Springsteen remarks in the 30-minute video segment on the DualDisc (much better value, with its bonus material, than the […]
The Waking Hour – David Francey | CD review
June 3rd, 2012 admin (Red House/Shock) 4 stars Scots-born and Canadian-raised, David Francey is one of the best things to happen to folk music in the past decade. On `The Waking Hour’ Francey’s introspective, emotionally-charged songs exert a powerful spell, backed on assorted guitars and other stringed instruments by Nashville pros Kieran Kane, Kevin Welch and Fats Kaplin (with […]
Lookaftering – Vashti Bunyan | CD review
June 3rd, 2012 admin (Inertia) 4.5 stars TIRED of the rock assault on your senses, on TV, radio, in shops and even on phone switchboards? Then this charmingly ethereal CD may provide solace. It arrived in my mailbox just a day after I had been playing some old Nick Drake albums.
