Produced as a companion CD to the 2007 book
The Folk Handbook: Working with Songs from the English Tradition
, this disc presents performances of 17
traditional
English songs, seven of which were recorded specifically for the album. The range of performers is wide, and in fact not all of them are English; the CD leads off with a version of
"Barbara Allen"
by
Lucy Wainwright Roche
, and American veteran
Tom Paxton
contributes
"The Banks of Sweet Primroses."
Some of the esteemed stalwarts of the
British folk
scene you'd expect to find on a comp like this are here, like
Robin Williamson
(in a duet with
Bina Williamson
),
Barry Dransfield
,
Jacqui McShee
, and
Shirley Collins
(whose 1974 performance of
"Adieu to Old England"
is the only track not recorded shortly before this anthology). There's plenty of younger blood here as well, however, along with a rendition of
"Pleasant and Delightful"
Noel Harrison
-- yes, he is a folk musician, though he's more known in the States for his role in the TV series
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
. As befits the oft-somber material, these recordings are on the stark and tasteful side, usually oriented toward sparse acoustic instrumentation (and sometimes sung
a cappella
). It's not all acoustic guitar-dominated, though those are the arrangements heard more often than not;
Serafina Steer
accompanies herself on harp, for instance, and the
Robin & Bina Williamson
cut has the
gypsy
feel you'd expect given
's background and the actual title of the number (
"The Little Gypsy Girl"
). The album is a dignified and artful illustration of a significant slice of the English
repertoire, with thorough liner notes explaining the backgrounds of the songs and performers. ~ Richie Unterberger