Stellar modern
readings of traditional English, Scottish and Irish folk songs.
Featuring James Yorkston, Heather Ditch, Alasdair Roberts, Nancy
Elizabeth and more!
Currently residing in
Sheffield, The Big Eyes Family Players are loose collective centred
around James Green and his favoured core group of musicians. They
evolved from Green's previous Big Eyes project. In 2009 they released
Folk Songs,
a collection of old
English, Scottish and Irish folk tunes. Three years on and they're
releasing Folk Songs II, having drafted in a number of their
favourite singers to choose songs and sing on the record. Too often
folk albums are staid and boring affairs but this album has a
freshness about it, enough to re-ignite even the most jaded folkie's
love of traditional song.
The songs themselves
are proof of the rich folklore of these islands, countries which have
spawned music as mysterious and enticing as any incense filled
eastern temple. If that wasn't enough the treatments of these songs
is truly something special and despite the revolving door of
vocalists flows well as a collection. It's also a timely reminder
that there's more to our national identity than petty football
rivalries, TV soaps, and our love/hate relationship with the tabloid
press. It's difficult not to be stirred by these songs, such is their
deep resonance. The arrangements are irreverent and sprawling and as
such infuse the songs with the spirit and life they deserve.
Take for example
Greenland Bound, a whaling ballad sung here by Adrian Crowley. Its
tale of loneliness, hard work, danger and isolation from family and
friends is lent weight by the addition of distant whistling. Mary
Hampton and Sharron Kraus double up for vocals on A Man Indeed, a
song derived from an old English rhyme called Sandy Dawe to which
they've written a new melody. Fans of the original 1973 film The
Wicker Man (and who isn't!?) will love this track, along with pretty
much everything else on the album.
The record hits its
stride with Looly, Looly a beautiful and beguilingly catchy song
featuring James Yorkston on vocals. Its arrangement features an
intoxicating blend of instruments including glockenspiel, slide
guitar, viola and harmoniflute. Heather Ditch then sings The Clyde
Water, perhaps the most radio-friendly track here, complete with a
psychedelic synth break worthy of any mid-'60s acid band.
For my mind the album
highlight however is The Coast O' Spain, a Scottish travelling song
sung here by Alasdair Roberts. It's melody is beautiful enough in
itself but with the gloriously clangy guitar backing, along with
backing vocals from from Green and Heather Ditch it becomes a truly
spectacular reading. Lack of space stops me from mentioning the rest
of the album but there's not a bad track among them. Other vocalists
include Nancy Elizabeth, James William Hindle, Elle Osbourne and
James Green himself.
The album closes with a
rendition of a baudy Irish song called Maureen From Gippursland,
which marks Alasdair Roberts' second lead vocal, complete with
industrial power tool noises at a particular point in the song. For
my money there's unlikely to be a finer traditional folk album this
year. It's available as a standard 12 track album and also as a
special limited edition containing an extra 3 tracks and postcards.
Well worth looking out for.
