folk

Love Rat

I first heard Sally Barker some time around 1990 when she was touring in support of her second album, This Rhythm Is Mine. Guest musicians on that album included Mary MacMaster¹ and Patsy Seddon, harpists from Scotland, who subsequently joined Sally and accordionist Karen Tweed to form the all-woman folk band The Poozies. If my memory…Read more Love Rat

Zamzama

The third track on my Release Radar playlist this week was called Zamzama, which is obviously a made-up word and gives no clue to its musical style. It's by Avi Avital, Omer Avital, Yonathan Avishai and Itamar Doari, names which suggest foreign influences but which throw no further light on what might be in store…Read more Zamzama

Summertime

After childhood and adulthood there is a third age of man, an age in which the ignorance and naivety of youth have evaporated, the responsibilities of work and parenthood have been largely left behind and we are free to use our time-ripened talents in any way we choose. In affluent countries with modern healthcare the number of third-agers…Read more Summertime

Redemption Song

I realised the other day that I have sinned. This blog has no mention of Bob Marley! Fortunately, it's Easter and Jesus died to redeem us of our sins (or so the Christian Church would have us believe). So, by way of penitence, I have chosen Redemption Song as my Track of the Week. Both the…Read more Redemption Song

Bottle

Paul Weller will be a father again this summer. It will be his eighth child. The announcement came hard on the heels of the news that The Modfather's 13th solo studio album, A Kind Revolution, will be released on 12th May. Shortly after that a film called Jawbone will reach the movie screens. The soundtrack to Jawbone was written…Read more Bottle

Cantorum

This is the second instalment in my campaign to introduce a new term into the dictionary of musical styles: orchestral beats. That tag first appeared in my review of the Archipelago album by Hidden Orchestra in November of last year. Then last week's Release Radar included something that sounded very similar: Cantorum by Penguin Café. As far as…Read more Cantorum

Wild Fire

What would you get if Lou Reed was to take a walk on the wild side with Joni Mitchell? Well, I'll tell you. You'd get something that sounds a lot like Wild Fire, a track from Laura Marling's sixth album Semper Femina, which is due to be released on 10th March. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EUdZFcq-QE Laura Marling has…Read more Wild Fire

Anthology – June Tabor

Some time in the early 90s I went to see a band called Perfect Houseplants. They were a four-piece modern jazz band: saxophones, keyboards, bass and drums. As often happens with jazz bands each musician had a solo slot early in the performance and another member of the band would announce the soloist to the audience. After Martin France…Read more Anthology – June Tabor

Soothing

Here's a Track of the Week on the periphery of Crotchety Man's sphere of interest. It's a new song by Laura Marling, a singer/songwriter and musician with a background in contemporary folk music, but Soothing is a long way from conventional folk tunes of any period. The instrumentation is highly unusual. It sounds to me like a…Read more Soothing

Elusive Butterfly

It's officially winter here in the northern hemisphere but the other day, although it was chilly outside, there were fluffy white clouds hanging in a clear blue sky over the green green grass of the back garden lawn. Looking out from the cosy living room it could almost have been summer again. Suddenly my peripheral vision…Read more Elusive Butterfly