Had this album on vinyl years ago, and recently bought the digitally remastered CD. Wow! It's even better than my most golden memories of it! I had forgotten just how good a singer Joni Mitchell was/is. Most of these songs are just Joni with her guitar. One of them - 'The Fiddle and the Drum' - is just Joni without even her guitar. But these are not simple three chord strumalong songs. In spite of tending towards the sparse and austere, they are also quite complex. There are unconventional guitar tunings, chord progressions and key changes that keep these songs fresh, however often I listen to them.
Then there is the Joni Mitchell voice. She really has been one of the best singers of the late 20th century in any genre. ... Read More:
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Much of this album serves for me as a testimony to the wonderful drumming of Martin Lamble, that feathery touch and those rolls, often playing underneath the music, or just riding the beat. There was something shimmering (and almost held-back) in the music of their live gigs, with the texture lying between the drums and the bass playing. Lamble was an extraordinary player for a 19 year old. This album is also a melancholy listen: I still remember hearing them shortly afterwards with Dave Mattacks's embarassing drumming, and the music suddenly sounded so crude and so unlovely.
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Whilst I broadly agree with the other reviews, I must say that I don't think this is the highlight of Sandy's post Fairport career. Sandy's compositions and vocal style continued to get more varied and interesting, and also her post Fotheringay albums are sung entirely by her which is all to the good.
This album is held back by Trevor's performances (although i actually don't mind The Ballad of Ned Kelly, which is one of Trevors best songs.) when what one longs for is to finally hear Sandy writing and performing a whole album without compromises.
The Sandy penned songs and the traditional Banks of the Nile are naturally the standout tracks here: for one can't see how anyone in their right mind would thing Trevors Gordon Lightfoot ... Read More:
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I've always loved the Bachelors and grew up listening to their music, dad was always playing them...of course I had a crush on them, after all they were two great looking blokes from Ireland with superb voices.
It's a great CD with all my favourite songs and makes for wonderful lazy Sunday morning listening. Just to sing along with none of the hissing and static that used to go with vinal records is a bonus as well.
If you are a fan of the Bachelors then buy this CD I can promise you won't be disappointed. Just listening to Marta...wonderful,hmmmm!!, happy memories.
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Many artists have attempted to sum up the sadness and frustrations of those in impovershed communities. In doing so, many of these have aimed to offer genuine hope and encouragement at the same time. Issues such as poverty, gun crime, and oppression of working classes and ethnic minorities are not unusual song subjects. And yet, from punk to gangsta rap, I would defy you to find an artist who can sum them all up so eloquently and compassionately as Tracy Chapman.
The collection (chosen by Tracy herself) opens with Fast Car, the song which made her a star almost overnight. With its beautiful and subtle melody, the song draws the attention immediately, but the lyrics are the real star, delivering a bittersweet message about socail problems and the difficulty ... Read More:
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This is the first of the so-called American recordings, and arguably the best. The songs have been carefully selected by Cash, and I believe there is certainly something here for everyone. If you love music you will soon fall in love with this album. Most artists today don't have one percent of the emotional intensity that Cash had. I highly recommend this album without reservation.
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For less than £4 this CD is well worth buying. The other reviewers who gave it 5 stars are not wrong. It does create a sense of peacefulness and calm.
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Chic Murray was Billy Connolly's Father ... he must have been!
This was bought for someone who loved Chic Murray and told me he would not enjoy just listening to him because "you had to see him, his act was full of pulled faces and innocent comic gestures".
How wrong you can be!!! This is a very funny comic CD if you have a 'dry' sense of humour!
I remember hearing Billy Connolly saying that he admired, and was inspired by Chic Murray, now I know why!
If you like your humour dry and smut free this is great, very funny, very innocent but very suggestive without being offensive.
There's many a good tune played on an old fiddle, try it!
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