A bit of a break from the chronological march through the years, to look at some of the CDs moved to the upstairs drawers when the shelves filled up, probably on the grounds of "not often played".
I've long loved June Tabor's voice, in my opinion the finest and most expressive in British folk music. If you know The Pogues version of Eric Bogle's And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda, dig out Tabor's acapella version - it's so moving.
On seeing this CD for a quid in Deal Library's sale, I snapped it up.
These are all traditional songs, simple arranged to accompany Tabor's voice, rather than overwhelm it, mostly from FJ Childs' The English and Scottish Popular Ballads. They're lovely songs, but not really my thing. I prefer the more upbeat ones such as The Duke Of Athol's Nurse, Hughie Graeme, and Fair Margaret and Sweet William (a song which has a lot in common with Matty Groves). I was looking forward to the final song,Sir Patrick Spens, being familiar with Fairport's jaunty rendition, but Tabor's slow balladic version doesn't do it for me.
3* - it's always a pleasure to listen to June Tabor, but traditional ballads really aren't for me.
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