That looks interesting. I first came across his work with Steeleye and then went back and bought his eponymous first album. Loved his work then and now. Sad to hear of his condition stopping him perform.
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There are 3 CDs of traditional material and 1 of contemporary songs. Martinās percussive guitar is characteristic with often alternate tunings C G C D G A or DADC#AC# / DADDāAD. His voice is sometimes quite nasal. My favourites are the Child Ballads sung with the fiddle of Dave Swarbrick.
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Following Carthy with The Devilās Interval, Blood and Honey which I picked up at a Jim Causley concert. Close harmony from Causley who also plays accordion, Lauren McCormick: vocals, flute and Emily Portman: vocals, concertina. 2006. Their voices work harmoniously together.
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Olivia Chaney sings and plays harmonium on āDark Eyed Sailorā which dropped today. I gather this is used in the film Wuthering Heights so some young people might get a folk addiction? This single is on Qobuz.
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I prefer the Steeleye Span version on Hark! The Village Wait.
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@JohnF I try to post new material on this Folk Thread otherwise it can too easily become nostalgic. Iām happy with Olivia Cheneyās classically trained voice, as she has a marvellous talent. The harmonium Iām not so sure about. Sheās recorded this song a few times and this version it seems was recorded for the film. There are lots of versions of āDark-Eyed Sailorā - one of the benefits of streaming is that you can play different versions which I enjoy doing. Maddy and Gay Woods were part of my introduction to folk material and I appreciate them too. But I like to imagine a living tradition that different singers can interpret. Good that a trad song can appear in a film which generally features Charli XCX. Iāve yet to see the film, but thereās a positive review in the Irish Times.
https://mainlynorfolk.info/peter.bellamy/songs/thedarkeyedsailor.html
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It certainly is different. Is nothing sacred?
Agree totally, I was just indicating a preference.
Most folk songs have already been done to death by previous generations, especially with the introduction of folk rock making it difficult to come up with appealing versions of traditional tunes.
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Oliviaās is a deliberate gothic performance to fit in a film of a novel which isnāt a love story, but a study of obsession. But the āDark-Eyed Sailorā will continue for future interpretations as will Wuthering Heights the novel.
No problem. You might enjoy the earlier versions Olivia made of this song. I think she deliberately made this recording to appear otherworldly and ghostly. She posted a video on social media in which she sits in a freezing room in an abandoned cottage working the harmonium, when she sings her breath rises in the air as a white mist. Fair wuthering!
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For what itās worth, I like both.
Iāve mentioned before, without knowing what they were, my introduction to folk song was my grandmother singing during car journeys, songs she learned as a child in the Cotswolds. A continuing tradition of aural learning. Then came radio broadcasts, Singing the Fishing and Dirty Old Town coming to mind. There were the songbook at school, heavily sanitised lyrics.
Morris dancing, Steeleye and Fairport sort of pointed me to EFDSS, if you look at archives of collected songs, they were usually melody line only, some of the handwritten ones easy to read as a tone out. Then historic recordings arenāt always melodious.
My music education is basic and much forgotten, so I marvel at some of the three or four part harmonies, bass lines that we have over the last forty or more years. Nothing definitive and always changingā¦
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Folk songs were an important part of my education at primary school in the Cotswolds, much more so than my first school up in Manchester. I like to hear reworking of the old songs, and the rediscovery of the old songs from days gone by. Genuine new folk songs reflect modern society, perhaps in away that popular and rock donāt. But I might be biased.
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Just popped up on my social feed.
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I saw Wuthering Heights this afternoon and the song fitted nicely into the soundtrack. An impossible novel to film and they wisely omit the second generation. Charli XCX was restrained unlike Cathyās Bridgerton style dresses.
Hope you are well @Camphuw and will expand on āTam Linā
Hereās the marvellous Anne Briggs who I never tire of listening to. āYoung Tamblingā from An Introduction to Anne Briggsā (Topic)
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Thanks - listening later.
Looking after my brotherās dogs this week - not quite badger but neurotic fun (2 cocker spaniels - mother and son).
Cockers always tend to be a handful! Glad all well.
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Good to hear Lankum on a couple of episodes of young Sherlock on Prime - I had to check because they sounded like the unthanks. I am lion my brotherās system - slim line Naim from the 90ās
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