Debbie Skolnik penned this review.
If you are fond of dance-oriented traditional music, especially when liberally laced with accordion, then have I got a CD for you!
Paul Sartin (oboe, violin, whistle and vocals) and Paul Hutchinson (accordion) are the two prime movers behind the group, Belshazzar’s Feast. Both have multiple musical credentials, both in and out of the folk world. Paul Sartin’s “other main musical activity is as a professional singer at Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford,” according to the CD insert. Don’t be surprised, therefore, when this CD occasionally takes a bit of a scholarly turn. Paul S. does a lot of session work for various other bands, and at the time this CD was produced, he was playing with a dance band called Malarkey. Paul H. is an excellent accordion player who has spent most of his life in folk-oriented bands and was a founder of the Irish band IQ40.
My first thoughts when listening to this album were that it reminded me very much of the music made by the Albion Band in their dance-oriented mode. Besides traditional English music, Belshazzar’s Feast tap musical traditions from Sweden, Romania, Canada, the United States, France, and even religious liturgy. Most of the tracks are instrumental. The two exceptions are “Doll Thy Ale,” where Paul Sartin’s classically trained voice is shown to good effect, and “Hills of the North,” where he is joined with backing vocals from Ian Giles (who sings with more bands than a review of this nature can mention, but I’ll just mention the one I’ve heard of, Magpie Lane) and Graham Metcalfe (who also plays harmonica). There are quite a few other backing musicians listed, all very talented and who clearly enjoy working with each other.
My initial feeling that this music reminded me of the Albion Band in country dance mode was strengthened when I discovered that one of the musicians was Mark Powell. Although his name was not instantly familiar to me, I discovered he has engineered bands including the Albions, Fairport Convention and Blowzabella, so the connection is more than just in my mind.
Although most of the tunes have a sprightliness to keep one moving (or at least one’s foot tapping if unavoidably sedentary), the collection is nicely paced with an occasional “breather” for those who need to cool down after dancing a lot. They’ve chosen to play the well-known tune “Midnight On The Water” as a slow waltz, but then segue into a more uptempo tune, “Molly Rankin’s Reel” (written by John Morris Rankin, yes, of that Rankin Family)!
Listening to this CD was a very pleasant 45-minute diversion, indeed!
(WildGoose, 1996)
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