Tag Archives: English folk music

Comfort and the Unexpected: In Conversation with Maddy Prior

Question: What’s the perfect way to start off a misty moisty St. Valentine’s Day morning in San Francisco? Spending an hour on the phone with Maddy Prior, that’s what. Hands down, seriously. Forget the roses, the wine, the Hallmark cards. … Continue reading

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Ellis Peters’ Black Is the Colour of My True-love’s Heart 

Lenora Rose penned this review. Ellis Peters has a gift for titles. This aptly named book is the story of a fierce ballad singer named Liri, who fell in love with a musician — then saw him cheating on her. … Continue reading

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Bellowhead’s Burlesque 

Mike Wilson penned this review.  Burlesque takes traditional English music and dresses it up with vim and vigour, presenting 13 glorious tracks with full-on arrangements that instantly grab your attention. Bellowhead are an 11-piece band, led by renowned English folk musicians John Spiers and … Continue reading

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June Tabor and the Oysterband at the Nightstage

On a cold winter night, friends dragged me, protesting, into Cambridge to see a show that I had no interest in seeing. When we walked into the (late, not terribly lamented) Nightstage, there was an odd mix of people: older … Continue reading

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June Tabor at Minnemeers Theater

I have seen June Tabor live numerous times in recent years and I thought I knew what to expect at her concerts. I own just about every recording she ever made, the first review I wrote forGMR, when it was … Continue reading

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 Whirligig’s Spin

Ed Dale penned this review. It is really a delight to listen to the first 10 seconds of a new CD and know that it’s a keeper. Whirligig’s second CD, hopefully to be followed by many more, is a 50-minute gas; … Continue reading

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Fairport’s Cropredy Convention! August 2005

John O’Regan penned this epic review. ‘What We Did On Our Holidays’ was the title of Fairport Convention’s second album for Island records in 1969. To paraphrase said title a little, what I did this year on my holidays was go … Continue reading

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Maddy Prior’s Collections and Maddy & Girls’ Under The Covers

You’d think it would be enough for anyone to be the lead singer of one of the most important English folk-rock bands for the majority of its existence, but Maddy Prior has always had a musical life outside Steeleye Span, … Continue reading

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Maddy Prior’s Memento: The Best of Maddy Prior

Naomi de Bruyn penned this review. Maddy Prior is a very familiar name and voice, mainly due to her many years of being ‘front man’ for Steeleye Span. This is her first ‘Best Of’ collection, and has been taken mainly from … Continue reading

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Maddy Prior’s Woman in the Wings

John O’Regan penned this review. Maddy Prior has become synonymous with the voice behind Steeleye Span. It was as much to escape the ghost of Steeleye as to make her own mark that she embarked on a solo career in 1978. … Continue reading

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