This review is written by Dai Woosnam, daigress@hotmail.com, 6/04
Abbie will be known to many of you as one third of “Maddy Prior
& The Girls”, but since I have never caught a set of theirs, she
was totally new to me.
This, her first solo album, contains a mixture of traditional,
self-penned and contemporary material. And the impression she creates
is a favourable one.
Her raw material for singing is solid enough: it is a pleasant voice
that has an impressive range, although that said, it has no
dramatically special DNA of its own. (Okay, that’s a bit unfair: how
many voices CAN be unique like Maddy’s?)
But I think I am even more impressed with her abilities as an
instrumentalist: she handles several instruments with confidence, and I
particularly appreciated her piano on a moving song called “Two Island
Swans (One Last Cold Kiss)”.
Indeed, the playing of the ensemble gathering of backing musicians, was
of the highest order. The melodeon of John Spiers was especially
fetching.
If I am to be truthful, the jury is out on her own songwriting ability:
the songs are perfectly respectable efforts, but I cannot see
them being much-covered. That said, she has now determined me to seek
out a little Oxfordshire hamlet called “Hampton Gay”, the subject of
one of her songs here. That “sparking of an interest”, is more
than most manage to prompt in me!
Also, there are a few well-known songs covered here. One succeeded
triumphantly, another effort fell somewhat short. The latter first.
She does Gilbert O’Sullivan’s “Nothing Rhymed” phrase-for-phrase the
same way as the boy with the cloth cap! Why? What is the purpose of
doing a cover, unless it be that you really want to get INSIDE the song
and put YOUR stamp on it?
Four tracks later, she blessedly seems to change tack totally. With
“Lady Franklin’s Lament” she really LIVES the part of the song’s
narrator. And she is aided by a superbly atmospheric arrangement.
So to sum up: a decent and indeed, promising debut solo album.
To buy the album go towww.parkrecords.com
Dai Woosnam
Grimsby, England
daigress@hotmail.com
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