This review is written by Dai Woosnam, daigress@hotmail.com, 4/04
Keith hails from Derbyshire in the East Midlands of England, and has
been around the UK folk scene for several decades now. To
say he has “been around” is rather damning with faint praise: for the
truth is he is something of a singer’s singer. But,
in another sense the “been around” phrase is wholly apposite: for the
fact is that he has never quite achieved the Carthy/Garbutt/Gaughan
stardom he deserves…despite various incarnations and pairings.
And here we have something of a “This Is Your Life” album: he is joined
by some celebrated ex-colleagues. They are mostly stalwarts
of the British folk scene, and some splendid ensemble singing ensures
that just about every chorus catches fire!
The liner notes in keeping with the high standards set in
this
department by WildGoose Records more than pass muster, but I
could have done with initials of who exactly is singing on each
track…instead of just the overall list of personnel. That
said though, admittedly I could usually tell. However, for a non-Brit
buying this album a continent or two away, it would probably be a
puzzle.
The voice is as English and as sturdy as a five-bar gate. Had Hitler crossed the great North Sea in 1940, we would not have
needed any marching songs to repel him: it strikes me that the Keith
Kendrick solo voice - so redolent of the BACKBONE of old Albion -
booming out from Dover Castle would have been enough to make Mr.
Schicklgruber think twice!
But it is not all FORTISSIMO. Kendrick is capable of
tenderness and surprising lightness of touch: a really intelligent and
insightful approach to the lyric of the traditional “The Grey Cock and
the Lover’s Ghost” is proof of such.
His talents also run to composition: the tune he has written to the
traditional words of “Derwent May Carol” seems inventive and
non-derivative. And his concertina playing is exemplary: as
someone who struggled in vain with the instrument for the best part of
a year, there is nothing I enjoy more than some fine concertina
playing…and “The Nutley Waltz” (traditional) which segues into his own
tune “Doug’s Maggot” absolutely made me purr with pleasure.
The songs are mainly English, rather than British, and a mix of the
traditional and the contemporary. I have mentioned that there are
a celebrated cast of accompanying musicians/singers, but I have omitted
to add that one person’s presence dominates this album, although she is
not present in the cast.
That person is Jo Freya. You see, this CD is
born out of The Calendar Tour that Kendrick and Freya presented to the
UK Folk Scene some 5-6 years ago. He
acknowledges his debt to her for “your vast contribution to the
original concept of this collection”.
Any minus points? No, not really. If I was to REALLY
scrape the bottom of the barrel, I would perhaps alight on the liner
notes for track 13. “The Gaspè Reel” is attributed
to “Huddy Leadbeater” (sic). Those two names
contain not one, but three, spelling errors! Not just the
usual “Lead” for “Led” (even esteemed reference books that should know
better make that one), but also the first name and the second syllable
of the surname. You might say that Keith has scored a
“full house” here with “Huddie Ledbetter”, aka “Leadbelly”.
But this is a mere piffling complaint set against this wholly
satisfactory album. You could easily
spend the £13 this CD costs here in Britain on a myriad albums
containing just two or three tracks that really cut the
mustard. Much better you purchase nearly an hour’s
solid entertainment from a performer in Keith Kendrick whose watchword
has always seemed to be “never knowingly fail to DELIVER the goods”.
Buy it in Europe from
www.musikfolk.com or in North America from
www.elderly.com and, for other points of the compass,
get details from Doug Bailey at WildGoose (e-mail:
doug.bailey@wildgoose.co.uk website:www.wildgoose.co.uk)
Dai Woosnam
Grimsby, England
daigress@hotmail.com
Copyright © 1998-2008 Kevin & Maxine’s Celtic & Folk Music CD Reviews. All rights reserved.
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