This review is written by Dai Woosnam, daigress@hotmail.com, 2/04
This duo was a new act on my radar: I had never caught them at a
festival. My loss. This album is seriously impressive and gives off a
certain aura. Difficult to pin down exactly what that scent is: it’s
got that pleasant whiff of the library of Cecil Sharp House. There is a
kind of “integrity of both purpose and execution” here: the kind that
was quite common in the Bill Leader “Trailer” days, but is a bit rarer
a commodity now.
First, let’s get Anahata’s name out of the way. When I first saw the
name, I instantly assumed he might be some performer from the Indian
sub-continent, and that the album’s content be some sort of bizarre
fusion of (say) ragas and ragtime. But HE ain’t, and IT ain’t.
Rather, the title of the CD gives the clue: ‘Sharp Practice’. The
“sharp” is never Mary’s fine pitch-perfect singing style: and
“practice” is something they have manifestly done their fair share of.
But the “Sharp” of course refers to Cecil, as there are four songs here
from his collections. It is an album of music from the English
Tradition alright.
But what makes the pun a very clever one, is an additional explanatory
title of “Rarities and Renovations from the English Tradition”. That is
to say that some purists may consider that this duo have committed
“sharp practice” by NOT going for the tried, tested and trusted version
of a song, but for a more obscure variant. For instance, the opening
track has their unusual version of that well known ballad ‘The
Mermaid’, but has the customary ending reversed. I’m certain that the
song does not suffer: indeed, a curious sort of blood transfusion
occurs, and it has new life for me.
But it is the other half of the “additional title” that I really focus
on: the “Rarities”. “When Fishes Fly (No My Love, Not I)” is a song
completely new to me, with a tune collected by Sharp in 1904, and the
text an amalgam of words collected by as recently as 1958.
How come it has escaped me? God knows, for the truth is that it bowled
me over. If I hear a better song in the next five years I will be one
very happy man. And what added to the enjoyment were the erudite notes
in the liner booklet. How refreshing not to have the all-too-easy
cop-out of (often superfluous) printed lyrics: well they are
“superfluous” when a singer has good diction like Ms. Humphreys.
Instead, we have really well-written and thoughtful notes, designed to
both heighten our appreciation of a song and also give us a deeper
insight into it. That is how liner notes SHOULD work, but rarely do.
But these notes are top drawer: and a comment regarding this track is
typically illuminating. I vaguely knew that the word “rue” as a noun
referred to some sort of shrub or herb, but had no idea that it was
used as an abortifacient. (Indeed, let me not try to con you: I had no
idea of the existence of the word “abortifacient” until I read these
notes, despite falling head-over-heels in love with the English
language when just a kid!)
And this kind of information adds SO MUCH to an already fine song.
Whoever wrote the notes (Mary? Anahata? Doug Bailey of WildGoose
Studios?) has got a real light on in their upstairs library. A pleasure
to read these notes.
As I say the album is of a high quality. Between ballads, we often
segue into instrumentals that are a mixture of the traditional and the
(sometimes relatively) contemporary. Mainly concertina and
melodeon driven. But this couple are really both
multi-instrumentalists, and I think it was Mary’s banjo, and Anahata’s
cello that spoke to me the most. Her banjo on the aforementioned
masterpiece of a track may be beautifully persuasive, but, two minutes
into the song Anahata’s cello comes in at the start of the second
verse. With remarkable results.
There is a real FRISSON resulting. Sorry, but it’s “resort to
cliché” time for me here, folks. Two words spring to mind:
“hairs” and “neck”. And that CELLO! I promise you: Pablo Casals would
not have played a more stirring and-yet-subtle accompaniment.
And his cello does it again on the second best cut, a truly stirring
version of ‘Sheath and Knife’: again, incidentally, with a twist…a
clever conflation from Mary.
A very respectable album indeed. 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)
I have left till last the bizarre resemblance of the sound of Mary’s
voice to that of a major name on the UK folk scene. I am sure that
others will have driven her half nuts with this association down the
years, so I won’t dwell on it. Suffice it to say that I have gone twice
to see that unnamed lady within the last 18 months only to find she has
cried off at almost literally the last minute. And apparently (whilst
not quite a George “No Show” Jones) this is by no means exceptional.
And I am sure it is genuine illness, incidentally.
So Mary a suggestion: shadow that superstar, and when she cries off,
you get up on stage and become as well known as her. And to be honest,
I think on the strength of this CD anyway that I would
prefer to hear your good self… always providing that Anahata’s sublime
cello is always not far behind!
Dai Woosnam
Grimsby, England
daigress@hotmail.com
Track List:
• Mermaid/Marmalade Polka (4.22)
• No my love, not I (5.54)
• Jenny Bell/Carrion Crow (3.33)
• India War/Jack’s Health (4.45)
• Barb’ry Ellen (5.34)
• Dunmow Galumph/Danbury Hill (3.08)
• Young Banker/Rosie (4.22)
• Sheath and Knife (6.12)
• Marsden/London/Stoney Steps Hornpipes (4.27)
• Pride of the Season (4.13)
• Windsor Terrass/Mississippi Mud (3.11)
• Spotted Cow (2.45)
• Waltz for the Valeta/Faithful Sailor Boy (6.18)
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