James Yorkston & The Big Eyes Family Players : Folk Songs.
Here’s some blurb I wrote for the press release:
“The idea behind this album of folk songs first surfaced around 2000 / 2001: To record an album of traditional songs for Fence Records of St. Andrews, to sell as a companion piece to my own work which they were then punting out to unsuspecting golfers. So I set to it, learning songs from cassettes and CDs by Anne Briggs and Shirley Collins, Jean Ritchie and Nic Jones, Eliza Carthy & Nancy Kerr; recording them to various states of success and undress. I also tackled a few Lal Waterson tracks – Scarecrow & Fine Horseman. Lal’s songwriting of course I’ve revisited since. Alas, it ended up unreleased – Domino Records, in a rare lapse of good judgement, decided to offer me a record contract and the folk album got put on the back burner. Being miserly, the songs I’d recorded already, or had marked for that original traditional album, were mostly put on subsequent albums or EPs. So, this album here consists of 11 “new” tunes. New as in chosen and recorded especially for this record. But they’re not new songs, by any means.
I picked up The Big Eyes Family Players somewhere along the way. Any touring musician will tell you – CDs from punters and fellow musicians seem to end up in your pockets at the end of every gig. At the end of every tour there’s a least half a dozen CDs, CDrs, etc. One such CD I discovered was by Big Eyes; and lo-and-behold, I loved what I heard. I contacted the main guy, James Green, and we’ve been in touch ever since. When I decided to resurrect this traditional album idea, he was an obvious choice of partner in crime. I didn’t want to work with my usual band The Athletes, but there was no slur there, they’ll be back on board for the next James Yorkston album proper – I just fancied trying something different.”
“Most of these songs were learned from recordings from the 1960s folk revival, a fair few from Anne Briggs – but that’s quite fitting, as it was her wonderful singing that originally rekindled my thoughts on traditional music, after a well-spent youth making as much noise as I could.“
The tracklisting is as follows:
*
Hills Of Greenmoor
*
Just As The Tide Was Flowing
*
Martinmas Time
*
Mary Connaught & James O’Donnell
*
Thorneymoor Woods
*
I Went To Visit The Roses
*
Pandeirada de Entrimo
*
Little Musgrave
*
Rufford Park Poachers
*
Sovay
*
Low Down In The Broom
The album comes out on August 10th – but it can be pre-ordered now, in a limited edition 3 disc set, all for £20 from HERE. What’s included?
*
Limited to 1000 copies
*
CD album
*
CD album of live session with alternate takes and different tracks
*
Full length DVD of live session
*
Poster
That’s pretty good, I think. Not good enough? Well how about….
If you order your Special Edition before 6th July, you can have your name included on the Special Edition artwork! That’s pretty exciting. Now, at the Homegame Festival a fortnight ago, a guy came up to me and told me he was going to order it and have his daughter’s name put on the artwork. That’s true paternal love for you. I wouldn’t for a moment suggest that those of you who don’t do that are bad parents, of course. Nice idea though. Alternatively, you could have your partners name on. Or your dog. Or cat, even.
So. I don’t think they’ll let rude or offensive names be put on the artwork. Maybe though? Wha‘ kens?
http://www.dominorecordco.com/uk/albums/16-04-09/folk-songs
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————-
--