VARIOUS ARTISTS - Live At Foxrock Folk Club: The Parish Hall Tapes 1970-72
Cornelscourt Records CR001
Voices and sounds from almost half a century ago convey the atmosphere, warmth and spontaneity of their original live performances in this enjoyable 37 track compilation album. The songs (only one is instrumental) were recorded in a parish hall outside Dublin by Kevin McCann using a reel-to-reel tape recorder. Amazingly, the tapes survived to be converted to CDs! The quality of the recordings is more than satisfactory, with excellent standards of playing and singing.
Approximately half the tracks are solid folk, and include such classics as McAlpine’s Fusiliers, The Unquiet Grave and Blackwaterside. The others are mostly blues, with some jazz, reflecting the musical melting pot that was the Foxrock Club. There is a preponderance of single male singers - Andy Irvine, Ronnie Drew, Luke Kelly and Al O’Donnell feature – partly because the basic recording techniques did not cope well with bands. Only one woman performs, namely Suzanne Moore, who contributes Summertime, and beautiful harmony vocals with the group, We 4. The lady subsequently went to become principal soprano with the Welsh National Opera! Sally Brown is the other harmony number.
A booklet with a brief history, and notes on the artistes, accompanies the package.
The folk purist may baulk at the number of blues and jazz pieces included in this selection. However the album is almost a form of social history, and the listening experience is a pleasant one. There are many fine examples of live folk performance – ideal for aspiring singers, and the way good clubs should be!
www.foxrockfolkclubproject.blogspot.co.uk
Jim McCourt
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this CD online from The Listening Post The Listening Post is the CD mailorder service of The Living Tradition magazine. This album was reviewed in Issue 112 of The Living Tradition magazine. |