REVIEW FROM www.livingtradition.co.uk

RUTH & SADIE PRICE - RaSP
Private Label RPCD020

Ruth & Sadie are the daughters of Wendy and the late Bill Price, (a grand singer), and I haven’t seen them since they were little girls. Now they are two grown up young ladies presenting this, their second CD.  Have they inherited the flair and commitment that their dad brought to his singing?  By gum they have!  Bill’s big song was Fine Old Yorkshire Gentleman, his “signature tune” say Ruth and Sadie in their notes. His daughters give it a sprightly workout, with just the right accent, and a feel for the music hall style of delivery needed for this song.

In a 12 item set of mainly traditional songs, there are two exceptions, these being The Eskdale Hare, words by Gus Gomersall, tune by Steve Walker, and Breaths, learned by the girls from the iconic Afro-American women’s group Sweet Honey In The Rock.  The rest of the set has several Yorkshire based or collected songs such as Master Smith Said To John, and Squire Frith, given to them by Bob Auty, an ex Holme Valley Beagler. Yorkshire’s industrial history shows up in Cropper Lads and Fosters Mill, songs from the days of the “Croppers”, the Yorkshire name for Luddites. 

Ruth & Sadie sing unaccompanied but for a touch of concertina here and there. Their voices record well, sweet but strong and with an edge when required.  They also have a good grasp of the words of their songs which makes the stories easy to follow.   By the way, the lower case “a” in RaSP is deliberate, and since no label credit is given I assume this is self-released. All in all, an album for them to be proud of and for listeners to enjoy.

Roy Harris