RACHAEL MCSHANE AND THE CARTOGRAPHERS - When All Is Still
Topic TSCD596
An enjoyable and impressive album, strongly focussed on English traditional material, delivered by the common trio format of vocal/fiddle/viola (Rachael), guitar (Matthew Ord) and melodeon (Julian Sutton). There are nine traditional songs, plus two sets of original tunes, Julian taking most of the tune composer credits. Many of the songs selected are very familiar ones, although several have amendments to the usual words or tunes (in these cases Rachael is the composer).
You couldn’t call the arrangements stark, but neither do they strike me as over-fussy, despite appearances by numerous additional musicians. The latter are used selectively; a tip of the hat to Martin Douglas for restrained contributions on percussion (often a tricky area in folk song arrangements) – he gets a more prominent part on a very catchy version of Ploughboy Lads. There are a few songs with a bigger sound or more complex arrangement, one of which is a fine take on Two Sisters. Another is the closing track, Green Broom, in which the Bellowhead brass appear, trying very hard (and successfully) to sound like Brass Monkey!
Rachael McShane’s singing is attractively clear and is effective in combination with all the differently-sized arrangements. However, we are blessed with a great supply of female singers, and it may take more than this album for Rachael to establish her own niche. Nevertheless, enthusiasts for band-arranged English traditional song are unlikely to be slow in nominating this album for ‘best of 2018’ lists - understandably so.
www.rachaelmcshane.co.uk
Paul Mansfield
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