CD-Charts Position 1
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Prodigal Son

by: Martin Simpson

Release Date July 30, 2007
I have a fairly broad music taste ....including a bit of folk.. Fairport, Richard Thompson, Nic Jones, Martin Carthy...and this album by Martin Simpson is amongst the best I've ever heard. There is no doubt that he is technically brilliant ....but it is the emotion and warmth of his playing and the combination of arrangements of traditionalsongs and original material that really makes this album different. 'Mother Love' is so simple and beautiful, and 'Never Any Good' (see Cambridge Folk Festival video) has a wonderfully told story. A real problem with many folk artists trying to write their own contemporary material is lyrics that dont work - there are no such doubts with Martin Simpson. Having seen Martin Simpson perform last night at the ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 2
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The Bramble Briar

by: Martin Simpson

Release Date June 04, 2001
Martin Simpson is an exceptional talent in the folk scene. The Bramble Briar is a gem of an album in the true spirit of English folk,without the delving into Americana...roots,bluegrass,C&W... which MS has in the past found occasion to dabble in.
The guitar picking is so sharp and clear it could shatter glass ! The vocals and arrangements are spot on. A fine return to form from one our most under-rated musicians

CD-Charts Position 3
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A Cut Above

by: June Tabor, Martin Simpson

Release Date October 01, 1994
I've always found these reviews rather subjective as we all have different tastes and preferences, so will just try to correct an error in Amazon's Review. My 5 star rating merely reflects a personal admiration for June's work and an inability to find any substandard work she has done on any of her albums and CDs, either singing alone or accompanied. The Amazon Review states that Martin Simpson had recorded with June Tabor before "A Cut Above", but this album was originally released on vinyl in 1980, before "Abyssinians" (1983) and "Aqaba" (1988). Martin Simpson took over the guitar playing role from Nic Jones, who had accompanied June on her first two albums "Airs and Graces" (1976) and "Ashes and Diamonds" (1977). Unfortunately Nic was badly injured in an horrific ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 4
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Music for an English Country Garden

from: Castle

Release Date February 26, 2008
I've always found these reviews rather subjective as we all have different tastes and preferences, so will just try to correct an error in Amazon's Review. My 5 star rating merely reflects a personal admiration for June's work and an inability to find any substandard work she has done on any of her albums and CDs, either singing alone or accompanied. The Amazon Review states that Martin Simpson had recorded with June Tabor before "A Cut Above", but this album was originally released on vinyl in 1980, before "Abyssinians" (1983) and "Aqaba" (1988). Martin Simpson took over the guitar playing role from Nic Jones, who had accompanied June on her first two albums "Airs and Graces" (1976) and "Ashes and Diamonds" (1977). Unfortunately Nic was badly injured in an horrific ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
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Kind Letters

by: Martin Simpson

Release Date March 07, 2005
I am new to Simpson's work but this disc is one of the finest I have heard in any genre. If your view of folk is earnest men with earnest beards then prepare to wipe the slate clean. Simpson's voice and arrangements of these traditional songs is unbelievably moving, it would bring tears to a glass eye. If you have always found folk sterile music then this will convince you otherwise. Open your mind and this will be one of the finest recordings in your collection.

CD-Charts Position 6
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The Definitive Collection

by: Martin Simpson

Release Date September 27, 2004
Like any 'definitive' collection this one most decidedly isn't, in fact it's something of a ragbag - BUT it is most certainly excellent and while not the last word on Martin's career to date is a pretty good inroduction to what he does. There is a fine range of material here, all of it - bar the stomping 'Lakes of Ponchartrain' showcasing his quite remarkable ability as a guitarist (and occasionally banjo player). His voice is a more variable instrument veering between the rich and effective to the annoyingly whiney but even when the latter is the case his magnificent guitar playing more than compensates. It's the instrumentals, however, that really stand out, 'First Cut Is the Deepest' and 'Plains of Waterloo/James Connolly' in particular, though the songs 'Shawnee Town' and ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
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Righteousness and Humidity

by: Martin Simpson

Release Date August 26, 2003
I first heard Martin Simpson play during the annual Radio 2 Folk Awards on the radio, where he was accepting the award for Musician of the Year (for the second time). I was caught immediately, and I ordered this CD online the same evening.

That was more than a year ago, and I listen to this album as regularly now as when I first bought it. Martin Simpson is an incredible performer, and his intuitive treatment of the material he so obviously loves is a true pleasure to hear. As a technician, he is awe-inspiring, with total mastery of his instruments - equally at home on acoustic or electric guitar, lap steel or slide guitar, banjo or ukelele. This allows him to create the most amazing effects with seeming ease, and his virtuosity will be a joy to musicians and non ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
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Dowland: Collected Works

from: L'Oiseau-Lyre

Release Date May 12, 1997
This music is, in my opinion, one of the pinnacles of western culture. In no other era was such beautiful and profound poetry set to equally masterful music. It is like Shakespeare come to musical life, and indeed Dowland was Shakespeare's contemporary and was a high figure of the Elizebethan renaissance.

For the 4 books of songs, the Consort of Musicke's 70s recordings have yet to be surpassed, nor likely will they ever be. There are many possible ways for these songs to be sung and performed, but the Consort captures them all with unerring taste, passion tempered by high dignity. The singing, particularly Emmy Kirkby's and Martyn Hill's is often radiantly beautiful, but David Thomas and John York Skinner's does not slouch either. They get few solo turns however, ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
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Beautiful Darkness

by: Martin Simpson, Jessica Radcliffe, Lisa Ekstrom

Release Date December 04, 2000
This music is, in my opinion, one of the pinnacles of western culture. In no other era was such beautiful and profound poetry set to equally masterful music. It is like Shakespeare come to musical life, and indeed Dowland was Shakespeare's contemporary and was a high figure of the Elizebethan renaissance.

For the 4 books of songs, the Consort of Musicke's 70s recordings have yet to be surpassed, nor likely will they ever be. There are many possible ways for these songs to be sung and performed, but the Consort captures them all with unerring taste, passion tempered by high dignity. The singing, particularly Emmy Kirkby's and Martyn Hill's is often radiantly beautiful, but David Thomas and John York Skinner's does not slouch either. They get few solo turns however, ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
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A Closer Walk With Thee

by: Martin Simpson

Release Date August 14, 2001
An album of instrumental guitar arrangements of ( mostly) American sacred music may not, on the face of it be everyone's cup of tea, but this a superlative album. Tasteful, immaculately played and demonstrating both a rich variety of tunes and styles and Simpson's phenomenal playing, 'Closer Walk With Thee' is uplifting in every sense of the word, combining the two principal strands of his career. i.e. blues and British traditional music. A beautiful record which is never overwhelmed by the formidable technique of the artist.