CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

.

Basket Of Light

CD-Charts > Music > English Folk
by: Pentangle

Release Date February 26, 2008
I've just been listening to my (previous release) copy of this album and it's excellent!. It gave me the opportunity to compare House Carpenter with Joan Baez (and Sweeney's Men) and it stands up magnificently. You have 6 days left to download their performance on Later via BBC iPlayer!

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

.

Awkward Annie

CD-Charts > Music > English Folk
by: Kate Rusby

Release Date September 03, 2007
I like to listen to Jerry Anderson on BBC Radio Ulster, he's really funny (although when my English Nephew was visiting he couldn't understand a word anyone on the show was saying) and he plays nice folk music. I heard the song 'village green appreciation society' a few times on his show, and thought it was brill (I don't remember the Kinks version.) I surfed the net to find who sang it, and came across Kate Rusby - what a discovery! I bought this album on the strength of that one track, and have played it nearly to death already. I like all the songs, as well a loving Kate's accent (I spent two years in Leeds when I was at college, and it brings me back to those happy times.) Buy it. Play it. Love it.

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

.

Liege And Lief

CD-Charts > Music > English Folk
by: Fairport Convention

Release Date May 06, 2002
"Liege and Lief" is a genuine landmark recording, one of those albums that changed things.

You could hear the way the Fairports were going with "A sailor's life" on "Unhalfbricking" but the fusion of West Coast rock and English folk on "L&L" was genuinely revolutionary.

This album is one of those that everyone should own - because it is unique, it defined and kickstarted the whole folk-rock scene.

Sandy Denny was a wonderful singer, sadly missed, and her solo albums are well worth listening too but "L&L" is her memorial.

Dave Swarbrick's violin playing here is great, as is all the musicianship - particularly Richard Thompson, one of the UK's greatest guitar players.

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

.

The Bairns

CD-Charts > Music > English Folk
by: Rachel Unthank And The Winterset

Release Date August 20, 2007
After hearing a lot of good things about Rachel Unthank in the press and catching a couple of promising sounding tracks on Mike Harding's Folk on 2, I was looking forward to hearing The Bairns in its entirety.
As the finishing bars melted away, I had already lost the will to live and was furiously trying to remember how to fashion a hangman's knot !
This is really, really depressing album. Like June Tabor, Rachel U has a melancholic voice which is perfect for the moody,tragedy of the her songs' subject matter.
Of course death,lost love and regret are stock in trade in Folk music. Unfortunately,Rachel's interpretations makes a traditional mournful ballad like say 'Little Musgrave' delivered by someone like Martin Simpson sound like Chirpy ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

.

Just Look Them Straight in the Eye and Say... Pogue Mahone: the Pogues Box Set

CD-Charts > Music > English Folk
by: Pogues

Release Date June 02, 2008
This was orginally concieved as a teasure chest by Phil Chevon! And thats exactly what it is!

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

.

Sweet Child

CD-Charts > Music > English Folk
by: Pentangle

Release Date February 26, 2008
This could be Pentangle's best album - 'Basket of Light' is the only other contender, but this one has much more material on it.

The first disc was recorded live in 1968 and the second is from the studio. The live show is great, with a mix of folk standards, originals and instrumentals showing great dexterity and skill from all involved. Bert Jansch and John Renbourn's version of Mingus' 'Goodbye Pork Pie Hat' is a standout instrumental tune - very relaxing and melodic. The studio set is a strong album in its own right, with highlights (for me) being the guitar duel of 'In Time', the morality tale 'Sovay' and the grooving 'I've Got A Feeling', which borrows the chord sequence from Miles Davis' 'All Blues'.

This expanded edition is ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

.

Five Leaves Left

CD-Charts > Music > English Folk
by: Nick Drake

Release Date June 26, 2000


Life's but a memory
It happened long ago
Theatre full of sadness
Of a long forgotten show


Whats understood does not need to be discussed any further.

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

.

Just Another Diamond Day

CD-Charts > Music > English Folk
by: Vashti Bunyan

Release Date July 24, 2000
I heard Diamond Day on the TV advert and thought 'that's Vashti Bunyan!'.I hadn't heard the album in years. It was obscure when I first heard it and I never met anyone who had even heard of her. I checked out the website, got all the history and the cd and rediscovered the magical delights of endless summer holidays by the sea, walks in the woods, gypsy caravans, picnics- all the good old fashioned values of pleasure, joy, love & peace.
Gentle, easy to sing along to, quirky rhymes and repeats. This is an album to play to kids at bedtime to ensure sweet dreams.If this works for you then try HMS Donovan as a companion album.

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

.

Light Flight - The Anthology

CD-Charts > Music > English Folk
by: Pentangle

Release Date February 26, 2008
I saw Bert Jansch live last year and thought I really ought to check Pentangle out. This is a great compilation for someone new to the band. Unlike Fairport who were a bit "west coast pop" in a folky way, Pentangle were a very "jazzy" folk band. You can hear it in the arrangements and the guitar solos. Jacqui McShee also has a lovely voice.

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

.

Bless The Weather

CD-Charts > Music > English Folk
by: John Martyn

Release Date November 14, 2005
Originally released in 1971 "Bless The Weather" was, according to the extensive sleeve notes included with this version of the album, recorded very quickly and spontaneously. That's a surprise, as the music feels meticulously crafted, as if a great deal of time and love has been spent on it. I suppose that's what great musicians can do. Consummate performers such as Danny Thompson from Pentangle who played bass, Richard Thompson and Tony Reeves from Colosseum contribute noticeably. The most obvious impact is Danny Thompson whose double bass and jazz influences permeate the album and he was to go on and become a long time collaborator of Martyns.
Though a product of a burgeoning folk scene Martyn was always keen to infiltrate other musical styles and influences into ... Read More: