Rating; 5/5
Review:
Terrific stuff from Maddy Prior
This is an excellent album. I have rather lost track of Maddy Prior in recent years, but I stumbled across this and decided to give it a try. I am very glad I did.
Maddy Prior is still a great singer. Her voice has matured a little in the forty-odd years since I first heard it and is slightly fuller and more husky - and all the better for it, in my view. It has lost none of its power when needed and she can still give real meaning to a song. She has chosen two fine musicians in Giles Lewin and Hannah James to join her on this record and their fiddle, accordion and singing really add something special.
The songs are an eclectic mix, and the effect is great. The traditional English songs took me right back to the time I spent more pocket money than I could afford on Hark! The Village Wait and played it incessantly. Others are from elsewhere or newly written and all are very good. Several songs are from Eastern Europe and are simply magical: Nantine is sung in a capella harmony and has the deeply moving feel of a Slavonic liturgy. Ganiko Horo, by contrast, is a brisk instrumental with slip-rhythms and gypsy, almost klezmer-sounding melody and harmonies. It makes a great programme when played as a whole and the album never drags or begins to sound samey.
This album was a revelation to me - it's terrific stuff, superbly performed. Very warmly recommended.
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