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Review
Now de-cluttered of the likes of Paul Weller, Billy Bragg, The Copper Family, Benjamin Zephaniah and other musical worthies found on their 2007 debut album, The Imagined Village’s basic plan remains in place: match-making folk tradition with the mores of modern life via a spot of pan-cultural genre-hopping.
With a core team that boasts musicians as talented as Chris Wood, Martin Carthy, Eliza Carthy and Simon Emmerson (amongst others) you’d think that artistic success would be very much assured. Yet, as on their first record, the results are once again a mixed bag.
Given the undeniable talent of those involved in this recording, why might this be? Ultimately the album’s failure to convincingly gel rests both in the material, its presentation and a lacklustre production.
Solid, copper-bottomed classics such as Scarborough Fair and Byker Hill emerge as plodding and curiously leaden. Ewan McColl may be rightly revered but his throwaway ditty, Space Girl, could never be counted as a shining example of his oeuvre, with Eliza Carthy sleepwalking her way through the perils and pitfalls of sci-fi love amongst the spaceways.
Martin Carthy is no stranger to imbuing pop songs with a resonance that goes way beyond the original source. His poignant reading of the Bee Gees’ New York Mining Disaster, 1941, from 1998’s Signs of Life, is a prime example.
This time around it’s Slade’s Cum On Feel The Noize. Whereas the Bee Gees cover was a ruminative, haunting reinvention of the tune, this rendition sounds sluggish, half-hearted, and on an exceptionally sleepy-sounding chorus, unintentionally hilarious.
As with their debut album, it’s not all bad news. The lively jig of Mermaid momentarily raises the game, and the integration of electronic atmospheric during this works well enough.
But too often this is the sound of an ensemble pulling its punches. This might be forgivable with a bunch of newcomers, but when the cast as are as seasoned and as top-notch as this the results are frankly unconvincing and disappointing. --Sid Smith
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The Independent. 8th january 2010. *****
..a quantum leap beyond the first Imagined Village album, refurbishing the mostly traditional folk material in a variety of potent new arrangements.....
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
31 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I first encountered The Imagined Village on Later ... With Jools Holland when they performed Cold Haily Rainy Night (which can still be viewed on YouTube). I was amazed by the eclectic mixture of musical styles and the staggering talent of the players involved. I ordered the album from Amazon the next day. That record went on to be my favourite album of that year and still gets played regularly in our house.
I had enjoyed Simon Emmerson's previous project The Afro Celt Sound System a lot, but The Imagined Village was something else!
Whereas that first album seemed to be an Emmerson studio project with lots of very talented guests (Billy Bragg, Sheila Chandra, Benjamin Zephaniah, Paul Weller, etc.), Empire & Love has much more of a "band" feel about it. With live performances over the last few years, The Imagined Village has now morphed into a fully fledged 10 piece band with Chris Wood, Eliza Carthy, Martin Carthy, Barney Morse-Brown, Johnny Kalsi, Andy Gangadeen, Ali Friend, Sheema Mukhergee and Simon Richmond joining Emmerson throughout the album.
On first listening, the wonderfully catchy Space Girl (with Eliza Carthy on vocals) was probably my favourite track. But as you listen to the album more, different tracks stand out ... in my book, that's the mark of a really great album. Sweet Jane (sung by Chris Wood) has an infectious groove and The Handweaver & The Factory Maid features almost ambient elements.
As with the first album, there are some 'traditional' songs which get The Imagined Village treatment. This time they include Scarborough Fair, The Lark In The Morning ... and Slade's Cum On Feel The Noize beautifully sung by Martin Carthy.
Whilst The Imagined Village includes aspects of contemporary folk music from Martin & Eliza Carthy and Chris Wood, when mixed with the samples and textures of Simon Richmond, Sheema Mukhergee's haunting sitar and the grooves of the rhythm section of Andy Gangadeen, Ali Friend, Barney Morse-Brown and Johnny Kalsi it produces a sound that is totally unique.
There are VERY few albums released these days that make me want to hit PLAY again as soon as it has finished ... Empire & Love definitely does - a cracking album from start to finish.
And for any Audiophiles reading this review, on a good hi-fi system Simon Emmerson's production sounds amazing.
To say that the sum is greater than the component elements when the elements include the likes of Martin & Eliza Carthy, Chris Wood and Andy Gangadeen is quite something ... but The Imagined Village have managed it.
I had enjoyed Simon Emmerson's previous project The Afro Celt Sound System a lot, but The Imagined Village was something else!
Whereas that first album seemed to be an Emmerson studio project with lots of very talented guests (Billy Bragg, Sheila Chandra, Benjamin Zephaniah, Paul Weller, etc.), Empire & Love has much more of a "band" feel about it. With live performances over the last few years, The Imagined Village has now morphed into a fully fledged 10 piece band with Chris Wood, Eliza Carthy, Martin Carthy, Barney Morse-Brown, Johnny Kalsi, Andy Gangadeen, Ali Friend, Sheema Mukhergee and Simon Richmond joining Emmerson throughout the album.
On first listening, the wonderfully catchy Space Girl (with Eliza Carthy on vocals) was probably my favourite track. But as you listen to the album more, different tracks stand out ... in my book, that's the mark of a really great album. Sweet Jane (sung by Chris Wood) has an infectious groove and The Handweaver & The Factory Maid features almost ambient elements.
As with the first album, there are some 'traditional' songs which get The Imagined Village treatment. This time they include Scarborough Fair, The Lark In The Morning ... and Slade's Cum On Feel The Noize beautifully sung by Martin Carthy.
Whilst The Imagined Village includes aspects of contemporary folk music from Martin & Eliza Carthy and Chris Wood, when mixed with the samples and textures of Simon Richmond, Sheema Mukhergee's haunting sitar and the grooves of the rhythm section of Andy Gangadeen, Ali Friend, Barney Morse-Brown and Johnny Kalsi it produces a sound that is totally unique.
There are VERY few albums released these days that make me want to hit PLAY again as soon as it has finished ... Empire & Love definitely does - a cracking album from start to finish.
And for any Audiophiles reading this review, on a good hi-fi system Simon Emmerson's production sounds amazing.
To say that the sum is greater than the component elements when the elements include the likes of Martin & Eliza Carthy, Chris Wood and Andy Gangadeen is quite something ... but The Imagined Village have managed it.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
As other reviewers have already said, this is a nice piece of work. It's also, in a way, rather subtle, intentionally (I believe) or otherwise.
My copy arrived in the same post as a copy of "Heydays" by Maddy Prior and the recently departed Tim Hart, which I'd bought in order to have a decent memento of Tim on CD, my vinyls being now a bit long in the tooth. Heydays contains what will for some listeners have been "the original version" of "My son John", which opens Empire & Love. The Imagined Village version demonstrates the ease with which a traditional folk standard can seamlessly be up-graded to the current day. One minute you're hearing Martin Carthy singing the accustomed words, and then then you're doing a double-take, and saying to yourself "Did he just mention Iraq and Afghanistan, carbon fibre limbs etc?"
A similar effect is achieved by over-dubbing the 1980's words of "Coal not Dole" behind an otherwise fairly standard Carthy-esque rendition of "Byker Hill". Top marks, however, again to Martin Carthy, for showing how effortlessly Slade's "Cum On Feel The Noize" can take on the mantle of a piece of contemporary folk music, if ever it were really anything else, of course. Carthy has elsewhere done something similar with Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel". Well-read folkies will be put in mind of the anecdote attributed to Ewan Macoll, who, having written "Shoals of Herring" sang it to the (then) ancient Norfolk fisherman and singer Sam Larner. Larner is said to have replied "Yes, I've known that song all my life", and no doubt believed that he had.
Even though I might not be an Eliza Carthy fan, I'm a definite Chris Wood afficianado. I was amused that it was he who got two shots on this album at "Scarborough Fair". This is, of course, the very song that Paul Simon says he learned from Martin Carthy himself. Do I like his versions? What's to dislike, unless you feel that he's in some way obliged to produce some sort of homage to the Carthy and Simon versions? Which of course he's not.
The rest has been said by others. This is a nice, beautifully arranged collection of familiar stuff, sandwiched between an opening track about Empire and a closing track on Love. It's not "about" either. Enjoy it for what it is. More soon, please.
My copy arrived in the same post as a copy of "Heydays" by Maddy Prior and the recently departed Tim Hart, which I'd bought in order to have a decent memento of Tim on CD, my vinyls being now a bit long in the tooth. Heydays contains what will for some listeners have been "the original version" of "My son John", which opens Empire & Love. The Imagined Village version demonstrates the ease with which a traditional folk standard can seamlessly be up-graded to the current day. One minute you're hearing Martin Carthy singing the accustomed words, and then then you're doing a double-take, and saying to yourself "Did he just mention Iraq and Afghanistan, carbon fibre limbs etc?"
A similar effect is achieved by over-dubbing the 1980's words of "Coal not Dole" behind an otherwise fairly standard Carthy-esque rendition of "Byker Hill". Top marks, however, again to Martin Carthy, for showing how effortlessly Slade's "Cum On Feel The Noize" can take on the mantle of a piece of contemporary folk music, if ever it were really anything else, of course. Carthy has elsewhere done something similar with Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel". Well-read folkies will be put in mind of the anecdote attributed to Ewan Macoll, who, having written "Shoals of Herring" sang it to the (then) ancient Norfolk fisherman and singer Sam Larner. Larner is said to have replied "Yes, I've known that song all my life", and no doubt believed that he had.
Even though I might not be an Eliza Carthy fan, I'm a definite Chris Wood afficianado. I was amused that it was he who got two shots on this album at "Scarborough Fair". This is, of course, the very song that Paul Simon says he learned from Martin Carthy himself. Do I like his versions? What's to dislike, unless you feel that he's in some way obliged to produce some sort of homage to the Carthy and Simon versions? Which of course he's not.
The rest has been said by others. This is a nice, beautifully arranged collection of familiar stuff, sandwiched between an opening track about Empire and a closing track on Love. It's not "about" either. Enjoy it for what it is. More soon, please.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Heavens, another genre-bending cross-fertilisation of traditional English folk music. This album, the second by Simon Emmerson and Martin Carthy's eclectic assortment of British-born Anglo-Asian musicians, is a much more cohesive effort than its predecessor and suggests that what was formerly a rather ramshackle collective has now formed itself into a proper band, with startling results.
As folk music goes, whilst never betraying its roots this is a million miles removed from the Arran jumper finger-in-yer-ear stereotype with which the genre has long been saddled. Indeed, some of the tracks feature a rhythm section of which many a self-respecting rock band would be proud. Go bhangra the drum.
Like much of this style of music, it's predominantly dark and sombre. The opening track 'My Son John', about a man who loses both his legs in battle sets the overall tone, with only a couple of songs like the jaunty tongue-in-cheek 'Space Girl' to lighten the mood.
If your only connection with 'Scarborough Fair' is Simon & Garfunkel's angelic version then both versions on offer here will come as something of a shock, each a different manifestation of melancholy - one with sitar preponderant, the other swathed in brooding strings. Similarly, the agitated 'Rosebuds In June' is a long way removed from, say, Steeleye Span's colourful version. Elsewhere, the largely instrumental 'Mermaid' sounds like it's just waiting for an inspired club remix.
Only an all-too-knowing rendition of that traditional olde-English folk staple 'Cum on Feel The Noize' fails to fully convince, the sheer audacity of the idea rather better in the end than its actual delivery.
Quite what the purists and the old beardies will make of this, heaven only knows.
As folk music goes, whilst never betraying its roots this is a million miles removed from the Arran jumper finger-in-yer-ear stereotype with which the genre has long been saddled. Indeed, some of the tracks feature a rhythm section of which many a self-respecting rock band would be proud. Go bhangra the drum.
Like much of this style of music, it's predominantly dark and sombre. The opening track 'My Son John', about a man who loses both his legs in battle sets the overall tone, with only a couple of songs like the jaunty tongue-in-cheek 'Space Girl' to lighten the mood.
If your only connection with 'Scarborough Fair' is Simon & Garfunkel's angelic version then both versions on offer here will come as something of a shock, each a different manifestation of melancholy - one with sitar preponderant, the other swathed in brooding strings. Similarly, the agitated 'Rosebuds In June' is a long way removed from, say, Steeleye Span's colourful version. Elsewhere, the largely instrumental 'Mermaid' sounds like it's just waiting for an inspired club remix.
Only an all-too-knowing rendition of that traditional olde-English folk staple 'Cum on Feel The Noize' fails to fully convince, the sheer audacity of the idea rather better in the end than its actual delivery.
Quite what the purists and the old beardies will make of this, heaven only knows.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Strong sounds & deep feelings
This is my second CD by this group. I like this genre and this group has a sound that really hooks me. I hope one day to see The Imagined Village in live performance.
Published 12 months ago by A. J. Reynolds
Very disappointing
Having enjoyed the Imagined Village's first album, I was looking forward to this one, but, apart from the first song, My Son John, which I thought was quite good, the rest of the... Read more
Published 14 months ago by liliwen
Leaden
While the first record was a mixed bag, but often a beguiling one, this effort plods along with a tediousness that sucks the air out of a room. Read more
Published 16 months ago by o dubhthaigh
Psychedelic and Trippy
Nice.........!
A wonderful mixture of traditional sounds (including the vocals) spiced with Indian sitars and electronic additions. Read more
A wonderful mixture of traditional sounds (including the vocals) spiced with Indian sitars and electronic additions. Read more
Published 16 months ago by P. A. Clarke
emogined village
Terrific personnel and wonderful songs,I just find myself slightly puzzled by the mix.Lots of beautiful arrangements and great playing but for me the final product comes across as... Read more
Published 22 months ago by G. Crowe
Great stuff!
VG modern folky bits - excellent cultural fusion - the percussion is especially good but could have been given even greater prominence
Published 23 months ago by M. Dukes
You'll never buy anything more worthy of a tenner...!
Saw The Imagined Village at Salisbury City Hall on Saturday night - they were transcendent, utterly fantastic! Read more
Published 24 months ago by Mr. I. Sandell
Good album
I enjoyed this album very much, not quite as good in my opinion as the last one but still some great tracks
Published on 10 May 2010 by C. Vyse
Superb listening experience
I bought this album in Glasgow at the Celtic Connections Imagined Village gig at the Cornmarket hall.
Despite being asleep on my feet I enjoyed the concert enormously. Read more
Despite being asleep on my feet I enjoyed the concert enormously. Read more
Published on 23 Mar 2010 by CN
Another Corker from Imagined Village!
This is more of a 'band' album, the first album featuring more guests and 'assembled' pieces I would guess but here they sound as if they are playing together as a band on every... Read more
Published on 4 Mar 2010 by Small Mercies
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