Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dartmoor Delight, 10 Dec 2006
This album represents the best of modern folk. It clearly has traditional influences and sensibility, but nevertheless has an edginess to it which gives it a modern feel.
The songs are inspired by the writer's home in Dartmoor and this allows for great variety ranging from old fashioned murder ballads to tales of the moors and the excitement (and the dread) of setting out to sea.
The outstanding track is the title number Kitty Jay, a sad tale of betrayal driven by a fantastic string riff.
Well worth exploring if you fancy dipping your toe in the waters of modern folk.
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28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Seth's second is a future classic, 22 April 2004
The majority of tracks on this CD are penned by Seth, who is one third ofthe prodigious Lakeman brothers (see also Equation; Cara Dillon). Theother tracks included have been given Seth's own distinctive treatment,and the overall impression is of a rich and seamless tapestry. As befits acollection of songs inspired by tales from his Dartmoor home, they allhave a much more traditional feel than his previous solo album (The PunchBowl).
The compelling imagery on this tapestry ranges from sumptuousPre-Raphaelite (The Bold Knight), to stark minimalism (Cape Clear). LikeDartmoor, many of the tracks have a dark and threatening atmosphere (evenfor traditional folk music, there is an abnormally high body count -murder, suicide, battles, accidental death and lost love), but the finaltrack (The Streamers) more than compensates - it is like the sun breakingthrough clouds, and could dispel the deepest gloom. It is an anthem tocarefree innocence - I've sat on that hill, looked at that view, in thatcompany, and been guided by the angels! Thank you Seth, this CD is a gem.
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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding, 1 May 2006
Before the release of "Kitty Jay", Seth Lakeman may have been best known as an ex-member of "folk supergroup" Equation. The band, which also featured his brothers Sean and Sam, launched the solo careers of the band's three vocalists Cara Dillon, Kate Rusby and Kathryn Roberts. However, the split doesn't seem to have caused any bad feeling, while the ladies' high profile solo careers haven't caused any apparent jealousy. Cara and Sam left the band together and, not only are they still working together, they have even married each other. (Talk about mixing work and pleasure). In addition to her solo albums, Kathryn has recorded with Kate and Sean, while Seth appeared on Cara's first two albums. "Kitty Jay", meanwhile, is produced by Sean and features a guest appearance by Kathryn. Unfortunately, for Seth's former bandmates, it's also an album they're going to have a very tough time competing with.
All eleven songs were inspired by and written about the legends and stories of Dartmoor, where the Lakeman brothers grew up and where Seth still lives. It's very difficult to pick out any highlights, as the album is consistently excellent - but I'm going to mention the three trad tunes anyway. One of them, "Cape Clear", is a gentle, nearly mournful, number and is the album's only instrumental. The other two, "Henry Clark", and "John Lomas" - the album's opening track - are also excellent, if somewhat different in mood. (The album's closing track, "The Streamers", is based on another trad tune called "The Streams if Lovely Nancy"). Of all the songs on the album, it's possibly one of Seth's own - "Farewell My Love" - that comes closest to what the `popular' view of a trad song may be. The album's title track, meanwhile, features some great violin playing - it almost sounds like Seth may have spent a little too much time alone with a pot of coffee.
Although Kitty Jay sits firmly in the folk / trad category, it still caught me a little off-guard. (Anyone, for the record, expecting bearded old men wearing woolly jumpers drinking from tankards in smoky dark inns will also be a little confused). Given his `role' in Equation, I'd only ever seen Seth as a fiddler and had expected an album full of instrumentals, rather than just the one instrumental track. Although Kathryn guests on "The Ballad of Josie", it's Seth who provides the lead vocals throughout and - at the risk of stating the obvious - he does a great job. The violin, though, does prove to be the album's `lead' instrument. "Kitty Jay" is a superb album, and fully deserved its Mercury Award nomination - the bar is set at a very high level from the first track and the quality is maintained throughout.
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