Ragged Kingdom

This is a great album by accomplished musicians. It is majestic and moving, a tremendous achievement.The band creates all that is best in folk-rock. June Tabor sings the best she ever has. The choice of songs is impeccable, from Scots ballads (complete with glossary of words translated), to modern popular hits, given a glorious arrangement e.g. "Love will tear us apart" and "At the dark end of the street". The traditional ballads are sung with reverence but also with powerful energy, my favourites being, "Son David", and " The Leaves of Life".But all the tracks are there on merit, not a filler to be heard. There's a well designed leaflet, giving all the words of traditional ballads with credits as to where collected and from which singer.The whole CD cover is beautifully designed too.Go out and get it, make it a massive hit. Very highly recommended.

Having seen June Tabor and Oysterband in concert most recently, where they were playing several songs, which they said they were playing for the first time live (bet they said that to all their fans in recent concerts!) and which were previews from what would be on this album, I've been impatiently counting the days down till the release. And it's been well worth that wait!

I went to that concert because of Tabor, but have now been seduced by Oysterband as well. Tabor's dark, brooding voice still reaches most deeply and soulfully I think on the very simply accompanied The Hills Of Shiloh, and/but she is equally at home as chanteuse with the driving rhythms of Oysterband, and a more folk rock fusion. From the exciting opening track Bonny Bunch Of Roses the listener is taken unstoppably through Tabor and Oysterband's John Jones duetting on Joy Division's Love Will Tear Us Apart and Son David.

It's probably wrong to expect a studio album to quite reach the excitement of a live concert, but Jones' voice seems a touch more exposed, on piano high notes in the studio, against Tabor's powerful, but never straining vocals, specifically on Love Will Tear Us Apart. Notes which seemed to be pushed through only through felt emotion from Jones in that live performance here seems almost to be the result of technical strain on Love Will Tear Us Apart, though in the tight duetting on Dylan's Seven Curses Jones soars freely, and he is beautifully tender with Tabor on the closing track The Dark End Of The Street

Highlights for me are the excitement of the opening track, the aforementioned The Hills of Shiloh, the dynamism and vibrant excitement of If My Love Loves Me - particularly Ian Telfer's violin, the folk/religious ballad The Leaves Of Life, contrasting again, the driving, punchy beat and some beautiful acapella from Tabor and Oysterband.

But, hey, on subsequent plays, I find myself adding more tracks as highlights!

Oysterband and Tabor seem to spur each other enjoyably on. My big regret on this album is the non-inclusion of a couple of numbers from the live show last week - an electrifying performance of Jefferson's Airplane's White Rabbit and Velvet Underground's All Tomorrow's Parties (admittedly the latter one featured on the previous album 21 years ago) both proving Tabor can out Nico Nico and out Slick Slick. Her voice is truly amazing, and Oysterband have just the energy to match it. Rock's loss has been Folk's gain, with Tabor. She could I think sing almost anything .

I love the dark and painful reflective melancholy of Tabor's vocals, but the drive imposed by Oysterband's more urgent music works as a brilliant accelerator to Tabor, and she imposes a discipline and restraint well on them, so the balance point between the two is wonderful, electrifying.

I always thought that the collaboration between June Tabor and The Oysterband (there was a previous album many a year ago)was a strange one but strange partnerships often work well and this is certainly a case in point. The covers will probably be the initial points of interest and they don't disappoint particularly That Was My Veil. I was never a huge fan of the original (from the first PJ Harvey collaboration with John Parrish) but here it fizzes and kicks from the speakers egged on by great drumming; a feature on several tracks here. Love Will Tear Us Apart is lead by slow finger picked guitar with cello providing the main melody. The duet makes sense in the context of the lyrics and although the two voices are similar in pitch and tone (no harmonies here) they manage to drag a good deal of emotion from the piece. The Dark End of The Street is perhaps the most disappointing moment on the album; a lacklustre dirge which seems to lack the melody and emotion of the Van Morrison original.

The "folk" songs on the album are almost exclusively great with "Bonny Bunch of Roses" kicking off the album in great style. The key to the Oysterband style is rhythm and the drums and bass really kick up a storm on this one, never missing a beat. Other songs are lead by mandolin-driven rhythms and on several songs hammered dulcimer provides melody making for an interesting and varied listen. Tabor's vocals are as good as you'd expect throughout the album although, perhaps because of the nature of the backing music she fails to conjure up the emotion that listeners might expect from her recent solo albums which feature a smaller ensemble and generally stick to a repertoire of slower, folk material.

So, a good album full of interest and plenty here to enjoy for fans of Tabor and of folk rock. The headlines will mention the choice of covers but it is the original folk songs that provide the highlights.