Sleepless [Import]

"Cobbler's daughter" tells the tale of a young lass whose mother is in prison for accidentally killing a young man who was getting a little fresh with her daughter in her chamber. Like the other songs on the album, the instrumental breaks are a delight. "I wonder what is keeping my true love" and "Fairest of all Yarrow" showcase Kate's voice beautifully. "Wild Goose" has some gorgeously sweet violin playing between verses. "All God's angels" is another heart-render..

"Our town" is exquisite. I had never heard the song - nor even of it - before encountering this album. What a song, and what a rendition! The song is intensely moving: "but hold on to your lover, cause your heart's gonna die.." becomes "I'll hold on to my lover, cause my heart's just died.." As with many of her renditions of sad songs, Kate sings in a natural, almost matter-of-fact sort of way that somehow makes the song all the more moving. It's hard to explain, but if you listen to any of her material you'll understand what I mean. The guitar and especially the mandolin on this track are terrific - again almost understated,letting the song breathe rather than dominating it. This approach to instrumentation is fairly typical, and probably the result of John McCusker's shrewd understanding of the genre.

Yes, I think that "Sleepless" is just as good as "Hourglass" and "Little Lights." If you haven't got any of Kate's albums, consider buying one or both of the others first. If you already have one or both of the others but not this one yet, you should be ashamed of yourself!

I was captivated from the moment I heard her flawless vocals...and the yorkshire lilt creeping into her lyrics made it all the more appealing to me having just moved to Yorkshire myself.

Don't let this put you off though. Kate takes the notion of a traditional folky love song and translates it, just for you. To see her live once is a memorable experience; to see her twice you'll feel like you know this lovely lady.

This album is the best of the lot, and the rest isn't all that bad.

An investment in itself.

I confess I couldn't really see it myself. Sure Kate and Kathryn were more than a little gorgeous to look at and there was no denying that they'd a pair fine voices, but apart from that I found myself thinking `ho hum'. Pretty young voices singing Old Songs are all very well, but the Old Songs demand a little more than that. They demand understanding from the singer, and back then the ambition was there but the execution was slightly lacking.

And so I started to ignore Kate Rusby.

Which was a mistake.

Time has passed, experience has done its job and, well, this album is wonderful. There's a maturity to her reading of the songs that reminds me of the likes of Norma Waterson, or of Maddy PRyor on one of her good days. The songs are well chosen, the new songs fit well with the Old and the album just sounds `right'. And the sequence from `I wonder what is keeping my true love tonight' through `The fairest of all Yarrow' to `The Unquiet Grave' is likely to tear your heart out. Great, great stuff.