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Product Description
Review
These days, everyone’s a folkie. It seems that just as in the wake of punk rock, everyone suddenly had short hair and a skinny tie, so in this age of post-fiddly-diddly music, young men and women are growing beards, putting on peasant frocks and sticking brand new recording contracts in their ears. Authenticity is, as ever, the best calling card, and if you’ve medals for singing in the crofts or you can tune your own fiddle, you’re well ahead for a crack at the Radio Two Folk Awards.
Emily Smith certainly covers lots of bases. Authentically Scottish (those Mumford & Sons lads have a massive setback with their public schooling), she danced at ceilidhs and was BBC Radio Scotland's Young Traditional Music of the Year in 2002. She’s as folkie in her roots as the Sex Pistols were punk. And, from its quaintly-misspelled title-track to its Richard Thompson cover, her fifth album gives a strong impression of being in the new folkie/singer-songwriter tradition of Kate Rusby and Laura Marling.
In fact, Smith is a much more mainstream, albeit waif-like singer, than the rest. A fine musician and a talented interpretative singer, Smith avoids the grit that much of the modern scene opts for, and at times – like on the remarkably semolina-esque Dreams and Lullabies – her delivery veers more towards Karen Carpenter rather than, say, Eddi Reader. When small amounts of grit are delivered, as in a version of Thompson’s Waltzing’s for Dreamers, they are covered in a sweet and by no means disagreeable croon.
After a while, the record’s saccharine nature rather starts to overwhelm its musical excellence and Smith’s delightful warble reminds the listener not so much of Joni Mitchell, as some other reviews have claimed, but of that other popular and attractive singer of Celtic origin, Katherine Jenkins. A pretty and well-made record, then, but one perhaps better suited to lingering shots of lovely glens in a trailer for Coast rather than excitable modern listening.
--David Quantick
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The Guardian 4/5
If Julie Fowlis is the finest young Gaelic singer in the thriving Scottish folk scene, then Emily Smith is surely the most impressive young instrumentalist and songwriter singing in English...
"one of the best voices in the universe!"
"one of the best voices in the universe!"
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:MP3 Download
Emily has maintained the high quality of her output with this fine release. Crystal clear clarity, a very sweet voice, an emphasis on melody and ideal musical backing will easily cement her reputation and win new fans. I must confess to being a sucker for Scottish accents and tend to prefer her more "traditional" sounding songs.
This album has a theme running through which concerns travelling and many of the songs were actually written abroad. She also makes more use of international musicians (eg Stuart Duncan) so from time to time there are country or bluegrass influences like in "Take you Home". There is a pleasing mix of tempos and Emily does a number of cover versions like "Waltzing's for Dreamers",the rollicking "Gypsy Davy" and "Somewhere along the Road" where for me she does not quite reach the standard set by Cathie Ryan on her album of the same name. She again finishes with an unaccompanied track - a policy often followed by fellow Scot Julie Fowlis.
So there are a number of subtle developments evident on this recording but I would like to see Emily branch into some more challenging topics, as folk shouldn't always be easy listening. It's only a minor point of opinion but I'd like to see her tackle some material with more depth or bite like compatriot Karine Polwart (a superior writer) often comes up with. "Lord Donald" is a good move in this direction.
Rest assured if you're already a fan this record is well up to standard and even if not quite reaching the heights of "Too Long Away" will grace any collection !
This album has a theme running through which concerns travelling and many of the songs were actually written abroad. She also makes more use of international musicians (eg Stuart Duncan) so from time to time there are country or bluegrass influences like in "Take you Home". There is a pleasing mix of tempos and Emily does a number of cover versions like "Waltzing's for Dreamers",the rollicking "Gypsy Davy" and "Somewhere along the Road" where for me she does not quite reach the standard set by Cathie Ryan on her album of the same name. She again finishes with an unaccompanied track - a policy often followed by fellow Scot Julie Fowlis.
So there are a number of subtle developments evident on this recording but I would like to see Emily branch into some more challenging topics, as folk shouldn't always be easy listening. It's only a minor point of opinion but I'd like to see her tackle some material with more depth or bite like compatriot Karine Polwart (a superior writer) often comes up with. "Lord Donald" is a good move in this direction.
Rest assured if you're already a fan this record is well up to standard and even if not quite reaching the heights of "Too Long Away" will grace any collection !
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought this lovely album after hearing the track ' Sweet Lover Of Mine ' and it was only after that did I discover that Emily Smith had done a fabulous cover of the superb Richard Thompson song ' Waltzings For Dreamers ', one of my all time favourite songs from RT's vast and first class reportoire.Besides from that, this whole album has a great feel to it with great contributions in particular from Alan Doherty on flute and Stuart Duncan on fiddle.A really fresh and enjoyable listen.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Such a beautiful album!
This is Emily's fourth solo album and for me it's her best by far. The overall production of the album has me in mind of some of my favourite American roots and bluegrass artists (Alison Krauss).
Emily is more often than not characterised as a Scottish traditional singer, but there is definitely more to her than this. From the strength of this album I would say she is following in the footsteps of the new wave of popular folk south of the border.
The title track, Traiveller's Joy, (the Scots word for Traveller) is lively and punchy, the whistle and percussion setting the groove and perfectly complemented by a soaring fiddle line and of course, sublime vocals from Emily. It really sets the tone for the rest of the album which never fails to delight.
There are so many great tracks on this album, my favourites being Sweet Lover of Mine, a joyous catchy song that I can't help singing along to, with a catchy flute riff and a toe tapping rhythm. Gypsy Davy - a groovy reworking of the well known traditional song, Raggle Taggle Gypsy, Alan Doherty's whistle solos have to be heard to be believed! And Emily's own songs, Take You Home and Butterfly featuring again the virtuoso fiddle playing of Nashville's Stuart Duncan, who I've been a fan of for some years.
It seems a rare coup indeed for Emily to have Stuart on the album, but after seeing them together on Transatlantic Sessions 4 I presume that's where they hit it off.
(for those who don't know, Stuart's won 2 Grammy Awards for Best Bluegrass Album, was the 5 time winner of the Academy of Country Music Fiddle Player of the Year...He's something of a legend among fiddle players.)
It's also great to hear that even the slower songs on the album have an upbeat mood to them. Emily has tackled some hefty Scottish ballads on previous albums (with great aplomb) and it seems with this album she's decided to take a more uplifting and cheery path with her songs, (I know, it's not the usual 'folk singer' way but I for one appreciate it!)
Her own song, Dreams and Lullabies is touchingly introspective and the way the percussion mixes with Emily's own piano playing is gorgeous.
Somewhere Along the Road was a song Emily recorded on BBC Songs of Praise last year and I'm glad to see it included on this album, the song finishes with what can only be described as a whistle/flute ensemble orchestration, absolutely brilliant!
For me, this album has hit the nail on the head, it's thoughtful when it needs to be, funky at times with just the right amount of grit and the more I listen to it, the more I hear.
This is Emily's fourth solo album and for me it's her best by far. The overall production of the album has me in mind of some of my favourite American roots and bluegrass artists (Alison Krauss).
Emily is more often than not characterised as a Scottish traditional singer, but there is definitely more to her than this. From the strength of this album I would say she is following in the footsteps of the new wave of popular folk south of the border.
The title track, Traiveller's Joy, (the Scots word for Traveller) is lively and punchy, the whistle and percussion setting the groove and perfectly complemented by a soaring fiddle line and of course, sublime vocals from Emily. It really sets the tone for the rest of the album which never fails to delight.
There are so many great tracks on this album, my favourites being Sweet Lover of Mine, a joyous catchy song that I can't help singing along to, with a catchy flute riff and a toe tapping rhythm. Gypsy Davy - a groovy reworking of the well known traditional song, Raggle Taggle Gypsy, Alan Doherty's whistle solos have to be heard to be believed! And Emily's own songs, Take You Home and Butterfly featuring again the virtuoso fiddle playing of Nashville's Stuart Duncan, who I've been a fan of for some years.
It seems a rare coup indeed for Emily to have Stuart on the album, but after seeing them together on Transatlantic Sessions 4 I presume that's where they hit it off.
(for those who don't know, Stuart's won 2 Grammy Awards for Best Bluegrass Album, was the 5 time winner of the Academy of Country Music Fiddle Player of the Year...He's something of a legend among fiddle players.)
It's also great to hear that even the slower songs on the album have an upbeat mood to them. Emily has tackled some hefty Scottish ballads on previous albums (with great aplomb) and it seems with this album she's decided to take a more uplifting and cheery path with her songs, (I know, it's not the usual 'folk singer' way but I for one appreciate it!)
Her own song, Dreams and Lullabies is touchingly introspective and the way the percussion mixes with Emily's own piano playing is gorgeous.
Somewhere Along the Road was a song Emily recorded on BBC Songs of Praise last year and I'm glad to see it included on this album, the song finishes with what can only be described as a whistle/flute ensemble orchestration, absolutely brilliant!
For me, this album has hit the nail on the head, it's thoughtful when it needs to be, funky at times with just the right amount of grit and the more I listen to it, the more I hear.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
A sheer Joy
Emily has a beautiful voice and this album gets played, on and on and on. It is a sheer joy to listen to. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Blue
From The Top Drawer
The best album so far from Emily. Her clear and melodious voice breathes life into every track, and they are all superb songs. Traiveller's Joy is a listening joy.
Published 14 months ago by dands
Something new
I totally agree with the reviewer who spoke of the crystal clarity of Emily Smith's voice. I found this CD quite by accident, and instantly when I heard the samples on line I knew... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Amandine
Wonderful CD
Yet another wonderfull CD from Emily Smith.
The highlight for me was Richard Thompson's Waltzing's for Dreamers. Read more
The highlight for me was Richard Thompson's Waltzing's for Dreamers. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Dewi Griffith
Listening Joy
I bought this album as I had heard Emily Smith a couple of times on the Mike Harding show on Radio 2 and loved the sweet sound of her voice. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Alan J. Barnett
A fabulous voice!
Emily Smith's superb voice together with the wonderful mix of flutes, strings and percussion really make this an album worth buying. Read more
Published 15 months ago by ik_49
Another Scottish cracker !
Emily's voice is so clear and beautiful, like a Highland stream ! I bought her first album prior to seeing her at a folk festival and I've been hooked ever since. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Martin Friend
Love it!
This album really shows Emily at her best. Very much enjoying every track - lots of variety. Great vocals, great musicians - what more could you want?! Read more
Published 16 months ago by Sapphire
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