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The Bairns
 
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The Bairns

~ Rachel Unthank
4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
Price: £8.98 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
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Frequently Bought Together

The Bairns + Alas I Cannot Swim + Fleet Foxes
Price For All Three: £18.94

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  • This item: The Bairns ~ Rachel Unthank And The Winterset

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • Alas I Cannot Swim ~ Laura Marling

    Usually dispatched within 9 to 11 days.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    Eligible for FREE UK delivery on orders over £5 with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • Fleet Foxes ~ Fleet Foxes

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
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Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

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Product details

  • Audio CD (20 Aug 2007)
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Label: EMI
  • ASIN: B000T5MFBI
  • Other Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 3,256 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

    Popular in this category:

    #52 in  Music > World & Folk > English Folk

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Listen to Samples and Buy MP3s

Songs from this album are available to purchase as MP3s. Click on "Buy MP3" or view the MP3 Album.

Extraits
Song Title Time Price
Listen  1. Felton Lonnin 7:23£0.69
Listen  2. Lull 1: Newcastle Lullaby 1:23£0.69
Listen  3. Blue Bleezing Blind Drunk 5:13£0.69
Listen  4. I Wish, I Wish 6:24£0.69
Listen  5. Blue's Gaen Oot O'the Fashion 4:31£0.69
Listen  6. Lull 2: My Lad's a Canny Lad0:23£0.69
Listen  7. Blackbird 2:53£0.69
Listen  8. Lull 3: A Minor Place0:22£0.69
Listen  9. Sea Song 6:19£0.69
Listen10. Whitehorn 6:04£0.69
Listen11. Lull 4: Can't Stop It Raining 1:45£0.69
Listen12. My Donald 8:06£0.69
Listen13. Ma Bonny Lad 1:57£0.69
Listen14. Fareweel Regality 6:20£0.69
Listen15. Newcastle Lullaby 6:23£0.69

Product Description

CD Description
Second album, following 2005's 'Cruel Sister', from cult Northumbrian all-female folk quartet, which found itself in many critics' lists as one of the best albums of 2007 and is nominated for the 2008 Mercury Prize. Bewitching, haunting and melancholy, the album absorbs and transcends the folk idiom, its mostly beatless songs buoyed and given an almost classical beauty by the plangent strings of the Northern Sinfonia.

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Customer Reviews

22 Reviews
5 star:
 (15)
4 star:
 (4)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (22 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars ..... above and beyond......., 1 Dec 2008
By G. Thomas (Canterbury UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
To tell the truth there is very little I can add that hasn't already been said by those reviewers more knowledgeable and eloquent. Most here obviously feel the same way I do about this music Still there is something about "The Bairns" that creates a need to share my delight.

I discovered this album as part of my annual buying of the "Mercury Prize shortlist". Suffice to say all of the others have already faded away into the background and pall in comparison to this exquisite piece of work.

I remember the Guardian blabbing on about The Winterset when this was released but did the shameful "folk: I don't really do folk" thing and ignored it. My embarrassment at that earlier narrowness of vision is luckily smothered by my sheer joy of finally discovering what I was missing.

Let me start by saying that I have never heard anything like this before. This is something above and beyond the term "music". It's an experience that honestly transcends everything I have heard and loved in the past. As you immerse yourself in this album moments of devastating, desperate beauty emerge, entangling and drawing you further into the overriding hypnotic framework and gently rhythmic flow that flawlessly holds this exceptional work together.
This is a collection of tunes that will move you deeply, sometimes to tears, sometimes to laughter. I recently saw them live (which mere words cannot recommend strongly enough but it is, incredibly, even better live) and was somewhat relieved and amused to see other people nearby wiping away discreetly shed tears.
It was "Blackbird" and "Sea song" that initially hooked me but it was "Felton Lonnin", "Blue's Gaen Oot O'the Fashion" and especially "I Wish" that reeled me in. Now I'm hopelessly and wonderfully under the spell of this towering achievement.
Do they actually know how good this album is? Are they aware what they've created? Can they possibly produce something this perfect again? I certainly hope so because I just can't stop listening to this. Months later and all other music is still strangely irrelevant.

I know little about music but I think it's safe to say what's so very special about "The Bairns" is the overall structure and the arrangements. All the elements that make up each track work so perfectly together and something that initially seems relatively simplistic reveals layer upon layer of depth both audible and emotional.
Like an earlier reviewer I'm usually reaching for the hankies before "Fareweel Regality" has finished and I'm at a total loss to explain why.
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19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful!, 18 Oct 2007
By M. Ash (Lancashire, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I'd eyed this CD up a few times until I finally got round to listening to some samples on the band's MySpace page, after which I went out and purchased the album. Firstly, this isn't a CD which rewards instantly if you do the quick flick throught the tracks that so many of us do when we get a pile of new discs, and its much better for it. Take the time to sit and listen to this properly and by half way through the first track you won't be able to switch it off until the last notes have played. This is folk at its absolute very best, performed in imaginative arrangements and covering the full gamut of life as only folk music can really do. It is nice too to see a Robert Wyatt song appearing on this CD as evidence that Unthank is interested not only in exploring traditional folk tales and tunes but also in extending the folk repertoire to include the best of new(ish) songwriting. Don't hesitate to buy this. It is wonderful.
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41 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars My eyes have been opened to folk, 27 Sep 2007
By Mr. M. Purdy (Manchester, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I am not a folk officianado or a big fan of the genre. Nevertheless, a friend persuaded me to purchase this album as he proclaimed that the strength of the performances, songs etc crossed all boundaries. High praise... and, for once, not ill-founded.
In fact, I have become so attached to this CD that I may be forced to rethink my albums of the year. And yes, this could well be my number one for 2007.
The simple fact of the matter is that 'The Bairns' has a truly timeless quality. It is wonderfully arranged and the piano playing and vocal harmonies, in particular, incredibly creative.
Undoubtedly one of the most haunting, yet uplifting, CDs in my pretty extensive collection. Far better than Polly Harvey's new record, which actually treads a not too dissimilar path.
All in all, anyone who loves passionate female performers - from Kate Bush, Joanne Newsom etc to Bats For Lashes - will love this album.
I'm not ready to purchase a wooly jumper or grow a beard yet, and thankfully this traditional, but very fresh sounding, album doesn't make me feel alienated for not being of that ilk.
The northumbrian lasses have done good.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Good but not great
The prevailing view is that this is a five-star album. Having played it quite a few times, I don't think it really merits those five stars. Read more
Published 6 days ago by Bailie Nicol Jarvie

5.0 out of 5 stars My favourite random purchase ever
This was one of those albums bought at the suggestion of the 'Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought... Read more
Published 10 days ago by C. Graham

4.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful album
Rachel and the band have produced an original, thought-provoking album that I find captivating. I like the traditional themes, the regional style and the stories. Read more
Published 3 months ago by GT Sue

5.0 out of 5 stars ALBUM OF THE DECADE
I cannot praise this album highly enough. It encompasses every mood from ecstatic joy to deep sorrow, and leaves you feeling all warm and funny inside. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Dave Gilmour's cat

5.0 out of 5 stars Dark - but don't let that stop you!
It's dark. Let's get that out of the way first - the songs range in subject from domestic abuse through infant mortality to being stuck at home while your husband is out hunting... Read more
Published 3 months ago by The Big Onion

5.0 out of 5 stars an ambient twist on tadition
a delightful sound. they are even better live. should there be a gig near you, i urge you not to miss it. Read more
Published 4 months ago by L. M. Benton

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic.
I was given this album as a birthday present. I'm a fan of more modern folk music, so was slightly wary when I noticed the track names and first heard that unmistakable Northern... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Hannah Fender

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely wonderful
This is a fantastic collection of songs. I'm so fond of music, and this is as good as it gets. I'm not a music snob like I was when I was younger, so I can honestly say this is... Read more
Published 5 months ago by T. White

4.0 out of 5 stars Fareweel serenity
I read about Rachel Unthank And The Winterset a while ago, and had considered buying the first album, but didn't. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Pseudonymous

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunned
We caught Rachel Unthank at Cambridge Folk Festival in 07 and were blown away. It reminded me of some of the cutting age post punk stuff (hardly sounds folk! Read more
Published 10 months ago by A. Welch

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Bairns
76% buy the item featured on this page:
The Bairns 4.5 out of 5 stars (22)
£8.98
Alas I Cannot Swim
9% buy
Alas I Cannot Swim 4.6 out of 5 stars (32)
£4.98
That's Proper Folk
6% buy
That's Proper Folk 4.1 out of 5 stars (33)
£1.98
Cruel Sister
5% buy
Cruel Sister 5.0 out of 5 stars (5)
£12.98
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