Four Gruagach Tales - Robin Williamson

Advantages: Helps you to be miserable
Disadvantages: Helps you to be miserable

...Generally I'm an American house kind of girl. Anything with a funky disco feel, something you can shake your ass to. So when my Dad handed me a cd and told me to listen, I thought it would be just another one of his jangly guitar, four piece, men with beards type of band. He said I might be surprised, so I listened, and I was. Astrid Williamson (instantly the name conjors up images of seventies regalia, lava lamps and paisley shirts) has a striking voice, delicate enough to make you shiver and powerful enough to knock your hat off. The album, For the boy released in 1998, contains eleven works of art. It's as simple as that. However saying that, I don't think you'd be getting value for your money. Although there are eleven maserpieces on the album, ten of them pale slightly in comparison to the final track on the album. You... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Great songs, unparalleled singing and playing
Disadvantages: None

...of the Home Brew adds another dimension to some of the songs, and their input is critical in building the piece towards its grand finale. The remainder of the CD is no less enjoyable. And quite varied too: "God Dog" by the Incredible String Band's Robin Williamson joins with Robert Burns' "Ca' the Yowes", and both sound totally at home. "The Gower Wassail" provides a fitting conclusion to the proceedings, and again the musicianship is excellent. You may of course by the end think you've heard one too many songs about country lasses getting pregnant, this is as a small complaint (let's face it - things like that happened in those days) and should take nothing away from the overall high quality of the disc. It should also be remembered that the mix of a traditional folk singer with early music classical players was a very bold one for its time... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Fantastic songs wonderful singing
Disadvantages: None

...A mate of mine who is a radio presenter first introduced me to the music of John Williamson. At first, his CDs were only available through Reddington's Rare Records in Birmingham as special imports. But as the influence of the radio programme they were played on spread (the Ed Doolan Show on BBC Radio WM) John Williamson began doing tours of the Midlands and them of the UK and his CDs became more widely available. "The Way It Is" is a wonderful introduction to the works of John Williamson who is, in my opinion, probably the best poet musician singer and humorist that Australia has produced in many years. Think of an Australian Max Boyce and you are probably part way to understanding the vibrant and lively appeal of John Williamson. The first song on the CD is Campfire on the Road. Is a wonderful love song with multiple purposes... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful