Little Lights - Kate Rusby > Reviews (1)

Having pretty wide musical tastes, I enjoy all sorts of music from rock and jazz to country, but I’ve always had a passion for folk music and used to be a regular visitor to the local folk clubs in our area before we had kids and stopped going out for about 15 years.

At this stage I'd like to make it clear that I don't sport a tangled beard, own badly fitting Aran sweaters, wear sandals with socks or break-out in unaccompanied song when I'm in my local.

Nevertheless, I like all sorts of folk music, traditional and modern, Irish and Scottish, with perhaps a preference for American and in particular singer songwriters such as Paul Simon, John Prine and Leonard Cohen.

One of the best of my recent CD acquisitions is a cd by singer/songwriter Kate Rusby who I believe has an abundance of talent and is capable of making the folk genre more popular than its been for a long while.

Kate Rusby was born and raised in Yorkshire, and whilst I’ve not yet seen her perform I’ve heard an interview with her on the radio and read a couple of articles about her in the Sunday supplements, and she comes across as a real character. She’s a Barnsley girl and very, very proud of it. She still lives there, maintains that she’ll never leave, and has a broad and rich Yorkshire accent in which she sings everything, including scottish and irish ballads.

Kate is the daughter of two well known folk singers in their own right. They had a ceilidh band, in which she apparently played fiddle by the age of five or twelve depending upon which reviews you read and went on to study drama at barnsley college where, with a childhood friend, Kathryn Roberts she formed a band called Equation, appeared at the Holmfirth festival and made an album which gained a fair amount of critical praise and was voted folk album of the year.

Kate was also part of the all-female folk band the Poozies (made a great album in 1998 called ‘Infinite Blue’) and narrowly missed fame and fortune by failing an audition for ‘Emmerdale’. Still their loss is our gain.

Since then she has pursued a very successful solo career displaying her distinctive writing and a very special storytelling talent on ‘Songs that were Bedtime Stories’ which she followed with the even more successful ‘Hourglass’.

Her next album ‘Sleepless’ was brilliant, instrumentally sparse, but that made it even more absorbing with echoes of Maddy Prior, Judith Tabor and the late Sandy Denny.

‘Little Lights’ is breathtakingly beautiful from start to finish. Its title, was supposedly inspired by coming home one dark night and only seeing her cat's eyes reflecting some dim light. Dominated by Kate’s incredibly warm soprano voice and backed by very subtle instrumentation it evokes tremendous atmosphere and emotion when you listen to it. Every song tells a story, the lyrics often filled with sadness.

The album opens with ‘Playing of Ball’, which features traditional lyrics set to music by the singer herself. The story is a violent one of a girl who falls in love with a young man, but her father does not approve, and kills the boyfriend.

Very simple melody, understated backing and harmonies but incredibly haunting.

The second track addresses the oldest of love dilemmas in song called ‘I Courted a Sailor’. She falls in love with a seaman, and of course, duty calls and he is gone for a long time. However, unlike the outcome of many such songs, this time they both remain faithful. Very much a Celtic influence song with a jazzy feel to it.

Richard Thompson's ‘Withered and Died’, is next and has an almost mournful quality. Guitar, double bass and a simple but effective fiddle allied with the purest of harmonies from Ms Eddie Reader makes this a near perfect recording.

‘Merry Green Broom’ is another set of traditional words set to music by Kate Rusby. Whimsical lyrics tell the story of a curious bet between a man and a woman. In the end, she wins, and remains a "maiden," as the lyrics put it.

‘Let the Cold Wind Blow’, slow and repetitive, understated backing, but very effective because of the purity of Kate’s voice.

‘Canaan's Land’, is an American Gospel tune of Appalachian folk origin. I’ve heard this song before, done in bluegrass settings. Kate’s version is very original, incredibly tuneful and one of my favourites on the album with wonderful backing vocals provided by Eddie Reader.

The next track ‘Some Tyrant’ another ballad of separated lovers has an interesting addition of a brass choir, which add a melancholic texture to the music towards the end of the song.

‘William and Davy’, are brothers who both fall in love with the same girl. Kate’s composition ups the tempo and captures the essence of very old traditional songs. Performed as an Irish jig, the song relates what happened when the brothers choose to let the girl decide between them.

‘Who Will Sing Me Lullabies’ is yet another beautiful song which has had a lot of plays on the radio. Very romantic, listen to it with the one you love, turn the lights down low, open a bottle of wine.......

In ‘My Young Man’ the brass section provides the sole accompaniment to another of Kate’s original songs. The result is perhaps one of the most haunting songs I’ve ever heard.

‘Matt Hyland’ is another traditional song and I have to admit, the one song on the album I haven’t yet taken to. Still, one man’s meat…..

The album ends with one of those hidden tracks,(its about 5 minutes after the last track) which may no longer be a novelty but a bonus nevertheless. It's a lovely version of the cute children's song ‘The Big Ship Sails’

The whole album is well worth a listen to, even if you have pre conceptions about folk music and its fans. Kate Rusby is one of the great voices of English folk and her latest the album is a real gem, full of Celtic influences.

Believe me Kate Rusby is going to be a household name. I'll bet my sandals on it.