What do you mean - you haven't heard of Kate Rusby?
Kate Rusby is an fantastic folk singer. Her music is beautiful and is not the typical diddly diddly music that you might associate with the term folk. I was fortunate to see her in April at the Platform in Morcambe. She was amazing, down to earth, beautiful and funny. She even made time to chat with us personally after the show.
Sleepless is her second solo album (her third has just been released - Little Lights). The album is made up of 11 songs, some happy, some sad. Each song tells it's own little story....
1. The Cobblers Daughter
Written by Kate herself, she sings of a cobblers daughter who has a bad reputation and refuses to marry. She lures a man back to her bedroom whilst her parents are there, screams her dad hits the lad and as he is running out of the house her mother hits him with a broomstick, kills him and ends up in prison.
2. I Wonder What is Keeping
My True Love This Night
A traditional folk song about a love sick girl pining after her love that is staying away. He actually just said he loved her to put her at ease and has many other lovers. She realises it is a false love and hopes that she'll be able to move on.
3. The Fairest of All Yarrow
A traditional folk song with a bit of Rusby. This tells of a girl who is in love with Billy, who had promised to marry her. She ended up catching him in the arms of another girl. Similar story to the last, but a completely different style of song.
4. The Unquet Grave.
A truely beautiful song about a woman who's lover is dead and is mourning for 12 months and a day. Taken from a traditional folk belief that you should not mourn for longer than that.
5. Sho Heen
A lullaby written by Rusby herself, I've got a feeling it was written about her close friend that dies who she misses and wrote the lullaby (When I went to see her she explained all the songs before she sang them). Although it has lovely lyrics, I don't really like the song in it's entirety.
6. Sweet Bride.
Written by Rusby, this song is about a lady who was walking, a man comes by on horseback who asks her to marry him and takes her away to his castle under the sea. I sometimes feel that this could be about a woman who drowns herself because the sea is all she has left. This is a lovely bright song, less depressing than some of the others.
7. All God's Angels
Amazing song, written by herself. It's about a girl who is pregnant and the father of her child has married another woman who is more beautiful and he truely loves her. She decides to kill herself so that she is cared for by all God's angels. This has beautiful lyrics and amazing vocals (guestTim O'Brien). It will send shivers down your spine!
A traditional folk song. To be honest I don't really understand the lyrics. For example: 'Ranzo my boys oh Ranzo Ray'. It isn't one of the best songs on her album. It doesn't really make sense and the actual music isn't bad, but doesn't make up for the lyrics.
9.The Duke and the Tinker.
A traditional folk song with bits of Rusby. This song always makes me smile. It is about a Duke who found a drunk tinker passed out. He takes the tinker to his palace and dresses him up and everybody treats him like a duke. They treat him really well, get him really drunk then when he passes out puts him back where they found him.
10. Our Town
Written by Iris Dement, Kate Rusby does a wonderful cover of a woman leaving a town that she has spent 40 years in. The place she meets her true love, buys her first car etc. The song is simple but lovely It was better live than on the album, but still beautiful.
11. The Sleepless Sailor
Written by Rusby, a song about a sailor who's life is the sea. It is a good song to finish the album, gentle and simple.
The album over all is superb. The one's I liked least (Sho Heen and The Wild Goose) were definitely not bad at all. It would be almost impossible to have a whole album that someone as picky as me would like all tracks equally.
My favourites have to be (in reverse order!) Our Town, Sweet Bride, All God's Angels and the Unquiet Grave. These songs have wonderful lyrics (which can be found on her website) and combined with the lyrics either send a shiver down your spine or bring a tear to your eye.
The problem with this album is that it is expensive if you buy it on the highstreet. For a singlle album it costs about £15.99. I haven't seen it cheaper. If you buy it on the internet I've seen it for£11.99 on Amazon or £12 on her website not including P & P. She was selling it for £12 on a stall on tour.
However expensive it may be you have to listen to it. It is the best album I have heard. Proabably ever.
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I love this album - Glad there are a few Kate Rusby fans on here. Try the DVD if you haven't got it already - some great hidden tracks!
Paiceyjohn 24.10.2001 15:10
Interesting review and insights. I must admit that I was a little disappointed with this album. I find the arrangements a little wishy-washy. I prefer the more robust folk-a-rama of Hourglass more to my taste. However she is absolutely fantastic live. Did you see her play with the band yet? Excellent. Just as an aside Ronzo (or Ranzo) is an old sea shanty about shagging and drinking rum that sailors of old used to sing. Kate made it all pink and fluffy for family consumption! I think it's safe to say that Ronzo means something along the lines of Way-hey!!
tange 23.09.2001 10:28
An excellent review and a great first opinion...welcome to Ciao!
Kate Rusby is a folk singer in the Sandy Denny mould. Not that they sound at all alike, ... more
simply that as with Denny, Rusby is at her best when singing fragile, introspective folksongs--exactly the kind of material to be heard here. This, her second solo ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Kate Rusby is a folk singer in the Sandy Denny mould. Not that they sound at all alike, ... more
simply that as with Denny, Rusby is at her best when singing fragile, introspective folksongs--exactly the kind of material to be heard here. This, her second solo ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Kate Rusby is a folk singer in the Sandy Denny mould. Not that they sound at all alike, ... more
simply that as with Denny, Rusby is at her best when singing fragile, introspective folksongs--exactly the kind of material to be heard here. This, her second solo ...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Kate Rusby is a folk singer in the Sandy Denny mould. Not that they sound at all alike, ... more
simply that as with Denny, Rusby is at her best when singing fragile, introspective folksongs--exactly the kind of material to be heard here. This, her second solo ...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
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