Tag Archives: Phil Beer

Folk: album review – Odette Michell ‘The Queen of the Lowlands’

Album reviews, Folk music, , , , , , , , ,

Reviewing Odette Michell’s debut album for the much-missed fRoots magazine back in 2019, I wrote that The Wildest Rose was “one of the stand-out debuts of 2019”. Lots of commentators expressed similar levels of enthusiasm and she soon found herself on many people’s ‘one to watch’ lists that year.

Since then, Michell has performed alongside the likes of Show of Hands, as well as opening for folk luminaries like Martin Carthy, Phil Beer, Reg Meuross and Ninebarrow amongst others. She’s also recently begun performing with Karen Pfeiffer and Daria Kulesh in a new trio formation: Michell, Pfeiffer & Kulesh. However, it’s been quite some wait for a follow-up solo album – but finally it’s here.

Comprising ten original songs, The Queen of the Lowlands features an impressive line-up of guest musicians, including Chris Leslie, Phil Beer, Lukas Drinkwater, Vicki Swann and Stu Hanna (who also produced); alongside additional vocal contributions from Daria Kulesh, Calum Gilligan and the duo, Ninebarrow.

Reviewing Michell’s debut album I noted she had a “knack for writing songs that could easily have been collected over a hundred years ago”. A similar approach is clearly evident on this latest album, as Michell herself acknowledges.

“My approach to songwriting is to try to be as authentic as possible while keeping a foothold in the folk tradition – it’s a balancing act but every song is personal to me at some level.”

Highlights include the gentle nature-themed opening track ‘The Woodlark and the Fieldfare’ with vocal contributions from the equally nature-loving Ninebarrow; the more contemporary-sounding but no less gorgeous ‘Hourglass’, dedicated to Michell’s father and sung as a duet with Callum Gilligan; and the jaunty fiddle-driven closing track ‘All The Bonny Ships’, written about Michell’s Polish grandparents who got separated during WW2 but were miraculously reunited in Britain at the end of the war.

Title track ‘The Queen of the Lowlands’, meanwhile, (which features some characteristically spell-binding fiddle from Fairport’s Chris Leslie) is not about Queen Wilhelmina, the former Dutch monarch, but rather the ship named after her that played a heroic role in the First World War, transporting US troops safely back home. It’s one of several nautical-themed songs on the album, hence the striking cover art.

Following her hugely-impressive debut album, here Odette Michell has gone on to deliver an absolutely stunning follow-up. Infused with her deep appreciation and obvious knowledge of traditional song, The Queen of the Lowlands is a beautiful album with gripping storytelling, crystal-clear vocals and first-class musicianship.

Released: 13 June 2025 https://www.odettemichell.com/

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Folk: album review – Odette Michell ‘The Wildest Rose’

Folk: album review – Reg Meuross ‘Fire & Dust’

Album reviews, Folk music, , , , , , , ,

A project commissioned and produced by The Who’s Pete Townshend, that’s built around the music of veteran British folk singer-songwriter, Reg Meuross, and is all about celebrating the life and times of who many consider to be America’s greatest ever folk-singer, Woody Guthrie, Fire & Dust certainly ticks plenty of boxes in the legends stakes.

Featuring twelve original songs penned by Meuross alongside four of Guthrie’s own songs, Townshend approached Meuross convinced that he was the right choice tell Guthrie’s story and, in Townshend’s own words: “draw a direct line from Woody, through Bob Dylan, to Reg Meuross.”

That notion of a baton being passed from Woody Guthrie to Bob Dylan, is reflected in the album’s final track, ‘Gypsy Singer’.

Reg Meuross: “It was because of Dylan’s visits to Woodie, his mimicking of his songs and singing, his hobo style, and his courage that I – and probably many more contemporary music fans – became interested in Woody. I already knew some of his folk songs, in fact my very first gig I played two of them. But Dylan drew my attention to the side of Woody for which he has since become famous: the compassionate, flawed and fiery fighter for freedom and equality, the protest balladeer, the Gypsy Singer.”

Joining Meuross (vocals, guitar, harmonica, banjo) a host of top-notch guest musicians (including Phil Beer, Marion Fleetwood, Gerraint Watkins and Simon Edwards) each work their magic. Townshend, himself, also contributes keyboards and bass guitar on two of the tracks

Pete Townshend: “Reg’s terrific songs tell Woody’s life story with respect and affection, but also truth.”

Highlights include the anthemic title track, the ‘Fire’ aspect representing the family tragedies that marred Guthrie’s personal life and the ‘Dust’ aspect representing the dust storms that forced millions, including Guthrie, to flee their homes in 1930s America. A change of tempo comes with the beautiful poignant ‘Woody Come Home’, written from the perspective of Guthrie’s wife. Among the Guthrie covers is, of course, Meuross’s rousing interpretation of that perennial protest anthem, ‘This Land is Our Land’. As the US of today descends into increasing authoritarianism, it’s a timely inclusion.

Throughout his career, Reg Meuross has been writing and performing songs brimming with passion, empathy and defiance. Probably no contemporary folk artist in Britain was better placed to make an album celebrating the life and music of Woody Guthrie – the protest singer’s protest singer. Fire & Dust is an outstanding project featuring an incredible set of songs.

Released: 14th March 2025 https://www.regmeuross.com/

Folk: album review – Show Of Hands ‘Roots 2: The Best Of Show Of Hands’

Album reviews, Folk music, , , , , ,

After a hugely-successful three and a half decades together Steve Knightley and Phil Beer announced this year that Show Of Hands’ days as a touring unit would finally be drawing to a close. The recent Autumn 2023 tour marked their final outing as a trio (with Miranda Sykes) and a spring tour planned for next year will be their final hurrah as a duo. To coincide with this fond farewell, they have a new compilation out. Intended as a companion piece to their original 2007 Roots ‘Best Of’ of compilation, Roots 2 offers up a whopping 31 tracks across two discs.

Steve Knightley: “We’ve always strived to evolve and experiment with our sound,, all the time staying true to our folk roots. We hope the diversity of this album demonstrates that and it will be a noteworthy addition to our discography.”

Immediate proof of just how long-overdue this follow-up compilation is, immediately comes in hearing just how many of my favourites from Show Of Hands can be found on this new collection: ‘Haunt You’, ‘The Long Way Home’, ‘Now You Know’ and, of course, ‘Arrogance, Ignorance and Greed’.

The earlier material isn’t neglected completely though. There’s a new version of ‘Country Life’, for example, recorded live in Exeter and reimagined as a gentle, reflective ballad rather than the rousing twenty-first century rural folk anthem we all love and know. And things are brought up to date with a gloriously celebratory live version of their 2021 ‘lockdown’ single, ‘The Best One Yet.’

Moving, poignant, rousing, anthemic (no-one does anthemic quite like Show Of Hands after all),  Roots 2 is a sterling late-career retrospective of one of the most important UK folk outfits of the past four decades.

Released: 6 November 2023 https://showofhands.co.uk/

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Live review: Show Of Hands at St Mary in the Castle 4/5/18

Folk: album review – Kirsty Merryn ‘Our Bright Night’

Album reviews, Folk music, , , , ,

After making quite an impact and scooping up tons of praise with her debut She & I, an album which paid tribute to inspirational women in history, Kirsty Merryn is back with a follow-up. In her own words Our Bright Night is about “tales of the supernatural, the dying of the light and the land.”

“It’s a reflection of the world we live in, both real and imagined, and the way in which ignorance to social issues can result in devastating results,” says Merryn.”After She & I I wanted yo strip everything back and make this album a more intimate affair.”

The result is a cool, classy album of contemporary folk with Merryn’s crystal clear vocals and gently captivating piano taking centre stage. There are guest appearances from Phil Beer who contributes violin on opening track ‘Twilight/Banks of Sweet Primroses’ and Sam Kelly whose vocals also grace a track ‘Shanklin Chine’.

The eleven tracks are mostly original material written in a folk vein but there are a couple of Merryn’s interpretations of traditional standards, too. Captivating vocals combined with intimate delivery and enigmatic songwriting makes Our Bright Night a worthy follow-up to Merryn’s well-received debut.

Released: 24th April 2020

https://www.kirstymerryn.com/

kirsty m

 

Live review: Show Of Hands at St Mary in the Castle 4/5/18

Folk music, Hastings music scene, Live reviews, , , , , , ,

This review was originally published by Hastings Online Times here

Touring together since the early 90s, picking up more awards than you’d care to mention and selling out the Albert Hall on several occasions, Devon’s Show Of Hands are one of the best-known names on the contemporary folk scene. As the venues got bigger and the album sales increased the original duo of Steve Knightley and Phil Beer were joined by double bass virtuosos, Miranda Sykes, along the way.

For this tour however, sans Sykes, the duo have decided to go back to their roots, performing songs from early on in their career. They are ably supported by Geoff Lakeman, father of a whole brood of award-winning folk musicians in Sean, Sam and Seth Lakeman. An engaging folk singer and concertina player with a lifetime’s experience as part of the local west country folk scene, Lakeman entertains the audience as he adopts the bemused persona of someone who finds themselves touring in support of their very first album at the age of 69.

Show Of Hands’ set features songs from Knightly and Beer’s early years of playing together at the Deer Leap folk club in Devon, in addition to songs voted for by their fans from the duo’s first five albums. There’s a nice variety in terms of both traditional material and Knightley’s own songs. As one would expect, it’s also a great showcase for Beer’s musical genius on fiddle, guitar and mandolin. Perhaps more so than a typical Show Of Hands gig, however, the nature of the performance gives the two a real opportunity to talk about their original coming together as a duo, their musical influences and some of the things that had happened to them over the years – both the hilarious and the poignant.

Introducing ‘Seven Yellow Gypsies’ Knightley explains that they were once playing the song to a group of musicians in India when the host musicians responded with a song of their own that had an almost identical melody and subject matter. It’s a lesson in realising however English we might think many of these old folk songs are there is something universal about much traditional music and also reminds us how well-travelled some of these songs are.

It isn’t all music from the early days though. The duo wrap up with a ‘greatest hits’ collection, giving some of their best-known anthems like ‘Arrogance, Ignorance and Greed’, ‘Country Life’ and ‘Cousin Jack’ a good airing. There’s plenty of Life In Show Of Hands yet and, I’m certain, there’ll be plenty more caustic observations of modern-day life but for this tour it was nice, also, to celebrate the duo’s early days with them and to learn a bit more about what brought them together.

https://www.showofhands.co.uk/

Show of Hands

Photo Credit: Simon Putman