Maddy PriorCountry of origin:England Type of music generally:Contemporary, traditional, and neo-traditional folk Status:Most recent release, Seven for Old England (2008) See also:Maddy Prior's page Comparisons:Steeleye Span, June Tabor, Martin Carthy Covers/own material:Own, covers, and traditional music General comments:Beautiful voice, well suited to what she does. (welsh@epcc.ed.ac.uk) Comments about live performance:Maddy Prior's set was intriguing, and a fairly mixed bag. I've never listened to much Steeleye Span, and mostly know Maddy's voice from the one Silly Sisters disc that I own. On some tracks, she had a perfect blend of smooth and heart-rending to make for some powerful performances, but other times, everything seemed slightly off-kilter. I was a little surprised that the music was more experimental than I was expecting. She had a keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist (everything from Uilleann pipes to tin whistle to e-bow'ed guitar) who varied between traditional backing and wild experimentation, as well as providing solid back-up singing. The show was heavy from her new disc (Flesh & Blood), which is half covers, and half a song cycle based on chakra's and colours that will take a while for me to absorb. (The first song in the cycle is a riddle whose answer is: The Leek.) The medley of Todd Rundgren's "Hard Times" flowing into a dramatic reworking of Sibelius' "Finlandia" was a brilliant high point, and while the show was erratic, there were many high points like that. I was very proud to be able to recognize a Low D Whistle when it was brought out :) She played at least 2 Steeleye Span: "The Blacksmith" and "The Saucy Sailor", and closed with "Somewhere Along the Road", a beautiful ballad from the Silly Sisters's album No More To The Dance. (c. 1997, neal) Recommended first album:Probably Flesh & Blood Recordings:
Woman in the WingsRelease info:1978; reissued 1994—BGO Records—BGOCD215 Availability:Available in the U.K. Ecto priority:Recommended for fans of Maddy Prior's other projects and English folk Group members:Maddy Prior—vocals Guest artists:Andy Roberts—guitar Produced by:Ian Anderson, David Palmer, and Robin Black Comments:This disc suffers some from the late '70s production (at least, that production style doesn't suit my tastes any more), but it still has Maddy Prior's delightfully distinctive voice. I would recommend her other discs above this one. (Neile) YearRelease info:1993—Park Records—PRKCD20 Availability:Available in the U.K. and in the U.S. as an import Ecto priority:Highly recommended for fans of Maddy Prior's other projects and English folk Group members:Maddy Prior—vocals Guest artists:Nick Holland—piano, keyboards, Hammond, backing vocals Comments:The first five tracks form a cycle about the year. The following seven tracks don't seem to have a particular theme. Flesh & BloodRelease info:1997—Park Records—PRKCD38 Availability:Available in the U.K. and in the U.S. as an import Ecto priority:Highly recommended for fans of Maddy Prior's other projects and English folk Group members:Maddy Prior—vocals Guest artists:Nick Holland—keyboards, backing vocals Produced by:Nick Holland & Troy Donockley Comments:Maddy Prior's voice is as strong and expressive as ever. The first six tracks are traditional and neo-traditional songs, and for me this is the most effective part of the album (it includes Sibelius' "Finlandia" with the melody line on bagpipes, which is quite something to hear!). The next section is seven songs/tunes called "Dramatis Personae", based on the chakras, according to the album notes. The tunes here are a little less distinctive than what preceeds it. The final track is a Rick Kemp composition. Anyway, this is among the best of her recent solo albums, especially the traditional tracks. (Neile) |
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