June TaborCountry of origin:England Type of music generally:Contemporary folk, traditional folk, and pop (with one jazz collection) Status:Most recent release, An Introduction to June Tabor (compilation, 2018); most recent release of new material, Ashore (2011) See also:The official June Tabor site Comparisons:Maddy Prior's solo work Covers/own material:Covers of traditional and contemporary folk and contemporary pop songs General comments:I have been a June Tabor fan since first hearing the Silly Sisters, and have heard her live several times. She has a stunning, deep, expressive voice. I prefer her traditional and more traditional-soundings songs to her contemporary pop-ish stuff, but will listen even to songs that aren't really to my taste for the wonder of her voice—she is a masterful interpreter of all kinds of songs. She might be an acquired taste because she's not for the easily depressed—her material is usually deep, soulful, painful, though she does some wonderful, lively, funny traditional material, too. She has a rich, evocative voice and knows how to use it. Her presentation is powerful and distinctive. She has ranged greatly in style over the years, from the early albums which are more purely traditional folk and are livelier, to her folk/rock work with The Oyster Band, to her jazz album, to the work she is doing now, which is mostly rich, slow compositions by contemporary folk writers, though she also does similar treatments of traditional songs. The upbeat songs are now fewer and further between but they do still appear. Her version of Lal Waterson's "The Scarecrow" is one of the most haunting songs I have heard in my life. (Neile) Comments about live performance:I've seen June Tabor live four or five times, and only once have I felt at all disappointed (maybe because I knew another concert I also wanted to go to was on at the same time, or maybe I just wasn't in the right mood, or maybe it was that on that particular concert she did fewer of her traditional songs and more of her pop/jazz interpretations—my less favourite side of her repertoire), but whatever—the other times I've seen her have been a delight. Recommended first album:For solo stuff Airs and Graces, Abyssinians, or the Aspects or Anthology compilations; her Silly Sisters albums are great, and if you want to hear how she can rock out, get June Tabor and the Oyster Band's Freedom and Rain. For her more recent work you might want to try Aleyn. (Neile) Recordings:
Airs & GracesRelease info:c. 1976; rereleased 1991—Shanachie Records—Shanachie 79055 Availability:Wide in the U.S. Ecto priority:Essential for fans of traditional music Group members:June Tabor—vocals Produced by:Paul Brown Comments:What a stunning debut recording! Every song here, each rendition of every song here, is a knockout. June Tabor's voice shows its power and delicacy, and the collection goes from strength to strength. I've loved this disc for years and love it now. Powerful & a couple of just fun songs, like "While Gamekeepers Lie Sleeping". A wonderful version of Eric Bogle's "The Band Played Waltzing Matilda". (Neile) Ashes and DiamondsRelease info:1977; rereleased 1989—Topic Records—TSCD360 Availability:Wide in the U.S. and U.K. Ecto priority:Highly recommended for fans of traditional folk Group members:June Tabor—vocals Guest artists:Tony Hall—melodeon Produced by:Paul Brown Comments:This is a collection of quite simply, clearly presented traditional songs both lively songs and earnest ballads. Several are a cappella, others have simple accompaniment, all showcase June Tabor's lovely, versatile voice. A really lovely collection. From the beginning I don't like her more contemporary covers (like "Now I'm Easy") though this is probably my own prejudice, but when I listen to how she can carry a long a cappella rendition of a song like "Clerk Saunders" and be captivating through its entire six-minute length, I think it has a lot to do with the strength of the material. (Neile) A Cut Above(with Martin Simpson)Release info:1980—Green Linnet Records—GLCD 3072 Availability:Wide Ecto priority:Highly recommended for fans of traditional folk Group members:June Tabor—vocals Guest artists:Ric Saunders—violin Produced by:Paul Brown Comments:Quite a lovely collection of songs, with wonderful, minimal instrumentation. A great showcase for June Tabor's talents. (Neile) AbyssiniansRelease info:Re-released 1991—Shanachie Records—79038 Availability:Wide in the U.S. Ecto priority:Highly recommended for folk lovers Group members:June Tabor—vocals Produced by:Andrew Cronshaw Comments:This is a wonderful collection of powerful songs, especially her version of Lal Waterson's "The Scarecrow". Wonderful use of June Tabor's voice in these songs—this is one of her best albums. (Neile) AqabaRelease info:1989—Shanachie Records—79070 Availability:Wide Ecto priority:Highly recommended for folk and June Tabor fans Group members:June Tabor—vocals Guest artists:Huw Warren—piano Ric Sanders-violins Produced by:Andrew Cronshaw Comments:This is a good, but very dark collection of material, even if it does have a happy ending in the story of "The King of Rome". Fascinating, depressing version of Natalie Merchant's "Verdi Cries". This collection never fails to affect my mood—strong stuff. (Neile) Some Other TimeRelease info:1989—Hannibal—HNCD 1347 Availability:Wide Ecto priority:Recommended only for jazz standard or June Tabor fans Group members:June Tabor—vocals Guest artists:Huw Warren—arrangements, piano, cello Produced by:Joe Boyd Comments:This is a collection of June Tabor's takes on jazz standards. Her typical vocal restraint and her smoky voice seem a natural for these takes on such standards as "Night and Day" and "I've Got You under My Skin" by Cole Porter, "The Man I Love" by George and Ira Gershwin as well as "Pork Pie Hat" by Charles Mingus and "Round Midnight" by Thelonius Monk. It would best be listened to in a dark smoky bar. (Neile) AspectsRelease info:1990—Request Contemporary Series—CDRR 501 Availability:U.S. and U.K. Ecto priority:Recommended for anyone who wants a taste of June Tabor's early work Group members:June Tabor—vocals Comments:A good, representative compilation of her work including tastes of her work with Martin Simpson, as Silly Sisters (with Maddy Prior) and with The Oyster Band. (Neile) Angel TigerRelease info:1992—Cooking Vinyl (U.K.)/Shanachie Records—COOKCD 049 Availability:Wide in U.S. and U.K. Ecto priority:Recommended for June Tabor fans or lovers of contemporary folk Group members:June Tabor—vocals Guest artists:Huw Warren—piano, cello, accordion Produced by:John Ravenhall Comments:This is a collection mostly of neo-traditional folk songs. There are some lovely moments here, and June Tabor is in fine vocal form. Many of the songs are somewhat didactic, but June Tabor's voice can make even those songs come alive. (Neile) Against The StreamsRelease info:1994—Cooking Vinyl (U.K.)—COOK CD 071 Availability:Wide in the U.S. and U.K. Ecto priority:Recommended for June Tabor fans Group members:June Tabor—vocals Guest artists:Huw Warren—piano, cello Produced by:John Ravenhall Comments:This is another collection that is a mix of contemporary folk and pop songs with a few traditional songs. My favourites are always the traditional songs, though she does a stunning version of Richard Thompson's neo-traditional "Pavanne" here. June Tabor's voice is always gorgeous and her interpretations emotional. (Neile) AleynRelease info:1997—Green Linnet Records—GLCD 3119 Availability:Wide Ecto priority:Highly recommended Group members:June Tabor—vocals Guest artists:Andy Cutting—diatonic accordion Produced by:John Ravenhall Comments:I love June Tabor's voice—it's deep and expressive and is shown off well in this collection of songs. I still like her versions of traditional songs and contemporary ballads best—and have some problems with some of the cheesy backup of the pop songs. Ah well, she does a great version of Richard Thompson's "The Great Valerio" and of "Bentley and Craig" (a ballad about the two kids whose story was the basis for the movie Let Him Have It). The best of her recent recordings in my opinion. (Neile) On AirRelease info:1998—Strange Fruit (BBC, UK)—SFRSCD074 Availability:U.K. Ecto priority:Highly recommended for June Tabor fans Group members:June Tabor—vocals Guest artists:Martin Simpson—guitar, banjo on 1 track Produced by:Tony Wilson 2 tracks), Pete Ritzema (2 tracks) Malcolm Brown (2 tracks), Dale Griffin (3 tracks), Mike Robinson (3 tracks) Comments:This is a collection of tracks produced by the BBC from 1976 through 1990. It is mostly traditional, which is my favourite music to hear June Tabor interpret. It also includes three tracks where she rocks out with The Oyster Band (see our entry for her work with The Oyster Band), covering Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit", Bob Dylan's "This Wheel's on Fire" and his "All Along the Watchtower". There's also one cover of an Ewan MacColl song, and the remainder of the tracks are all traditional. A wholly enjoyable collection. (Neile) A Quiet EyeRelease info:2000—Green Linnet Records—GLCD 3129 Availability:Wide Ecto priority:Recommended for June Tabor fans Group members:June Tabor—vocals Guest artists:Huw Warren—piano Comments:While I love June Tabor's take on traditional material, her contemporary folk and jazzy things just leave me cold. In other words, I like part of this disc a lot, and the rest of it doesn't do much for me. Sigh. Only recommended for June Tabor fans, or someone like me who likes part of it enough to ignore the other part. (Neile) Rosa MundiRelease info:2001—Topic Records—TSCD532 in the UK; Green Linnet—GLCD3139 in the US Availability:Wide in UK and US Ecto priority:Recommended for folk/pop fans Group members:June Tabor—vocals Guest artists:Huw Warren—piano Produced by:John Ravenhall Comments:June Tabor's celebration of the rose, a mix of traditional and contemporary folk tunes. My favourites on this are: "Belle Rose" a livelier tune in French, "Deep in Love" a passionate tune. I've realized that a lot of what puts me off June Tabor's recent work is Huw Warren's piano, which almost always sounds the same, no matter the tone of the song—he has an overly ornate prettified style which has an easy-listening overtone that gets on my nerves and sometimes undercuts the power of June Tabor's voice and interpretations of songs. (Neile) An Echo of HoovesRelease info:2003—Topic Records—TSCD543 Availability:Wide in UK and US Ecto priority:Highly recommended Group members:June Tabor—vocals Guest artists:Huw Warren—piano, cello, piano accordion Comments:To my tastes, this is June Tabor's best album in years. She's back to doing entirely traditional material—material she has such a wonderful, evocative way of presenting with her strong, deep voice. The accompaniment avoids the trite pop sound that has haunted her more recent recordings and is wonderful support to her powerful vocals. A delightful, haunting album, and a good choice of songs. I'm so happy that she has returned to this material! (Neile) |
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