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Folk Festival: A Celebration of Music Recorded at the Sidmouth International Festival
Gottbox 011
The undoubted high spot of the folk scene in 2004 was the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Sidmouth International Festival. In addition to the festival itself, there was the book of the festival's history, a major BBC4 television programme and a BBC Radio 2 documentary. Plus this double CD box set.
The CD tracks have come from the BBC's own recordings at the festival - dating back to the Beach Store of the 1970s and from Ham Concert Marquee performances as recent as 2002.
Nic Jones only performed at the festival once, in 1980, but there are three memorable tracks here, including The Bonny Light Horseman. Although The Watersons first performed at the festival in 1966, the first recordings were not made until the 1990s. Dido Bendigo (sung by Mike, Norma and Lal, plus Martin Carthy) was recorded in 1990, and there are also separate tracks from Waterson:Carthy, and from Norma and Martin solo.
The earliest recording is from 1974 (The Yetties), and other 1970s tracks include Jackie Daly and Seamus Creagh and Peter Bellamy. The Streets of London from Ralph McTell is a unique recording in which Ralph shares the singing with Show of Hands and Chris While and Julie Matthews. Other performers include Eric Bibb, John Kirkpatrick, June Tabor and Ray Fisher. Alongside Kevin Mitchell's unaccompanied song False Lover John there are tracks from Danú, Home Service and Coope Boyes and Simpson. Chris Wood and Andy Cutting perform Chris's excellent re-write of Hares on the Mountain. The collection ends with a rip-roaring track, The Bluebells of Scotland from hammer dulcimer player Jimmy Cooper, aged 69 when he was recorded in 1976.
This collection could never encapsulate the variety and eclectic mix that has made up the Sidmouth experience - the BBC recordings did not extend to the international or British dance groups, the workshop showcases, the informality of the pubs or the music in the streets. However, the accompanying 28-page booklet does try to capture the atmosphere of the town during folk week, with a brief historical summary and a selection of photographs and leaflets going back to the 1950s. The presentation is lavish.
Produced by David Suff, this is a superb selection of some of the performers that have appeared at the festival over the years - a further illustration of the importance of this great event.
Derek Schofield - January 2005
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Folk & Acoustic
