Black & White: The Definitive Collection

Ewan MacColl | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 26, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Cooking Vinyl
• ASIN: B0000001ZU
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #317,306 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars distilled experience, October 1, 2001

By 

paul barlow - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black & White: The Definitive Collection (Audio CD)

This album is an antidote to all forms of fashionable 'arty' popular music (from Maccoll's original 'bete noir' Bob Dylan onwards). Maccoll's language is so spare and precise that it cuts right to the essence of the emotions and experiences he describes. The poetry of `Nobody Knew She Was There' is almost like Auden. But Maccoll is most powerful for the ethical force of his songs, and the charismatic control of rhythm with which he performs them. The lyrics of these songs are like a history of left-politics in Britain during the twentieth century, culminating in its defeat at the hands of Mrs Thatcher during the 80s. She is the `lady' of `Looking for a Job', a painful song to listen to because its raw power seems now to come from desperation - the failure of the traditional Communist values which Maccoll supported throughout his life. In the end all he seems able to offer is resentful resistance to change (`My Old Man'). This is sad, and depressing to experience, but it is also, in a way, unimportant. What we have here is a real sense of continuity - from the 1930s to the 60s to the 80s, but also stretching back to the 17th and 18th century. It's intensely moving to feel this sense of continuity and communality so consistently affirmed in these wonderful songs. This is an album that cares about life: past, present and future. The final song 'The Joy of Living' can make you cry.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rough-edged, wide-ranging, and essential, October 1, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Black & White: The Definitive Collection (Audio CD)

Black and White includes a song whose cover version hit the Top 40 (The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face), songs that couldn't be sung by anyone else (Looking For a Job), songs that have entered the folk canon (Shoals of Herring, which is often assumed to be by 'trad.arr.', and Manchester Rambler) and songs that really are traditional (Sheath and Knife). When MacColl has a message it's blunt as can be, as in Dirty Old Town and the despairing Looking For a Job (skip this song if you're really out of work!). There is no danger of overproduction here; there are only a few musicians on the album besides MacColl himself and Peggy Seeger, his wife (I think) and life partner. MacColl's singing suits his music; Seeger's is definitely an acquired taste, and their harmonies are raw, with the almost Appalachian sound characteristic of theeraly folk revival. The crowning jewel is the last song on the album, the beautiful Joy of Living, a farewell to MacColl's life that will leave you with a greater appreciation of your own.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, August 20, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Black & White: The Definitive Collection (Audio CD)

Every song and performance on this album is pure genius. The problem really is that Ewan Maccoll's career has such breadth that it is difficult for this type of 1 disc compilation to provide a full overview. Still, it's the best that's out there, though missing a number of key tracks.