Both Ears And The Tail

Martin Carthy, Dave Swarbrick | Format: MP3 Download

Product Details

• Original Release Date: October 20, 2008
• Label: Topic
• Copyright: 2007 Topic Records
• Genres: Folk/Live Recordings, Folk/Traditional British & Celtic Folk, Folk/Traditional Folk, International/Celtic, International/Europe, Pop/Live Recordings
• ASIN: B001J5OBQY
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #281,925 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Traditional Folksongs with an Edge, February 27, 2002

By 

M. Hartman (East Coast, Etats-Unis) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Both Ears And The Tail (Audio CD)

This cd was a revelation for me. This is a rather rough live recording from the mid 1960's, that captures Carthy and Swarbrick playing passionately and off the cuff. The traditional songs presented here have all the rollick and fire of the Clancy Brothers. There are a few melancholy slow ballads here (the fantastic "The Wind that Shakes the Barley"), and there are several fabulous saucy and suggestive little ditties (the wonderfully lewd "Bonnie Black Hare") as well as some absolutely firey instrumentals. There is a certain enrgy to this recording that only a live show can generate. It's powerful, informal and a rollicking good time. Highly recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What shall we play?, April 28, 2009

By 

Paul Magnussen (Campbell, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Both Ears And The Tail (Audio CD)

Answer: Anything you like -- just play!

This little gem of an album captures, as the contemporary studio albums do not, the magic of a live Carthy & Swarbrick performance in the 60's.

It seems hard to remember now that no one in the Folk Revival (except The Dubliners) was yet playing jigs and reels, and traditional musicians' performances were often ruined by clomping piano-drivers (Michael Coleman being the archetypal example). Swarbrick was like a breath of fresh air.

It looks like this was recorded sometime between Martin's first and second albums, and just before Dave's pioneering Rags, Reels and Airs. Unsurprisingly, there's a large overlap in material, but some of the performances are quite different: for instance, "The Swallow Tail" and the "Marquis of Tullybardine" are on fiddle instead of mandolin, and the former is in A minor instead of E minor.

The ad hoc nature of their sets is evinced by several conversations, some actually DURING the performance, e.g. the following from the first track (Dave speaking first):

"What's next?"
"I dunno... Drowsy Maggie."
"Eh?"
"Drowsy Maggie!"

[...]

"What's next?"
"(Undecipherable)"
"No."
"You think of something then!"

The highlight of the album for me is the last tune of this set, a stunning version of "Da Corbie an' da Craw" that is quite different from Tom Anderson's, and which they never recorded elsewhere. You also get to hear "Dill Pickles Rag" in stereo for the first time ("Rags, Reels and Airs" was only issued in mono, even on CD).

The total time is 48'49".