The Complete Brass Monkey

Brass Monkey | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 13, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Topic Records
• ASIN: B00000590X
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #247,406 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not the complete Brass Monkey, June 2, 2000

By 

Laurence Browne (Brisbane, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Brass Monkey (Audio CD)

This double album - fortunately with the release of Sound and Rumour not the complete Brass Monkey - is if nothing else great value for money: two excellent albums for the price of one. See How It Runs has been one of my favorite albums for years, and it was a great pleasure to be able to buy it alongside their first album which I had never heard and had been on the prowl for for some time.

Brass Monkey have without question one of the best lineups in contemporary English folk, with Martin Carthy and John Kirkpatrick both polished and formidable performers in their own right. Add to this a terrific brass section and some of the finest folk percussion you could want to hear. The latter is particularly noticable on what was side 1 of See How it Runs: Da Floo'er O'Taft followed by Weaver and the Factory Maid and then Rose Lawn Quadrille have often driven me to gyrate rather intensely, much to the consternation of my wife!

Indeed, many of the tracks on both albums have a driving rhythm which compare favourably with their brass counterparts from Cuba, despite the obviously enormous genre differences.

But this is not to underestimate the slower and more plaintive tracks, particularly John Kirkpatrick's rendering of Willie the Waterboy and Riding Down to Portsmouth, both of which contain tremendous expressions of bittersweet feeling which are greatly augmented by trumpet and trombone.

What a wonderful backdrop brass makes to good old English folk songs! And then there is the interplay between brass and concertina, the sounds from each somehow displaying a subtle and resonant similarity. Add to that the rhythmn, great vocals and choices of song from both Carthy and Kirkpatrick and you have what really ought to be one of Amazon.com's top sellers, certainly in the folk category.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ear candy, December 18, 2010

By 

swmagicien (San Bruno, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Complete Brass Monkey (Audio CD)

It's a collection of folk songs and instrumentals that feature brass and accordion-type instruments. The arrangements and playing are impeccable and inspired. The vocals are sometimes a little weak but they are generally right on. Many of the songs feature mature subject matter. No other caveats. Easy on the ears and worth repeated listening. There are so many good tunes on this collection it's hard to pick favorites. I will single out Sovay as having a most memorable story and Trowrie Burn as having some of the most intricately timed riffs you'll ever hear.