Customer Reviews

No More To The Dance

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album (CD now) is a rare treat - the voices of these two gifted singers compliment each other beautifully in selections throughout - The songs are rich and subtle and almost every one blends gracefully into the next - The instruments never overwhelm the voices but are wonderfully quirky and varied and give the album its medieval sort of flair- I believe (and listeners out there please correct me if I'm wrong) Maddy Prior and June Tabor have only done two albums together - I bought this one first, loved it, backed up and bought the first album, and now hope mightily for a third someday.

This follow-up album to their first joint effort "Silly Sisters" found Tabor and Prior still in fine voice after the ten year plus gap. I found the material just a bit weaker this time, however (despite ranging well out of the folk tradition), and the singers perhaps a little less involved. The instrumental backing on this album is quite different from the first album, moreover, with more of a 'New Age' feel to it, in part due to the very interesting guitar work of Dan Ar Braz. If you liked the first album, you'll probably like this one as well--but be forewarned: the lp version of this title was *very* short, timewise (one side being hardly over ten minutes in length), and the addition of two new cuts only brings the project up to being describable as "short." Perhaps someone might contemplate releasing *both* Silly Sister projects on one cd?--there's room.

Looking this up, just out of curiosity, I was surprised by the small number of reviews. I knew it was no commercial blockbuster, but fans of both traditional and contemporary folk music NEED to hear this! I love both Maddy Prior and June Tabor, and have sought out almost all of their work, together and separately, and with their various other bands and side projects. Of the two, I prefer Tabor as a solo artist. Prior is best, in my opinion, on the first several albums with Steeleye Span, but she has some really good solo records as well (especially CHANGING WINDS and FLESH & BLOOD). Together, these women can't be beat. It's just too bad there are so few releases by Silly Sisters (their name as a duo). NO MORE TO THE DANCE is a real pleasure, despite a slightly weak opener. For those who know SILLY SISTERS, their first project together, but not this much later follow-up, I urge you to seek it out. It is different; less traditional and more atmospheric. I happen to like it better, although both albums come highly recommended. My favorites are the bouncy "Hedger and Ditcher," and the equally melodic "Almost Every Circumstance," with their memorable tunes and witty lyrics. The most beautiful song is a hypnotic "Fine Horseman." The last two tracks consist of a solo each by June and Maddy, and, though nice, are not really needed. The original cassette tape, that I first owned, did not include these numbers, and I don't think they were on the LP, either, so I guess they were added exclusively for the CD reissue to add length to a rather short program. If you just can't get enough of the Silly Sisters, love June Tabor, and are willing to shell out the bucks, there are a handful of previously unreleased Prior/Tabor duets on June's excellent 4-CD boxed set, ALWAYS.

If this album didn't open with a version of "What Will We Do?" that I can most politely describe as weak, it would be a far better album. I skip this track on most listenings. It's miserable, the voices are clashing as often as harmonizing.

The album them begins to redeem itself with a light piece about a husband and wife and the langths they'll go to keep a bet. Humour-wise, it doesn't bear up to multiple listenings, but it has some pleasant harmonies and a nice instrumental background.

Then comes Blood and Gold/Mohacs. And here is where the Sisters hit their stride; this song disturbed me on first hearing, wowed me on second, and I have nevr tired of it. It's gorgeous. The song is grim, the performance equally so, but also beautiful. The instrumental is lush, a perfect complement. This song, and a similar treatment of The Agincourt Carol/Le Route Des Beziers (opening with the instrumental part), are probably the two highlights of the album.

Then there is the sad "How Should I your True Love Know?", words taken straight from Ophelia in Hamlet, and "Fine Horseman", half-dreamlike lyrics with a definite taste of death and poverty. More grim beauty in both, and quite lovely - though it is a good thing the entire album isn't so grim as those four!

But then there's "Cakes and Ale", and "Hedger and Ditcher", are well-performed and lighthearted songs about wooing - or failing to woo in the latter case. Maddy Prior's closing piece, "Somewhere Along the Road" is a lovely simple tune.

Unfortunately, there are a few other weak points in the album - "Old Miner" takes the tragic tone of other songs, and makes it dreary, and "Rosie Anderson", sung by June alone, is just too too too long.

However, even these are listenable: technically excellent, albeit a poor choice of material.

I don't know what happened to that poor song that started the album, since through all the rest, the voices are clean and lovely, and the musicians crisp.

I am a big fan of Maddy Prior and June Tabor. They have wonderful voices and harmonies and do excellent arrangements of traditional English songs. While I liked their first collaborative effort (Silly Sisters)a bit more, this is also a great CD and I recommend it. I particularly liked their song "The Old Miner".
Both Maddy and June have done excellent work on their own, but together they are even better.

I bought June Tabor and Maddy Priors' first album together 'Silly Sisters'[ASIN:B0000086FC Silly Sisters]way back in the late '70's and,
30 years later, I still dance around the kitchen and sing along to it's
rustic tunes and earthy lyrics. So when I saw 'No More to the Dance' for sale, produced over 10 years after 'Silly Sisters',I bought it in the expectation that it would be more of the same. However, I should have paid
more attention to the title!This is a far more sombre and sophisticated
work. Parts of it recall 'Gaudete' by Steeleye Span (also Maddy Prior
singing), other parts the heavy tragic ballads from June Tabor's solo work. It's relaxing music to listen to in winter next to the fireplace!