Customer Reviews

Silly Sisters

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is simply one of the best Folk albums ever made. There is hardly a day goes by that I do not listen to parts of it. I have been playing this record for over ten years and never grow tired of it. The Lass Of Loch Royal is worth the price of the CD..the poetry of the lyrics are spellbinding and Maddy Prior, as usual, delivers them perfectly. Grey Funnel Line is Brilliant and Me Husband Has No Courage is simply great singing in the tradition of Frankie Armstrong. If there are any weaknesses on this record, I have not yet heard them. I would advise any folk music aficianado to own this and their other album . This album launched the career of June Tabor and, as good as she is, she has never topped this. Maddy Prior is her usual stellar self. Buy...It is years of Joy...

Silly Sisters features the imaginative harmony singing of Steeleye Span's Maddy Prior and the deep, soulful vocals of June Tabor. The album blends a wide array of influences (Bulgarian-style harmonies and Irish Sean Nos ornamentation) with traditional British Isles Folksongs. The album offers the cream of the British Folk Music Revival: guitar gods Martin Carthy and Nic Jones, Irish Mandolin virtuoso Andy Irvine, and a host of other great musicians on uillean pipes, melodeon, hurdy-gurdy, bouzouki, bombard, whistles, etc.

The mood of the recording is joyful. This is an album that will enchant you and make you smile.

I don't know that this is the best folk album ever, but it's certainly very high up in the running. I'd guess that even those who aren't fans of folk music might like this album; musically, it's a rare jewel. If you are a fan of folk and don't own this album, buy it. Now.

As someone who often wishes he could give a rating of 0 stars, this is a rare case. If I could give this album more than 5 stars, I would.

An earlier reviewer wrote "Buy it for Grey Funnel Line" and that song is probably my favorite on this album - though it's a very close contest. There's not a single cut on this disc that I dislike.

Finally, I'd like to thank Richard Baugh for introducing me to this album. Thanks, Richard! You did better than you knew.

I've listened to this album for years and it never grows old. The voices--one piercing and clarion, the other dusky and wan--are perfect complements, and the lyrics, smoothed to perfection by the decades, are some of the most beautiful I've ever heard. I also *highly* recommend the Silly Sisters' other album, No More to the Dance.

Fresh from the success of Steeleye Span's "All Around My Hat" album, Maddy Prior returned to a much more grassroots folk sound with the talented June Tabor as 'the Silly Sister'. This album's got everything English folk has to offer: playfulness, heart-wrenching emotion and a thumping, colourful instrumentation that compliments the girls' voices to a tee.
And what about those voices? Well, Prior is an acquired taste- the shrill timbre and muddled dialect can be a little irksome, but the sheer power of her voice makes it one of the most important in British trad. Tabor is far more accessible, especially on the standout track, "Geordie", where Tabor's charged, blue alto perfectly captures the ecstasy of love regained.
Not a glamorous album, the production on 'Silly Sisters' is dusty and naive, keeping the provincial feel of the songs very much alive.
All in all, classic trad that anyone who appreciates the genre should investigate.

One of the great UK trad albums... Maddy Prior and June Tabor's voices and musical sensibilities are a perfect match, and the material they chose is also a delight. The elusive English traditionalist Nic Jones plays fiddle or guitar on most of these tracks.

Maddy Prior and June Tabor clearly had a great deal of fun putting this album together. It's a great collection of traditional, witty, silly, and thought-provoking songs from ages past. I love this album because these songs are unique -- and fun to sing! Highly recommended!

Here was an album featuring the two leading female voices of the contemporary British folk scene at the top of their powers, Maddy Prior and June Tabor, wonderful backing musicians of the likes of Nic Jones, Martin Carthy, and Andy Irvine, and a complete slate of excellent material. How could it have gone wrong? Well, maybe it could have, but it didn't. Prior and Tabor have very different voice ranges and qualities, but/and well complement one another; the instrumentalizing on guitar and various other acoustic instruments is great, and some real effort was made to choose material that had not been beaten into the ground. My favorites on the album are 'Grey Funnel Line,' 'Geordie,' 'The Game of Cards,' and 'Silver Whistle,' but that's probably just me. One of the best contemporary folk albums available.

When it comes to traditional folk music, Maddy Pryor & June Tabor have it all: beautiful voices that blend perfectly in harmony; the acting talent needed to express the varied emotions in the old ballads; and arrangements that respect the spirit of the old songs without making them museum-pieces. The lyrics vary from tragedy to romance to farce, and the tunes are memorable. Simply a lovely collection of British folk.

This is an excellent CD. Both Maddy Prior and June Tabor have great voices, the harmonies are fantastic. They do a great selection of traditional English songs. And to top it off, Martin Carthy's guitar work on "Geordie" is absolutely wonderful. It's a classic and must-have for people who like tradition English music or anyone who appreciates good vocals and musicianship.