Customer Reviews

Sleepless

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Kate Rusby is a new voice to me, but her music is familiar. I have to admit I was swayed by reviews on this site that said her first cd was better than this one. I disagree. Though the first is totally above average--"A Rose in April" and "I am Stretched on Your Grave" total standouts--I feel the material on this cd is stronger. "Sho Heen" is haunting, "The Sleepless Sailor" a sing-along favorite, "Cowsong" begins soft and gets your toe tapping, makes you want to "fall down in the green grass," like the lyrics. But make no mistake, this is a very mellow cd, for those cold winter nights, by firelight and candlelight. Or a lazy Sunday morning, sunlight streaming through the curtains.

P.S. If you like Kate, you'll like Connie Dover (begin with "Wishing Well").

This is my first experience with the voice of Kate Rusby. Repeated listenings confirmed for me that there is something new to hear each time. That is the mark of a good album. Because I enjoyed this album so much, I got most of her other CDs as well as her concert DVD. I will only comment on one song, "Wild Goose," which is my favorite. In fact I loved it so much I went hunting for sources and found out (as I suspected) that it is a sea shanty (a "halyard song" to be precise), sometimes known as "Ranzo" or "Ranzo Ray." Those words appear in the chorus, as another reviewer mentioned. Of course Kate does her own thing with it, and the results give me a lump in the throat. It's a wonderful thing to know how a song can live many lives, from long-ago sailors singing as they work the sails and ropes, to my living room in 2004, and still have a powerful meaning. Thanks, Kate.

I freely admit to being one whose tastes run more towards the pierced-navel gazing sort of folk music, so I was surprised at just how much I enjoyed this CD. I bought it because of Kate's amazing cover of Iris Dement's "Our Town" and have come to love the other tunes here as well. Kate's voice is stunning and the arrangements are simple (nothing like those of Loreena McKennitt whose music I either find lush and haunting or pretentious and over-the-top, depending on my mood) and, despite the high body count, there is humor to be found throughout. Recommended to all, even to those who believe themselves to have an aversion to traditional folk.

I've been a "folkie" since wayback, before the beginning. As a kid, I used to fall asleep listening to the radio with the volume turned low, to tunes by the Kinston Trio. I've always like traditional music, and always been especially touched by Celtic music.

Kate Rusby's "Sleepless" hits those marks dead center, with nearly every tune on the CD. But let's get real -- this is not a rockin' jigs and reels Celtic CD. Much of the music is slow, and all of it done in Kate's own style. I invite you to compare her version of "The Unquiet Grave" with Karan Casey's on her CD "Songlines." Both are great, but Kate's occasionally tremelo voice vibrates my soul. If you like a good lullaby -- try "The Sleepless Sailor." And for poetic imagery, listen closely to "Sweet Bride." In fact, I am -- as I write this review.

Probably almost anything Kate Rusby did after "Hourglass" would be a letdown, so I can't really shout "sophomore slump!" yet. "Sleepless" has a gracefully somber texture, and Rusby has a wonderful voice for folk music -- supple, understated, cleverly inflected, and just Yorkshire enough to be charming but not "cute." However, the material on "Sleepless" isn't as strong as her previous recordings (Rusby doesn't sound as excited by it, either), and her duets in particular sound uninspired and awkward -- odd, since she sings so well with the Poozies and Kathryn Roberts. The CD is helped considerably at its end by two "bonus" tracks, both of which work better than some of the material on the album proper. If "Hourglass" weren't already out there, I'd probably be more impressed -- not fair, but that's what happens when a first album is so good.

Like many Brits - and I'm guessing here - my interest in Kate's work was alerted by her nomination for the Mercury Music Award in 1999. They always give a token folk nomination, and it's done no harm to the profiles of Norma Waterson or her daughter, Eliza Carthy. Despite the lack of folk genre recipients of the aforementioned award, it's usually quite indicative of the quality within the genre itself, and "Sleepless" is a more than deserved nominee.

I buy too many CDs to keep track of, and often come back to those that were skated over months previously with either fresh or more often, unprepared ears; such was this experience. A sub-45 minute experience from over 6 months ago has suddenly prompted a bit of literary gushing on my behalf, as it's one of the most pure and pleasant offerings of music I've heard in quite a while. My interest in traditional British & Gaelic folk is limited and I wouldn't dream to claim myself a connoisseur, but as a general music aficionado, this has much to offer and rewards plenty.

As has been said, she leans towards the traditional sounds, instruments and arrangements. Plenty of performers do the same, but her voice cuts through beautifully and I think it's this element that makes all the difference. That the instrumentation is so tasteful is also a great benefit and the perfect complement to a near perfect album. It's one of those recordings where the artist sounds like she's actually thoroughly enjoying herself, not merely paying lip-service to the past as is often the case with more established forms. It's vital, vibrant and she really makes it sound like it wants and deserves to be heard.

Prior to submitting this review, I listened to Pink Floyd's "The Wall" during a nostalgia blast. If ever there were a perfect antithesis to the lows that something like that can take you to, this is it! It's only following a bit of research that I discovered how well thought of her other work is, so it could be time to part with the 16-digit number on the plastic again. Recommendation enough?

(afterthought: dream combination: Richard Thomson & Kate Rusby. Please?)

I bought this album the day before chrismas after I heard Kate Rusby live on Mountain Stage (folk/traditional/bluegrass/old-time music in Charleston WV broadcast Sundays.) It was that kind of first hearing you might be familiar with, whre you are sitting listening to hte radio all day and then suddenly you look up because you really hear one word, one sung note, all of a sudden. It's somebody singing. It sounds like an older woman (I at first imagined her looking like Bonnie Rait.) It's fantastic, sort of a whole higher level of good, like Lauren Hill or Jesse Norman; distinctive. She's great onstage with her accompanyists (afte she gives an introduction to her first set, her guitarist says to the audience: " You should see your faces! Can you all understand a word she just said?" "also her explanation about her change of Willy in Fairest of All Yarrow to Billy.) This is no lettdown of an album. I heard her singing its songs on the radio that day, and they were truly something else. Like Ellington said, if it sounds good it is good.

Kate Rusby, the woman who makes traditional songs sound as fresh as the latest rock songs has released another album mixing lovely originals with a variety of disarming old songs.

Equipped with the voice she is, Rusby can hardly fail -- an instrument capable of wide-eyed wonder, snowy innocence, weary darkness and infinite compassion, often at the same time, Rusby's voice is augmented by her distinct yet endearing phrasing. It lends the words a warm quality.

Of course, then there are the marvelous songs -- the beautiful gaiety of lead track "The Cobbler's Daughter", with its bouncing beat and Rusby's happy vocal ramblings; the lonely flute that accompanies the lone sad voice in "I Wonder What Is Keeping My True Love This Night"; an adaptation of popular ballad "The Unquiet Grave" (though cutting out some of the more grisly, rotting-flesh words in the original ballad); the haunting "Sho Heen", starting out a cappella (an effective device Rusby used on "Sorrows Away" on The Poozies' excellent Infinite Blue album); the giddily romantic "Sweet Bride"; and the choked, touching jealousy/self-consciousness behind the story of "All God's Angels", a duet with Tim O'Brien, whose magnetic, masculine works wonders with Rusby's wary croon. The last three, all originals by Rusby, again show that she is never relegated to doing old songs. Formidable as her interpretation may be, there's much more she can offer. With more exposure, her songs could become the standards of tomorrow. And future Rusbys would credit her for penning them.

If there's justice in the future of music.

I bought this CD after learning about Kate Rusby through Amazon. I listened to the samples on the site and was immediately drawn to Kate's voice. I've had the CD about a week and it hasn't left my CD player yet. The songs are all very different sounding and the instruments used have a fabulous sound. My personal favorites have to be the upbeat "Fairest of all Yarrow" and "The Sleepless Sailor", but I enjoy all of the songs. I would highly recommend this CD even for those people who are not really into folk music much less English folk. I think that Sleepless could appeal to most anyone who enjoys beautiful singing accompanied by various flutes, whistles, and fiddles.

After hearing her interviewed on NPR and watching my wife flip over the purity of Kate Rusby's voice I immediately ordered the CD. It was a surprise for my wife. But it turned out to be an even bigger surprise for me. Even though my wife and I agree that Rusby has a crystalline voice, it is I who has been spellbound and captured by the "other worldliness" of her melody, words and her wonderful pronunciation all cloaked in wistful sadness. I highly recommend this CD. A warning, however, that Kate Rusby's music is powerful magic.