Customer Reviews

Trad Arr Jones

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have been a fan of Wes for years, but this album exceeded my expectations. These songs are incredible, giving credit to Nic Jones, and the interpretations are wonderful as well. Now I want to go get more of the original work of Nic Jones, if it weren't out of print.

Buy this album - you won't regret it.

This is an excellent collection of tunes. The arrangements are sparse(usually just guitar and vocal) but quite beautiful. The respect and love that Wes has for these songs and the underappreciated Nic Jones really comes through in the music.

A beautiful, mellow album. A must for Wes fans. I'm not usually a fan of either traditional of folk music, but this album is haunting, timeless. I've played it dozens of times in the few weeks I've had it.

Instant goose bumps. Think Elvis Costello or a young Graham Parker singing Childe ballads, seaman songs, English plainsong, and folk rounds with spare accompaniment (variously guitar, mandolin, accordion). Think punks singing their tattoos away at the end of a night of beery-good fellowship. Think Manchester street toughs finding grace and a way home to a world before machines, struggling wity heightened human feelings of yearning, frailty, heartbreak, and about death. Think a regular guy finding English folk in his blood, but no standard folk way to let it out.

Tracks 12-15 use a full electric band and are characteristic of his other work. But they work well here too. [73:18]

John Wesley Harding gives us his rendition of The Little Musgrave on this CD. I have heard several versions of it previously, most notably Joan Baez' version, but I was captivated by this version the moment I heard it. He gives a depth of emotion to the song that lasts long after it is over (one of those things that has to be experienced). This version is a bit more stark and realistic - and poignant as the dickens!! Oh yeah... he has some other nice songs on there as well... :) But seriously, get the album, if only for that one song - it is well worth it!

Interestingly, Harding does not read a lick of sheet music - just plays.

So.. give it a listen - let me know what you think...

I highly recommend!

All the best,

Jay

John Wesley Harding pays a beautiful tribute to British folk singer Nic Jones. Jones' arrangements of these traditional songs are incredible and will always be favorites of mine, but John Wesley Harding, partnered with apt and musically sensitive accompaniment on mandoline and organ by Robert Lloyd, serves Jones well. J.Wesley Harding's voice has a rougher edge than Jones but he knows how to deliver heartbreaking lyrics and knows how to tell a good story. One of my favorite recordings on my shelf.

I first heard Litle Musgrave on KPFT, Houston Community Radio, on the way to work. So different, a wonderful story line, perfectly executed. I immediately ordered two copies of the CD, one for myself, one for my son-in-law as a Christmas present. The entire repertoire on this album is to the same high standard as Little Musgrave. This has been a wonderful introduction to the Nic Jones style and I shall be delving further into this type of music. Highly recommended!

A total waste of possible talent, this CD is just awful on so many levels. Wes is off-key in many of the songs, and his voice is unconvincing and irregular. In theory this album is a good idea, but the execution is so painful. I've really tried to get into this CD, but in the end, I taped it to the ceiling in my office, so nobody has to listen to it.