Little Lights

Kate Rusby

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 12, 2001)
• Original Release Date: June 12, 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Compass Records
• ASIN: B00005J6WV
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #50,955 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #64 in	Music > Indie Music > World Music > Europe > Celtic
  #74 in	Music > Indie Music > World Music > Europe > British Isles

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com's Best of 2001
Kate Rusby's fragile, haunting voice is only the first reason among equals that makes Little Lights such an unmitigated delight. Just as wondrous are her delicate acoustic arrangements of traditional tunes, the sensitive musicianship of her collaborators (notably guitarists Ian Carr and John Doyle, and the refined backing vocals of Eddi Reader), and, last but definitely not least, her burgeoning songwriting skills. There are more Rusby originals here than on her previous two solo albums, with the catchy story-songs "I Courted a Sailor" and "William and Davy" proving standout items. That is until the extraordinary climax of the album with "My Young Man"--a deeply personal song about Rusby's own grandparents--in which her molasses-rich voice is accompanied by a heavenly brass choir. Elsewhere, an achingly mournful cover of Richard Thompson's "Withered and Died" once again demonstrates Rusby's subtle magic with other people's material. (As a bonus track, the Rusby clan gets together for an impromptu family rendition of "The Big Ship Sails.") Anyone charmed by Rusby's Mercury Award-nominated Sleepless or her mature debut Hourglass need not hesitate. Those yet to discover one of the finest voices in British folk should rush to acquire all three. --Mark Walker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another stellar performance by Kate and friends, June 16, 2001

By	J. Scarff (Berkeley, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

How does one follow up on the phenomenal CD "Sleepless"? Well, Kate gives us more of the same, this time with more (5) of her own songs, plus 1 Richard Thompson song and 6 traditional songs. Not surprisingly, Kate's singing is as beautiful and haunting as ever. The arrangements are very tasteful and feature some lovely guitar work by Ian Carr and John Doyle. My favorites are a wonderful, slow version of the traditional song "Some Tyrant" and Kate's tribute to the late Davy Steele "Who Will Sing Lullabies to Me". I think the Amazon editorial review by Mark Walker got it just right, except we disagree slightly about which is our favorite Kate CD (of the moment!).

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as the first two, but still wonderful., July 9, 2001

By A Customer

Fans of Kate Rusby will love her third album, "little lights." There's some great material, and Kate sparkles on the uptempo songs, especially "i courted a sailor" and "william and davy." I dare anyone not to cry the first time they listen to the album's last song, "my young man." But the slow songs tend to drag and leave one wanting her to pick up the tempo a bit. (With the exception of the aforementioned "my young man" and the beautiful "matt hyland.")

The album is great but lacks a little something that "Sleepless" and "Hourlglass" had. If you're a die-hard fan like me, you'd listen to Kate sing just about anything. But if you'd like an introduction to her work, I'd suggest buying one of the first two albums and then giving "little lights" a listen.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Sweetheart of English Folk, July 22, 2001

By	David M. Stalcup "Big Nasty" (Bakersfield, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The 3rd solo album by the 27-year-old sweetheart of English folksong sung in a very broad, fragile, haunting Yorkshire accent. Her dusky alto conveys a confessional intimacy.

She was once in a band with Kathryn Roberts (The Equation), and she's also been briefly in The Poozies.

There are 4 of her own songs, plus one co-written with John McCusker (The Battlefield Band), and an achingly mournful cover of Richard Thompson's "Withered and Died".

The traditional folk songs Rusby sings are usually brooding; beautiful meditations on love lost (track 1), stolen (track 7) or deferred (track 10).

(Track 1)is adapted from a traditional folk tune originally titled 'Lovely Willy'. In the jaunty ( track 2), a woman awaiting her seafaring lover's return gets two wishes - marriage and a commitment to remaining on land. (Track 5) is apparently inspired by the "two stupidest birds in Yorkshire". (Track 6) is a traditional spiritual promising "everlasting joy," featuring former Fairground Attraction vocalist Eddi Reader's heavenly harmonizing. Kate lends a salty wit to (track 8), a song she wrote about two brothers squabbling over a young maiden who leaves them both with "their bellies empty, their hearts still sore." Disease is a subject not easily handled in song, but she avoids any whiff of morbidity in the moving (track 9), dedicated to Scottish folk singer Davy Steele, a recent victim of cancer. (Track 11) is a deeply personal song about her own grandparents: her tribute to her grandmother's devotion to her now-senile emphysema stricken coal-miner husband, describing the heartbreaking end of a loving, hardworking life --in which her molasses-rich voice is accompanied by a heavenly brass choir.

As a bonus track, (at 6:07 of #11)the Rusby clan gets together for an impromptu family rendition of "The Big Ship Sails."

These are all story-based songs, so they fit in with the traditional stuff.

She named the album after a long drive home in the fog, when cat's eyes were the only salvation. "Also you can see for miles from the studio window and because most of the time recording was done through winter when it was dark earlier, all you could see was thousands of little lights twinkling away."