{"id":8166,"date":"2017-01-19T12:33:17","date_gmt":"2017-01-19T12:33:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/?p=8166"},"modified":"2024-05-01T13:17:03","modified_gmt":"2024-05-01T12:17:03","slug":"it-suits-me-well-dave-swarbrick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/it-suits-me-well-dave-swarbrick\/","title":{"rendered":"It Suits Me Well \u2013 Dave Swarbrick"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It Suits Me Well: Dave Swarbrick The Transatlantic Recordings 1976-1983 (Cherry Tree CRTREE017D)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cherry Red\u2019s value pack of four LPs by the late, great Dave Swarbrick, shoehorned onto two CDs, takes in his masterly recordings from the mid-seventies to the early eighties, and is sure to delight all folkies and fiddlers.<\/p>\n

Taken from that \u2018difficult\u2019 period when punk \u2018n\u2019 funk \u2018n\u2019 electronic noodling were cutting a bloody swathe through the music industry, the folkie\u2019s stock was as low as it could possibly get. The music industry\u2019s money men may have underestimated Dave and his folk rebel brothers, however. Dave soldiered on with his fiddle and became a legend in music, a status which seems to have eluded the synth poppers and funkateers of this period.<\/p>\n

The simply titled \u2018Swarbrick\u2019 opens, with the winding speed ride of \u2018The Heilanman\/Drowsey Maggie\u2019, suddenly coming to a halt and into \u2018Carthy\u2019s March\u2019, and if a violin could smile, it surely did here, in this jolly tune. \u2018The White Cockade\/Doc Boyd\u2019s Jig\/Durham Rangers\u2019 once again shows off that mastery over the bow Dave had in spades, in a seamless medley of tunes that surely threaten to provoke a dance.<\/p>\n

\u2018My Singing Bird\u2019s sweet harp accompaniment beautifully sets off the plaintive fiddle figure, contrasting with the full speed wynd of \u2018The Nightingale\u2019. \u2018Once I Loved a Maiden Fair\u2019 practically takes the listener back to some Arcadian past, with its gentle picking and interplay with guitar. A trip across the Irish Sea is called for in \u2018The Killarney Boys of Pleasure\u2019, a typically winding, interweaving piece of Celtic whimsy.<\/p>\n

\u2018Lady in the Boat\/Roisin the Bow\/Timor the Tartar\u2019s jolly jig has you reaching for a flagon of ale as your feet start to feel itchy. \u2018Byker Hill\u2019, a little more pedestrian, still has life to it, and \u2018The Ace and Deuce of Pipering\u2019s apparently simple back-and-forth figure is a delight. \u2018Hole in the Wall\u2019s melancholic, even courtly styling provides a contrast to the manic bowing of the LP, neatly turning around with a harsh, contrasting note. \u2018Ben Dorian\u2019s sad fiddle bowing, playing over sweet picking, is simply beautiful, but no sooner spun, than the lively \u2018Hullichans\/Chorus Jig\u2019 bursts in, gleefully disturbing the peace. \u2018The 79ths Farewell to Gibraltar\u2019 is appropriately upbeat and hearty, while \u2018Arthur McBride\/ Snug In The Blanket\u2019 is a simple jig for a cold winter\u2019s night.<\/p>\n

\u2018Swarbrick 2\u2019 opens up with the insistent, jumpy \u2018The Athole Highlanders\u2019, and sticking with the Celtic theme, \u2018Shannon Bells\/Fairy Dance\/Miss McLeod\u2019s Reel\u2019, more tunes to test the legs-and stamina- of keen dancers.\u2018The King of the Fairies\u2019 sawing, wistful fiddle figure leads you to who-knows-where, with \u2018Chief O\u2019Neill\u2019s Favourite\/Newcastle Hornpipe setting you back on dry land-at least temporarily.<\/p>\n

\u2018Sheebeg and Sheemore\u2019 has an easy, courtly, romantic air, perhaps in preparation for \u2018The Rocky Road to Dublin\/Sir Philip McHugh\u2019s rougher and readier entertainment, a jig that reaches knuckle-breaking speed toward its end. \u2018Planxty Morgan Mawgan\u2019s gossipy, swinging tune with a hint of trickery is welcome here, and is followed by the full-on Gallic dance of \u2018The Swallow\u2019s Tail\/Rakes of Kildare\/Blackthorn Stick\u2019, enlivened by zesty accordion.<\/p>\n

\u2018Sheagh of Rye\/The Friar\u2019s Breeches\u2019 is a typically ribald affair, the fiddle winding in and out of the vamping guitar. \u2018Derwent Water\u2019s Farewell\/The Noble Esquire Dacre\u2019 is the most melancholy offering here, Dave\u2019s fiddle almost weeping its tale of longing out, but our first CD ends happily with the jolly reels of \u2018Teribus\/Farewell to Aberdeen\u2019.<\/p>\n

A packed first disc means the second disc 2 has to finish off the second LP, with the sliding reel, \u2018Bonaparte\u2019s Retreat\u2019, followed by the rambunctious march, \u2018Shepherd\u2019s Hey\u2019, the sweet, agreeable \u2018Lord Inchiquin, and the heartfelt lament of \u2018The Coulin\u2019.<\/p>\n

We pass on to the third LP, \u2018Smiddyburn\u2019, and its opening pair, \u2018Wat ye Wha I Met the Streen\/The Ribbons of the Redhead\u2019, a slice of folk rock with the first appearance of electric guitar accompaniment on this swinging piece. \u2018Sir Charles Coote\/Smiths\u2019 nimble picking will have some of us wondering if Dave had six fingers on each hand, such is the intensity of the work on this faintly nautical piece. \u2018I Have a Wife of my Own\/Lady Mary Haye\u2019s Scotch Measure\u2019s literal take and frantic bowing shows off the sort of skills that surely made Ashley Hutchings say that Dave was \u2018the most influential British fiddle player bar none\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u2018Wishing\/The Victor\u2019s Return\/The Gravel Walk\u2019s reprise of the folk rock sound of Dave\u2019s Alma Mater, Fairport Convention is more than welcome, rounded out by electric guitar and military drum. \u2018When The Battle Is Over\u2019s plaintive picked chords evoke, to a world-weary beat, the sadness and hopelessness of war. \u2018Sword Dance\/The Young Black Cow\u2019 continues the folk-rock theme, Dave\u2019s fiddle screeching out like the clashing blades of the former title, tempered by the sweet melody of the latter. \u2018Sean O\u2019Dwyer of the Glen\/The Hag with the Money\/Sleepy Maggie\u2019s beautiful candlelight piano opening raises goose bumps, then into a characteristic, leaping reel. The collection\u2019s only vocal performance is the final track, \u2018It Suits Me Well\u2019, a tale of the resignation many feel in their daily round.<\/p>\n

\u2018Flittin\u2019 opens with \u2018The Bride\u2019s March\/The Kelman\u2019s Pertition\/Shew Me the Way to Wallingford\/Sword Dance, the former an ironically funereal affair, contrasting with the lively \u2018Pertition. \u2018Parthenia\/Pittengardener\u2019s Rant\u2019 begins with a light touch of piano and fiddle neatly complementing each other in this chamber piece, followed by the sort of rambunctious march that belongs to another world entirely. \u2018Grey Daylight\/The Hawk\/The Ten Pound Fiddle\u2019 brings together another finger-breaking reel and a slow march. \u2018Jamaica\/With All of my Heart\u2019s courtly opening with piano accompaniment contrasts well with the rollicking tune it accompanies. \u2018Nathaniel Gow\u2019s Lament on the Occasion of the Death of his Brother\/Rory of the Hills\u2019 needs little in the way of explanation, and \u2018The Rakes of Sollohad\u2019s\u2019 jaunty picking livens up the latter part of this LP. \u2018Dr Isaac\u2019s Maggot\/Cupid\u2019s Garden\u2019 makes good use of piano, a braced tune with a wandering fiddle figure that resolves itself beautifully. Our closing track, \u2018Boadicea\u2019 is, by turns, dignified and comradely, a fitting closer to this masterly LP and this whole collection.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not so familiar with folk music, you\u2019re missing out on the simple joys of tales well told and music played with a skill that borders on the devilish. Make room in your collection for this man and his many friends.<\/p>\n

BUY NOW!<\/a><\/h3>\n

Scenester<\/strong>
\n18\/1\/17<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It Suits Me Well: Dave Swarbrick The Transatlantic Recordings 1976-1983 (Cherry Tree CRTREE017D) Cherry Red\u2019s value pack of four LPs by the late, great Dave Swarbrick, shoehorned onto two CDs, takes in his masterly recordings from the mid-seventies to the early eighties, and is sure to delight all folkies and fiddlers. Taken from that \u2018difficult\u2019 …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":8171,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60,82,97,71,74],"tags":[1345,1347,1349,1346,1348],"series":[],"class_list":["post-8166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-eyeplugs","category-folk","category-heroes","category-music","category-reviews","tag-dave-swarbrick","tag-english-folk","tag-fairport","tag-fairport-convention","tag-it-suits-me-well"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8166"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8166\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16379,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8166\/revisions\/16379"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8166"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=8166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}