Review Imagined Village CD

Subject: Imagined Village CD
From: mattkeen
Date: 25 Oct 07 - 08:05 AM

I have just ordered my copy - it was released on 14th October.


Has anybody heard it in full yet?

What is your reaction to it?

(Good to get replies from people who have actually heard all of it!)

Subject: RE: Imagined Village CD
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 25 Oct 07 - 02:49 PM

I haven't heard it, but there was a feature about it on tonight's - BBC Radio 4, Front Row
with Billy Bragg and Martin Carthy.

Kitty

Subject: Review: Imagined Village on BBC Front Row
From: Folkiedave
Date: 25 Oct 07 - 02:55 PM

An interesting compilation of voices on the BBC programme "Front Row. Billy Bragg, Simon Emerson, Martin Carthy about the "Imagined Village" which goes on tour.

Needless to say the presenter felt he had to mention Aran sweaters and men with beards. Don't they realise the only people who perpetuate this myth is the BBC itself?

And he described Martin Carthy as someone who had stood on a stage alone with his guitar for the past forty years. Clearly never heard of Steeleye Span (or that Martin was in it) or Brass Monkey.

Billy Bragg seemed to think that the Watersons came before Martin Carthy.

I feel another rant coming on.........hang on there are some men with white coats.

Subject: RE: Review Imagined Village CD
From: mattkeen
Date: 25 Oct 07 - 04:33 PM

Anybody listened to it then?

Subject: RE: Review Imagined Village CD
From: Jack Blandiver
Date: 26 Oct 07 - 05:07 AM

Sounded pretty dreary to my ears; another 'Folk goes Pop' with predictable results. Old farts getting down with the kids with an excerable 'hip-hop' Tam Lin (which wouldn't find a place on Westwood's playlists in a million years) and yet another rock 'n roll John Barleycorn-yawn.

Shame Front Row invariably sinks into this platform for blatent product marketing - one would have thought the BBC were above that sort of thing! In fact, shame on them all I say.

Subject: RE: Review Imagined Village CD
From: SimonS
Date: 26 Oct 07 - 06:23 AM

It's amazing what Virgin records money will buy you...

Subject: RE: Review Imagined Village CD
From: mattkeen
Date: 26 Oct 07 - 06:28 AM

Sedayne
You actually have not got a copy have you, and therefore have not listened to it?
Just for clarification, you understand, as I am sure from your comments that you won't like it anyway.

Subject: RE: Review Imagined Village CD
From: Jack Blandiver
Date: 26 Oct 07 - 07:32 AM

No indeed - I don't have the CD; heaven knows there just aren't enough hours left in my life to listen to this sort of bogus posturing by people who really ought to know better. My comments were based purely on what I heard last night on Front Row on Radio Four whilst driving through the braw and bonny lights of Blackpool which was more than enough believe me.

A more honest reflection of the current state of the Imagined Village would seem be the newly issued John Barleycorn Reborn CD, focussing as it does on diverse & various obscure turns from the UK Folk Underground whose efforts have taken on a vibrancy quite unheard in the world of over-hyped corporate media cash-ins.

Subject: RE: Review Imagined Village CD
From: GUEST,Alan
Date: 26 Oct 07 - 08:12 AM

"folk goes pop" love it!!
Imagined Village is supposedly the future of folk...
...crap fusion that doesn't do either party any favors, well not musically anyhow although i'm sure it's a nice little earner!

Subject: RE: Review Imagined Village CD
From: Anne Lister
Date: 26 Oct 07 - 08:33 AM

I've only listened to the samples on their website and I was mightily impressed - loved what was happening with "Cold Blow the Rainy Night" and Sheila Chandra's singing as well as some of the instrumentals. Based on the website I'll be ordering a copy - just disappointed you don't seem to able to download it (which makes the difference between buying it now and later, for me at the moment). Missed the Front Row feature, and according to the website I've also missed lots of other press coverage, which means they've got some excellent PR working for them! And it's Real World ... where do Virgin Music come into it?

Anne

Subject: RE: Review Imagined Village CD
From: GUEST,Mr Fox (at work)
Date: 26 Oct 07 - 08:55 AM

John Barleycorn Reborn? Oh, dear.

Bunch of goths trying to play folk: "I'd sing for you now but I feel a moment of existential despair coming on......."

Subject: RE: Review Imagined Village CD
From: Jack Blandiver
Date: 26 Oct 07 - 10:27 AM

Tabster - You can catch the front Row feature on Listen Again - here's a wee clicky for convenience : Front Row . If you hang around long enough, I dare say you've be able to get it for nowt from some blog or other though ;-)

Mr Fox - Any despair (existential or otherwise) derives from the current state of cynical mainstream corporate media blandness such as manifest by projects like The Imagined Village, which will no doubt be lapped up by the shed-load by its intended demographic. So excellent market research as well as PR... The future of folk? I don't doubt it.

Subject: RE: Review Imagined Village CD
From: Anne Lister
Date: 26 Oct 07 - 02:39 PM

Sedayne - I'd suggest you might listen to the samples on the Imagined Village website. It sounds as if the Front Row item didn't impress you, but the samples on the website did indeed impress me. I rather object to you talking of media blandness and the intended demographic, implying that the intended demographic are impressed by media blandness, especially after I'd said how much I liked what I'd heard! I don't go for media blandness in any form, didn't hear it in the samples and don't think that's what's on the album - but as neither of us have heard the entire album I'm not making categorical statements. However, nothing I've ever heard from Martin and Eliza Carthy, Paul Weller, Billy Bragg and Sheila Chandra has been bland, cynical, mainstream or corporate in the past, and I'd be very surprised if this project could be described in this way by anyone.
I doubt if it's the future of folk, but it's a fascinating collection of different approaches to the music. And why not?

Anne

Subject: RE: Review Imagined Village CD
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 26 Oct 07 - 02:51 PM

Sedayne - yes, it's a bit of a culture shock hearing Benjamin Zephaniah's version of Tam Lin, but for a lot of people in the 60s it was a culture shock to hear the Fairport version.

Martin Carthy talking on Front Row on the subject of using amplification pretty well summed up the eclecticism of it all.

I think it's great that English trad songs are still being reinterpreted by artists from other genres, even when I don't like their particular version.

Kitty

Subject: RE: Review Imagined Village CD
From: Giant Folk Eyeball (inactive)
Date: 26 Oct 07 - 04:53 PM

It's the Sheila Chandra track I'm most looking forward to hearing... As a huge and long time fan of Indian classical, devotional and folk music, I'd love to take the 'Imagined Village' concept a whole step further to have an entire album of English traditional songs reimagined by Indian and British South Asian performers - and for a decent proportion of the songs there's a shared starting point with Indian music in the role of the drone...

Cheers

Nigel

Subject: RE: Review Imagined Village CD
From: GUEST,Jim Carroll
Date: 27 Oct 07 - 03:30 AM

Was it Sheila Chandra who changed to words of Reynardine for a women's concert at The Barbican, because she didn't go in for lycanthropy - still trying to work that one out.
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: Review Imagined Village CD
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 27 Oct 07 - 04:33 AM

This has thread has a feel of the Biography of Ewan MacColl thread. On that thread people who hadn't read the book gave us the endless pleasure of their opinion. Here we have people passing opinion on a record that, and I could be wrong, they haven't heard.

"this sort of bogus posturing by people who really ought to know better. "

I could be wrong, I often am, but the musicians in question have a very long track record of making interesting, sometimes innovative music because they want to and not because they have calculated a market opportunity.

Now, the crunch, does the music do anything for you?

Well, most of us don't know yet. I enjoyed "Cold Blow the Rainy Night" and bought tickets for the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester. I heard Paul Weller singing John Barleycorn and I enjoyed it.

Subject: RE: Review Imagined Village CD
From: Mrs_Annie
Date: 27 Oct 07 - 06:07 AM

Well I have the album, pre-ordered from Real World because I couldn't wait to get my hands on it after all this time.
And it doesn't disappoint.

You can tell the care and love that has been put into into by Simon, the production is superb, everyone puts in stunning performances (even if you don't like what they've done)

I love it as much as I hoped I would and well done to everyone - specially Eliza, she shines throughout.

Subject: RE: Review Imagined Village CD
From: mattkeen
Date: 28 Oct 07 - 01:12 PM

Accoding to an admittedly automated emil alert, mine should arrive tomorrow - Monday 29th

Subject: RE: Review Imagined Village CD
From: Alio
Date: 28 Oct 07 - 02:56 PM

I can't help but feel that there are some terribly judgemental folkies posting on this thread!!
I liked the sound of it so bought the CD, and I have enjoyed listening to it a few times already - I'm with Mrs Annie on this. And Elixa does sound brilliant, as do the young Coppers.
On Sounds of Folk last week I played Hard Times of Old England retold, and got some good feedback. Give it a chance!
Ali

Subject: RE: Review Imagined Village CD
From: theleveller
Date: 29 Oct 07 - 04:17 AM

Absolutely brilliant; as refreshing and original as the first time I heard Bellowhead. There are some inspired combinations here, most especially on Cold Haily Rainy Night, which brought me out in goosebumps. The only thing I didn't like was the first track, 'Ouse 'Ouse 'Ouse, which I at first found cringingly embarrassing and then hilariously funny as Bob Copper sounded more and more like a cross between Mike Tucker from The Archers and Peter Cook's E L Wistey. All-in-all, though, groundbreaking stuff that I expect will continue be contentious for quite some time - and nothing wrong with that!

Subject: RE: Review Imagined Village CD
From: theleveller
Date: 29 Oct 07 - 04:22 AM

That should, of course, have read: 'Ouses 'Ouses' Ouses'; no rivers were involved!

Subject: RE: Review Imagined Village CD
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 14 Nov 07 - 03:25 AM

I still have not heard the CD but I saw them at the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, last night I and I thought they were brilliant.

The music was exciting, exceptionally well played, the arrangements were ............... I can't really find words to describe 11 people playing two kinds of percussion, sitar, 'cello, bass, fiddles, guitars and many voices.

Billy Bragg sings well, it doesn't need to be said how good all the others singers are but Bragg is not from my end of music. He did go on a bit but the whole night said a lot about "Englishness" and English music that we should all celebrate.

If you get the chance travel far to see and hear this, it is amazing.

Subject: RE: Review Imagined Village CD
From: GUEST,Santa
Date: 14 Nov 07 - 04:05 AM

I've got it, played it only once so far. I didn't like Tamlyn because the words weren't clear and I thought it contrived. I did like several of the other tracks, and the music was of high quality throughout.

I don't suppose it is the future of folk music, any more than folkrock turned out to be the future of folk music. Simply think of it as a collection of folk songs with slightly different arrangements than usual. Cut out all the attitudinal crap about what you thought about someone else (you don't like) said about what someone yet again may or may not have meant..... filtered through whatever editing went on between studio and broadcast.

Hear The Music. Then like it or not.

Subject: RE: Review Imagined Village CD
From: treewind
Date: 14 Nov 07 - 04:27 AM

The first track - Bob Copper was fine, he was just being himself, but drowning it in the background music made it sound pretentious.

The only track I really enjoyed was Sheila Chandra's. I quite liked the reworking of Tam Lin too, but the rest of it seemed to be perfectly good music destructively interfered with. I was gratified, however, to discover how many singing voices I could recognise - far more than it would have been a few years ago.

My feeling about the whole album it that it wasn't cohesive: there didn't seem to be any kind of overall message to it. As concept albums go, I found myself comparing it with Ashley Hutchings' 1970's creations: Morris On, The Compleat Dancing Master and Rattlebone and Ploughjack which were really inspiring, but The Imagined Village did nothing of the sort for me. Maybe I've grown cynical with old age...

I borrowed a copy from a colleague at work, and listened to it once.
I'm not going to buy myself a copy (and no, I didn't burn a copy either)

Anahata

Subject: RE: Review Imagined Village CD
From: Folkiedave
Date: 14 Nov 07 - 04:43 AM

Sheffield Live! played some of the music last night on Gondwana Sound and Jill Turner who presents the programme on roots music did an interview with Billy Bragg, Martin Carthy, and Simon Emmerson to be broadcast next week (I hope). 7.00 pm - 9.00 pm Tuesday.

There is certainly a current move to redefine (or even define) Englishness. If folk music can play a part in that (even the Imagined Village's version) and if it does it through this "show" then fine.

And I'll be playing some Fenlandia Friday!! 10.00 am - 12 noon 93.2 FM www.sheffieldlive.org live on the internet and available on a podcast.

You might like to compare and contrast!!

Subject: RE: Review Imagined Village CD
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 14 Nov 07 - 05:08 AM

I bought the Bellowhead CD in the summer and was not overly impressed. But I saw them at Shrewsbury Festival and was really knocked out. I suspect people may feel the same about The Imagined Village. Our CD is as yet unplayed because I have yet to recover from the overall emotional effect of last night. I think that is what live music does. Martin Carthy spoke of seeing Sam Larner at the Singer's Club in the 60's and how that experience changed his life. Sam Larner on record is mighty but not as mighty as Sam Larner live.

Benjamin Zephaniah appears on a video clip on a large screen. I have to say I found it one of the most gripping parts of the event. I think the IV Band was at its best when all playing and singing songs or playing tunes.

At the end Billy Bragg said something about this being just one snapshot of English traditional music amongst many and that we should all make and take our own snap shots of English music.

Imagined Village is not simply a concert. It is also an attempt to look at and explore Englishness now. The IV Band are, I think almost half of Asian heritage. Their contribution enriches our tradition. Seems good to me.

Subject: RE: Review Imagined Village CD
From: GUEST,Ian cookieless
Date: 14 Nov 07 - 08:43 AM

Lots of views on this thread about the CD having not heard it. I have bought it but haven't yet listened, but I have just seen the live show, which is why I am posting. I went out of curiosity. And it *is* a show - and very impressive. I would recommend it to anyone. To answer some points above, there was no posturing, there was no one trying to get 'down wit da kids', just an eclectic bunch of fine musicians having a really great time, seeing what happens when you mix the English tradition with other genres that are now part of England, too. The sitar on Scarborough Fair sounded beautiful, and over it talked Billy Bragg, very movingly, about what it is to be English, and how he first felt English by hearing an English song sung by two American Jews - such is the fluidity of identity.

For me, most of it worked. And the bits that didn't were still worth the effort of trying. I would highly recommend it.

Subject: RE: Review Imagined Village CD
From: GUEST,Jon Dudley
Date: 14 Nov 07 - 12:50 PM

I'm sure Bob Copper is chuckling from beyond the grave for it was surely his son John who voiced the opening to IV. John will be most amused at the phoney accent comment.

Subject: RE: Review Imagined Village CD
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 14 Nov 07 - 01:15 PM

I felt that John, talking about his family, described a time that has past but in historical terms only just.

What was farming life like at 50 year intervals from say 1500 onwards? Ever changing at a guess. That, I think, is one of the points of the Imagined Village makes. Their wasn't not one simple unchanging experience of England. It is ever changing and the music that has been passed on to us can play a part in who we are now and who we might become.

Subject: RE: Review Imagined Village CD
From: Santa
Date: 14 Nov 07 - 01:36 PM

I don't think so, Les: I think that farming has changed at a much greater rate in the past 50 years, certainly in the past 150, than at any other comparable time in the past. One point I take from the IV CD is that the nation's music has changed as well, and that folk music can adapt to these changes. That it can take from these newer styles and give to these newer styles.

Not that it is only the IV that demonstrates this, of course. But in the end John Barleycorn is still John Barleycorn whether unaccompanied traditional, folk rock or raga.

Subject: RE: Review Imagined Village CD
From: GUEST,Ed
Date: 14 Nov 07 - 02:33 PM

I was at the Bridgewater Hall as well last night, and can echo what Les and Ian say. Particular personal highlights were: Johnny Kalsi's percussion, Sheila Chandra's 'Welcome Sailor', the Sitar playing throughout (but especially on 'Scarborough Fair') and Eliza Carthy's utter joie de vivre. The ornithology quiz was fun too.

Fantastic, go and see it if you can. It was disappointing to see the venue only about two-thirds full though. It thoroughly deserved a sell out.

I've had the CD for a couple of weeks and have listened to it a few times. Some of it I like a lot, but it's not a patch on the live show.

Subject: RE: Review Imagined Village CD
From: GUEST,Ed
Date: 14 Nov 07 - 02:35 PM

Oh yes,

Keep the dog!

Subject: RE: Review Imagined Village CD
From: treewind
Date: 14 Nov 07 - 03:00 PM

Jon - that would explain why what someone else described as "Bob Copper" didn't sound a bit like Bob - thanks for clearing that up!

Anahata

Subject: RE: Review Imagined Village CD
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 15 Nov 07 - 03:32 AM

THE IMAGINED VILLAGE
November
14 POOLE - The Lighthouse - 0870 066 8701
16 BRISTOL - Colston Hall - 0117 922 3686
17 BRIGHTON - The Dome - 01273 700747
19 GATESHEAD - The Sage Gateshead - 0191 443 466
20 LIVERPOOL - Philharmonic Hall - 0151 709 3789
21 BASINGSTOKE - The Anvil - 01256 844244
22 NORTHAMPTON - Royal & Derngate - 01604 624811
27 LONDON - Royal Festival Hall - 0871 663 2501

Forget the CD the live show is amazing

Subject: RE: Review Imagined Village CD
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 16 Nov 07 - 02:57 AM

Anyone else had the utter joy of the live show?