srothman -

This has to be most distasteful & idiotic thread to appear on Mudcat for some time. It's basically one disgruntled grunting troglodytic troll hurling abuse around on a subject they obviously have no clear understanding of, much less do they possess the general wit & sensitivity to know that if you don't understand (or like) a thing then the best thing to do is leave it well alone, take a step back, go back to what you feel comfortable without plastering your destructive & hurtful ignorance all over the message boards.

IMHO - what Elle does is uniquely Elle; her singing & instrumental work are of a standard that you might call exquisite, opening up areas few have even dared consider, let alone venture into. She does so with a deft, beguiling & visionary touch that resonates with Folk idioms past, present & future. An acquired taste? Well in my experience the best things in life invariably are, and uniquely and idiosyncratically so. This chimes in with not only her well-deserved critical acclaim, but also her integrity & authority with respect of The Tradition. For sure, she doesn't sound like your average MOR Baby-Boomer Revivalist Floor Singer, but her singing is such that it commands the respect of a whole new generation of other great singers (none of whom sound like your average MOR Baby-Boomer Revivalist Floor Singer either) from The Woodbine & Ivy band and singers, including us (Rapunzel & Sedayne), Sproatly Smith, Hannah Peel, Phil & Cath Tyler (who feature on her latest album), and dozens more you won't have heard of. Her cover of Bellamy's setting of Kipling's Way Through the Woods on the OAK ASH THORN album is one of the key points in recent developments in Folk - a true landmark indeed - and her rendering of The Leaves of Life on The Woodbine & Ivy Band album is every bit as authoritative as anything that went before. What you hear in Elle's voice is what you hear in Bellamy, Shirley Collins, and yet further back to old singers themselves. Not for nothing is she appearing at The Green Note on Monday night. I just wish I could be there...

So - go read the reviews and think to yourself what it is you might be missing out on before coming on line and spewing your idiotic and reactionary folk-bile all over the place if only to betray your ignorance on what this music is actually about. Are you missing something? Damn bloody right you are - and our gain is obviously your loss.

Sean / Sedayne
(aka Jack Blandiver - the Mucatter still known as Suibhne O' Piobaireachd / Astray until my request for a name change is honoured, here posting as himself for reasons of essential critical transparency)