I thought I would throw modesty and caution to the wind and post the current review to my 'Unaccompanied' CD from English Dance and Song. If it helps Sue get a few more seats filled on the 12th all the better. I'll be there in good time as long as I can get my head through the door....
Nick


Unaccompanied
Nick Dow
Old House Music, OHM807

The new Nick Dow album includes two fairly big surprises. The first is that, if you don't know Nick Dow's singing, on hearing this CD, you could be forgiven for being amazed that you haven't heard much more of him over the years. He's seriously good. The thing you probably won't forget is his voice, which is a warm and generous toned instrument that makes me think of butter melting into a slice of hot toast made of the most flavoursome brown bread you can find. Your image might be different, but no doubt you'll get the gist of what I'm saying.
More than that, Nick has done his homework properly, learning and collecting songs from Dorset and Lancashire, and from the Gypsy community, with which he has also worked extensively.Sure, some traddies prefer rougher voices, but in a fair and reasonable world, that smooth and pleasant quality should make him more marketable.
The second surprise is for folks who know his accompanied singing, for although he's a gifted and seasoned guitarist, Nick has left his strings and frets to one side for the whole of this recording. This is a fine collection of songs among them interesting variations of songs you've likely heard before. Some have interesting scales that would defeat a singer with a lesser ear, and the occasional decorations are beautifully articulated.
There's even the occasional well-aimed and appropriate chuckle, which is a damned hard thing to pull off. So what are Unaccompanied's great songs? Of the well-known ones, 'The Light Horseman'(which he calls 'Pity a Lover') stands out,as does 'The Factory Girl'. I don't recall hearing the wonderfully dramatic 'The Hare's Lament' before, and I really like the resignation of 'The Cruel Wars' and the torrid intensity of' One Night As I Lay On My Bed'.
My only complaint about the whole thing is the unusually short time between each track, which doesn't give you the few seconds most of us probably need to digest the previous song.
Gavin Atkin