Gig Review: Steeleye Span Coventry 20/12/2009

Steeleye Span played the twenty-ninth night of a thirty date UK tour at Warwick Arts Centre on Sunday and delivered a professional performance of material from throughout their forty year career. The band have survived constant line-up changes, member illnesses and Mike Batt during that time and now feature Maddy Prior (vocals), Rick Kemp (bass/vocals), Peter Knight (fiddle), Ken Nicol (guitar/vocals), and Liam Genockey (drums), with multi-instrumentalist Pete Zorn joining the band on stage having previously filled in for Kemp.

Maddy Prior is undoubtedly the leading lady and although links and vocals were shared and a couple of instrumental tunes included, the band peaks when Prior takes charge. She has enormous stage presence even before she sings and twirls mesmerically in a scarlet gown, but her voice is as commanding and strong as ever, particularly resonant on Child ballad The Great Silkie of Sules Skerry, performed by Prior with Knight's violin as sole accompaniment. Other highlights included opening murder ballad Little Sir Hugh, Genockey's drumming on The Three Sisters and Cold, Haily, Windy Night, sung by Kemp.

There was slightly more of a focus on post-Tim Hart material (though only one track from 2009 offering 'Cogs, Wheels and Lovers') but Hart, who is in poor health, did feature on the interval entertainment, a forthcoming album of nursery rhymes. A couple of songs were less engaging, with Steeleye's distinctive electric folk at times sounding curiously more dated than a few of the ballads. This perhaps contributes to what is at times a slightly surreal atmosphere. An institution, a band almost as old as the university, had rolled onto campus with routine commercial bustle, although the unlikely site of Prior selling raffle tickets during the interval, flanked by two security men, was still unexpected!

This was a seasoned, not seasonal display, with Christmas tracks from 'Winter' and surely a staple encore classic Gaudete omitted in favour of "Unconquered Sun", a winter solstice song targeting the (niche) pagan druid market and an encore comprising a singalong rendition of All Around My Hat and blues-tinged Hard Times of Old England, featuring solos from most of the band. You can't criticise performers for being too well-versed in their songs and it did not feel as though they were going through the motions - but perhaps lacking the emotions you might expect from a 40th anniversary gig. The average audience member definitely remembered the first time around and a 25th anniversary sweater adorned one bearded patron. To borrow an album title - now I would have been six...

Set List

Little Sir Hugh
Cold, Haily, Windy Night
Seagull
Sheep-Crook and Black Dog
Babylon
Bachelor's Hall
I Live Not Where I Love
Si Begh Si Mohr
Gallant Frigate Amphitrite

Interval

All Things Are Quite Silent
Ranzo
The Great Silkie of Sules Skerry - Peter Knight & Maddy Prior
Unconquered Sun
Van Diemen's Land
Peace on the Border
The Three Sisters
Irish fiddle tunes
Bonny Black Hare

Encore
All Around My Hat
Hard Times of Old England

12/12/2009: Christmas Special

RaW Folk's Christmas party was as hip and happening as you'd expect (but with more breadsticks). Tunes ranged from KT Tunstall's kazoo-infected 'Mele Kalikamaka (Christmas in Hawaii)' to Joni Mitchell's sublime, melancholy festive lament 'River' - while Dylan's Christmas selection box was tucked into with glee as this week's Featured Album.

Meanwhile we basked in the glory of Mumford & Sons, whose Little Lion Man achieved sixth in RaW's annual Single of the Year chart countdown on Tuesday, finishing just four votes short of top spot. Many thanks to all for your support - and to everyone who has emailed the show or posted comments here this year. Merry Christmas to all!

Music Played
Artist - Song (Album)

Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal (Fleet Foxes)
Mumford & Sons - Winter Winds (Sigh No More)
Waterboys - World Party (Fisherman's Blues)
Maddy Prior & the Carnival Band - The World Turned Upside Down (Hang Up Sorrow and Care)

Featured Album: Bob Dylan - Christmas in the Heart
Bob Dylan - Winter Wonderland

Youngsters - Christmas in Jail (Doo Wop Christmas [various])
Slow Club - Christmas TV (Christmas Thanks for Nothing [EP])

Featured Album: Bob Dylan - Christmas in the Heart
Bob Dylan - Must Be Santa

KT Tunstall - Mele Kalikimaka (Christmas in Hawaii) (A Very KT Christmas)
Steeleye Span - Gaudete (Below the Salt)
Kate Rusby - Sweet Bells (Sweet Bells)
Joni Mitchell - River (Blue)

Featured Album: Bob Dylan - Christmas in the Heart
Bob Dylan - O' Come All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles)

The Unthanks - Tar Barrel in Dale (Lucky Gilchrist [single])

05/12/2009

No session guests this week but a busy show nonetheless, spotlighting a few of the nominees for the forthcoming BBC Folk Awards 2010 - the shortlist for which was announced on Wednesday. In addition, the show spearheaded the "Mumford & Sons for Single of the Year" campaign, imploring listeners to vote for the folk in RaW's annual chart countdown. Last year RaW Folk's listeners backed White Winter Hymnal by Fleet Foxes to the heady heights of number 14, so let's see if we can do even better this year. Head over to radio.warwick.ac.uk/singleoftheyear to vote before 5pm today - and if you need any more convincing, please watch the video below (although beware - it's definitely not the radio edit). Don't forget to tune into Compact Disco on Tuesday from 6-8pm on RaW 1251AM to hear the Top 20 chart countdown live.



Finally, listener Em emailed in asking for views on the news that Dylan's A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall has been adopted as "an unofficial anthem" by the UN ahead of the Copenhagen climate change summit - and wondering how the UN sets about making such a decision. Did they vote on it?! If you have any ideas for alternative anthems, post them here!

Talking of Sir Bob, tune in next week for RaW Folk's first festive December show to hear tracks from his new album Christmas in the Heart - and to get you in the mood, here's the extraordinary video for "Must Be Santa".



Music Played
Artist - Song (Album)

Demon Barbers - The Good Old Days (+24db)
The Darwin Song Project - Kingdom Come (Shrewsbury 2009)
Megson - Follow it On (Smoke of Home)
Show of Hands - Arrogance, Ignorance and Greed (Arrogance, Ignorance and Greed)
The Queensberry Rules - Sinking Town (The Black Dog and Other Stories)
Mumford & Sons - Winter Winds (Sigh No More)
Leddra Chapman - Wrap Me Up (Telling Tales)
Mawkin:Causley - Cutty Wren (The Awkward Recruit)
Kate Rusby - Blooming Heather (Awkward Annie)
Cara Dillon - Spencer the Rover (Hill of Thieves)
Martin Simpson - Duncan and Brady (Prodigal Son)
Mumford & Sons - Little Lion Man (Sigh No More)

To view the full list of nominees for February's BBC Folk Awards, click here.

28/11/09: The Queensberry Rules

On Saturday The Queensberry Rules joined the show live in the studio to discuss singing about Stoke, making their breakthrough and bands beginning with Q. Phil, Gary and Duncan played two new songs from their sixth album Take Your Own Roads and finished off the session with an inspiring rendition of I Still Believe in England. To listen again to the session, visit MoreRaW here and for more info on the band visit www.thequeensberryrules.com.

Unfortunately the clock got the better of the Folk On or Folk Off result, which was a resounding Folk On to The Celtic Soul Brothers by Dexys Midnight Runners. Thanks once again for your emails and votes!

Music Played
Artist - Song (Album)

Neil Young - Southern Man (After the Goldrush)

Train Track
Steve Goodman - City of New Orleans (Steve Goodman)

Nick Drake - River Man (Five Leaves Left)

The Queensberry Rules - Tracks [LIVE]

Martha Wainwright - The Maker (Martha Wainwright)
Johnny Cash - Big River

The Queensberry Rules - When You Come Home Again [LIVE]

Richard & Linda Thompson - The End of the Rainbow (I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight)

Folk On or Folk Off
Dexys Midnight Runners - The Celtic Soul Brothers (Too-Rye-Ay)

The Queensberry Rules - I Still Believe In England [LIVE]

Jez Lowe - A Call for the North Country (Bede Weeps)

21/11/09: Warwick Folk Ceilidh Band

This week members of the Warwick Folk Ceilidh Band from the University of Warwick Folk Society packed into Studio 1 to play a live session. You can listen again to their set at MoreRaW now. Plus don't forget to tune in at 18:00 this Saturday to hear The Queensberry Rules perform three tracks from their new album, Take Your Own Roads, live in the studio.

Music Played
Artist - Song (Album)

Bob Dylan - Visions of Johanna (Blonde on Blonde)
Karine Polwart - Maybe There's a Road (Scribbled in Chalk)

Train Track
The Queensberry Rules - Tracks (Take Your Own Roads)

June Tabor - The Merchant's Son (Airs and Graces)
Chris Wood - Summerfield Avenue (Trespasser)

Warwick Folk Ceilidh Band - Horizonto / Dusty Windowsills [LIVE]

John Tams - Amelia (The Reckoning)

Warwick Folk Ceilidh Band - The Dashing White Sergeant / The White Cockade / The Ton [LIVE]

Folk On or Folk Off
Tyrannosaurus Rex - Dwarfish Trumpet Blues (My People Were Fair and Had Sky in Their Hair... But Now They're Content to Wear Stars on Their Brows)

Tom Waits - Shiver Me Timbers (The Heart of Saturday Night)

Warwick Folk Ceilidh Band - Tam Lin [LIVE]

Jackie Oates - The Lark in the Morning (The Violet Hour)

6 Day Riot bonus interview

As promised, here is the blog exclusive bonus interview with Dan Deavin of 6 Day Riot.

Don't forget you can still listen to Tamara's interview at MoreRaW here and tune into the show on Saturday to hear a live session from the Warwick Folk Ceilidh Band.

RaW Folk 14/11/2009: 6 Day Riot

This week's show featured an interview with Tamara Schlesinger of 6 Day Riot, though tragically not the fabulous but ill-fated recordings of O Those Kids and Run For Your Life, which technical malfunction of RaW's equipment rendered unfortunately unbroadcastable. Nevertheless, the programme still featured tracks from the band's new album 6 Day Riot Have A Plan, in addition to music from Take Your Own Roads - the splendid third album from The Queensberry Rules, who'll be in session on the show in two weeks' time.

To listen again to the interview with Tamara, click here for part 1 and here for part 2 and don't forget to check back soon to hear a short bonus blog exclusive chat with 6 Day Riot's drummer (and ex-Warwick Uni student) Dan Deavin.

Music Played
Artist - Song (Album)

Seth Lakeman - The Hurlers (Poor Man's Heaven)
Simon & Garfunkel - Cecilia (Bridge Over Troubled Water)

Train Track
Howlin' Wolf - Smokestack Lightnin' (Moanin' in the Moonlight)

Featured Album: Take Your Own Roads
The Queensberry Rules - Top Dog

6 Day Riot - Run For Your Life (6 Day Riot Have A Plan)
Daniel Johnston - True Love Will Find You In The End (1990)
6 Day Riot - Go! Canada (6 Day Riot Have A Plan)

Featured Album: Take Your Own Roads
The Queensberry Rules - Sauntering Ned

Folk On or Folk Off
Fredo Viola - Robinson Crusoe (The Turn)

Featured Album: Take Your Own Roads
The Queensberry Rules - Away, Away

Eliza Carthy - Picking Up Sticks / The Old Mole / Felton Lonnin / Kingston Girls (Rice)

RaW Folk 07/11/2009: Paul Curreri

A superb live set from americana/folk/country artist Paul Curreri kicked off a new season of RaW Folk. Paul played three tracks from his new album California and talked about life in the US and UK, the many influences on his music and his forthcoming UK tour. To catch Paul perform in Coventry this Thursday, visit www.tinangeltickets.co.uk.

Music Played
Artist - Song (Album)

Show of Hands - Arrogance, Ignorance and Greed (Arrogance, Ignorance and Greed)
The Queensberry Rules - When You Come Home Again (Take Your Own Roads)

Paul Curreri - California [LIVE]

Jim Moray - Lucy Wan (Low Culture)
6 Day Riot - O Those Kids (6 Day Riot Have a Plan)
Devon Sproule - Ain't that the Way (¡Don't Hurry for Heaven!)

Paul Curreri - Once Upon a Rooftop [LIVE]

Mumford & Sons - Little Lion Man (Radio Edit single)

Folk On or Folk Off
Sister Ray - Egg

Paul Curreri - Down By The Water [LIVE]

Paul Curreri - Letting Us Be (Songs for Devon Sproule)
Martin Simpson - Never Any Good (Prodigal Son)

RaW Folk Returns

A new season of RaW Folk begins on November 7th featuring a live session from acclaimed Americana/Folk/Country artist Paul Curreri.

Tune into RaW this Saturday at 6pm - online at radio.warwick.ac.uk/listen - to hear the whole show live.

Lisa Hannigan's Sea Sew shortlisted for Mercury Prize

Florence Welch, she of early co-favourites for this year's Mercury Prize Florence and the Machine, has 'never heard of' fellow nominee Lisa Hannigan. This is disappointing, particularly after the latter's mainstream exposure on Later with Jools Holland, the Radio 2 playlist and (of course) RaW Folk...

Hannigan, with a critically acclaimed history as the female vocalist for Damien Rice, refers to her music as plinky plonk rock, perhaps in an attempt to dodge the singer-songwriter and nu-folk labels. This is probably a good idea - generally such labels are as unhelpful as they are unsound and Hannigan's music should be heard without prejudice. Her nomination is well-deserved.

Nevertheless, since the Mercurys started in 1992 the prize has earned a reputation for its left-field nominees and, to a lesser extent, winners (Antony & the Johnsons spring to mind). It has an equally rich history of promoting folk artists, with Eliza Carthy, Kate Rusby, Seth Lakeman, Laura Marling and Rachel Unthank and the Winterset (now the Unthanks) among those gracing previous shortlists.

None have gone on to win, unfortunately, meaning Lisa Hannigan's chances on form are not that great. Last year something of a headwind built up behind the Unthanks, seemingly sweeping them from token folkies to serious contenders, though no-one could quibble with Elbow's eventual win (in the process joining Klaxons, Arctic Monkeys and Franz Ferdinand as all-male band winners of the last five years). The Mercury Prize has a habit of springing surprises, however, so maybe Hannigan, with her unassuming, engaging and well-executed debut album Sea Sew, could pull off a shock come September.

Warwick Arts Centre's Autumn Music Programme Released

After an incredibly disappointing year marred by extensive construction work, the release of Warwick Arts Centre's live music listings for Autumn 2009 has me very excited and necessitates an increased intensity of job hunting.

Folkie highlights include:
- Kings of Convenience on October 15
- The Unthanks on October 29
- The Saw Doctors on December 02
- Kate Rusby on December 19
- Steeleye Span (Maddy Prior, Peter Knight, Liam Genockey, Ken Nicol, Pete Zorn) on December 20

Paul Weller, Newton Faulkner and Alsion Moyet are also playing the Butterworth Hall. Limited £5 tickets are available for students - head over to www.warwickartscentre.co.uk/events/music/ for more information.

In addition, Seth Lakeman will be playing the Copper Rooms (Warwick SU) on November 10 - always a superb live spectacle, though I suspect the excessive £16 price tag will keep many away.

RaW Folk's Vital Statistics

During the final show I received an email enquiry about the most-played song on RaW Folk - a title won by Fleet Foxes for Mykonos, which, with four plays, works out as almost 0.8% of RaW Folk's musical output. In actuality that is likely to be wildly untrue, as I have not been so anal in my bookkeeping as to record individual track lengths - but I have pressed play 513 times.

Listed below for the quantitatively-tuned are RaW Folk's vital statistics.

Total shows: 32
Total songs played: 513
Average show duration: 74.5 minutes
Average songs per show: 16.03
Most songs played: 30 (18/10/2008)
Fewest songs played: 9 (07/02/2009 - though this special show included snippets from 35 other tracks, as part of RaW Folk's BBC Folk Awards coverage).

Most Played Artist: Bob Dylan (18)
Most Played Female Artist: Eliza Carthy (11) and Kate Rusby (11)
Most Played Band: Chumbawamba (13)
Most Played Duo: Simon & Garfunkel (8)

Most Played Songs: "Mykonos" by Fleet Foxes (4) and "All You Pretty Girls" by Jim Moray (3) and XTC (1).
Songs with three plays:
- "Come Down Jehovah" (Chris Wood)
- "Fakenham Fair" (Bellowhead)
- "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)" (Robert Plant & Alison Krauss)
- "Lon Dubh / Blackbird" (Julie Fowlis)
- "Mary Margaret" (Mr Plow)
- "New Columbus" (The Queensbury Rules)
- "Old Virginia Block" (Devon Sproule)
- "When I Get Back To Shore" (Thea Gilmore)
- "White Winter Hymnal" (Fleet Foxes)
"Dirty Old Town" has also been heard three times - Ewan MacColl's original, Rod Stewart's cover and the Pogues' Irishised version from Rum, Sodomy & the Lash. In addition, the Dylan classic "I Shall Be Released" received three plays - versions by the Tom Robinson Band and the Band having been featured in Folk On or Folk Off but the original never making the airwaves (tut).

Most Featured Albums: "The Boy Bands Have Won" by Chumbawamba (ten different tracks played, twelve plays total); "Low Culture" by Jim Moray (six, nine) and "Burlesque" by Bellowhead (eight, eight).

Thanks again to everyone who listened to the programme during its four term run. The current intention is to continue the show with a series of specials next year.

30/05/2009: Final Show

Saturday was RaW Folk's final outing in its present form. Due to looming exams I will have to keep this post short but please check back here in a couple of weeks for more information.

Music Played
Artist - Song (Album)

Queensberry Rules - New Columbus (The Black Dog)
Donovan - Mellow Yellow (Mellow Yellow)
Fotheringay - Peace in the End (Fotheringay)

Featured Album: Christy Moore - Listen
Christy Moore - Listen

Devon Sproule - Old Virginia Block (Keep Your Silver Shined)
Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu - Bapa (Gurrumul)
Scott Claasen - Athena (Monterey)
Lisa Hannigan - I Don't Know (Sea Sew)

Featured Album: Christy Moore - Listen
Christy Moore - The Ballad of Ruby Walsh

Simon & Garfunkel - The Sound of Silence (Sounds of Silence)
June Tabor - A Place Called England (A Quiet Eye)

Featured Album: Christy Moore - Listen
Christy Moore - Duffy's Cut

Bob Dylan - Maggie's Farm (Bringing It All Back Home)

23/05/2009

Music Played
Artist - Song (Album)

Gogol Bordello - Start Wearing Purple (Gypsy Punk: Underdog World Strike)
Fairport Convention - Ballad of Easy Rider (Unhalfbricking)

Train Track
Decemberists - Engine Driver (Picaresque)

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Lodi (Green River)
Fleet Foxes - Oliver James (Fleet Foxes)
Leonard Cohen - So Long, Marianne (Songs of Leonard Cohen)

Folk On or Folk Off
Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels on a Gravel Road (Car Wheels on a Gravel Road)

Christy Moore - Shine on You Crazy Diamond (Listen)
Roy Bailey - How Beautiful Upon the Mountain (Below the Radar)

The Legend of Stuff
Martin Carthy - The Ant and the Grasshopper (Right of Passage)

Alexander Rybak - Fairytale [single]

16/05/2009

An eclectic mix of music tonight, ranging from the unpronounceable (Israel Kamakawiwo'ole ) to the unspellable (Israel Kamakawiwo'ole) and punctuated by tales of timewasting and digiplay breaking. Dedicated listeners were also rewarded with some hot tips for revision success towards the end of the show.

The mysteriously named 'Internet Listener' emailed in on the topic of mishearing people (in my case in pubs and bus shelters) with a great link about misheard lyrics: click here.

Music Played
Artist - Song (Album)

Sharon Shannon - Blackbird (The Galway Girl - The Best of Sharon Shannon)
Sugarland - Steve Earle (Love on the Inside)
Steve Earle - Satellite Radio (Washington Square Serenade)
Israel Kamakawiwo'ole - Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Facing Future)
Phil Beer - Garland Gay (A Celebration of Great British Folk [various])
Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu - Bapa (Gurrumul)
Queensberry Rules - New Columbus (The Black Dog)

Folk On or Folk Off
The Zutons - Always Right Behind You (You Can Do Anything)

Chris Wood - Summerfield Avenue (Trespasser)

The Legend of Stuff
Rory & Alex McEwan - Bonnie George Campbell (A Celebration of Great British Folk [various])

Ella Edmondson - Breathe (Hold Your Horses)
Jim Croce - Time in a Bottle (You Don't Mess Around with Jim)


The Gurrumul track generated a particularly enthusiastic response - so here he is performing 'Bapa' live last year:




Finally, one last top revision tip for dedicated blog readers: before an exam, skim read all your notes by reading only the long words down the middle of the pages. Then fix a stare at the notes and flick through them at speed. Your brain will receive the information faster than you can read it, but the information will continue to be processed inside the exam hall...

09/05/2009

A right mixed bag this week with music from the psychedelic-influenced Byrds and Bees alongside long overdue debuts on RaW Folk from Martyn Joseph and Simon Emmerson's Imagined Village collective.

The Imagined Village project, involving a diverse collection of artists including "The Modfather" Paul Weller, performance poet Benjamin Zephaniah and folktronica outfit Tunng, was established to produce a modern, multicultural take on the folk songs of Victorian collectors and features retellings of ballads such as Death and the Maiden and The Hard Times of Old England. In 2007 a national tour brought The Imagined Village to Warwick University.



The track played on Saturday's programme was Cold, Hailey, Rainy Night, featuring Eliza Carthy, Chris Wood, The Young Copper Family and Transglobal Underground. Their rendition won the Best Traditional Track prize at the 2008 BBC Folk Awards.

Music Played
Artist - Song (Album)

The Byrds - Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season) (Turn! Turn! Turn!)
Eliza Carthy - Stingo / The Stacking Reel (Red)

Train Track
Crosby, Stills & Nash - Marrakech Express (Crosby, Stills & Nash)

The Bees - A Minha Menina (Sunshine Hit Me)
Martin Simpson - Duncan and Brady (Prodigal Son)
Loudon Wainwright III - Dead Skunk (Album III)
The Imagined Village - Cold, Hailey, Rainy Night (The Imagined Village)

Folk On or Folk Off
The Saw Doctors - World of Good (Same Oul' Town)

Pentangle - Light Flight (Basket of Light)
Martyn Joseph - Sing to My Soul (Evolved)
Beth Orton - Concrete Sky (Daybreaker)
Paolo Nutini - Rewind (These Streets)

02/05/2009

Influenced by a special music marathon to mark the departure of RaW's vinyl library, something of a retro flavour permeated the show this week, tempered by tracks from Kate Rusby, Seth Lakeman, Young Folk Award-winning siblings Megan & Joe Henwood and rockabilly Cambridge invitee Imelda May.

Music Played
Artist - Song (Album)

Beach Boys - Cottonfields (The Cotton Song) (Sunflower [European release])
Kate Rusby - Awkward Annie (Awkward Annie)
America - A Horse with No Name (America)
Simon & Garfunkel - The Sounds of Silence (Wednesday Morning, 3A.M.)

Folk On or Folk Off
Imelda May - Johnny got a Boom Boom (Love Tattoo)

Bob Dylan - Hurricane (Desire)

The Legend of Stuff
Kate Rusby - Andrew Lammie (Awkward Annie)
Seth Lakeman - The White Hare (Freedom Fields)

Young Folkies
Megan and Joe Henwood - White Lies (Folk Awards 2009 [various])

Richard Thompson - 1952 Vincent Black Lightning (Rumour and Sigh)

RaW Folk and Swine Flu: Important Information

To reassure any listeners who might be concerned about the impact of the international global porcine swine flu influenza epidemic pandemic upon RaW's broadcasting capabilities or scheduling conventions, I can confirm that, at this stage, RaW Folk has not been cancelled and will broadcast as usual at 19:00 this Saturday.

Troubleshooting
If your radio or web player output sounds muffled, this could be because:
a) the DJ is wearing a face mask
b) you are wearing your own mask incorrectly (should cover mouth and nose)
c) your home personal desktop PC computer has contracted the swine flu virus, probably from contaminated drugs spam. Phone the National Health NHS Direct or the PC Computer World.

Please try to remain calm.

25/04/2009

RaW Folk's first birthday special! With music spanning eighty years and a controversial Cambridge-influenced Folk On or Folk Off - not to mention new tracks from Messrs Dylan, Moore and Howie "Howard Eliott" Payne - there was much rejoicing (but no balloons).

Music Played
Artist - Song (Album)

Johnny Cash - I Walk the Line (The Essential Johnny Cash)
Morris On Band - Sulgrave Air / Shepherd's Hey (A Celebration of Great British Folk [various])

Train Track
The Carter Family - Wabash Cannonball (The Very Best of the Carter Family)

Bob Dylan - Beyond Here Lies Nothin' (Together Through Life)
Straight Furrow - Star of the County Down (A Celebration of Great British Folk [various])
Thea Gilmore - When I Get Back to Shore (Liejacker)
Howard Eliott Payne - Dangling Threads (Bright Light Ballads)
Bella Hardy - Alone, Jane? (Night Visiting)

Folk On or Folk Off
Booker T & the MGs - Green Onions (Green Onions)

Christy Moore - The Ballad of Ruby Walsh (Listen)
Jaymay - Blue Skies (Autumn Fallin')
Nic Jones - Canadee-I-O (Penguin Eggs)
Lindisfarne - Lady Eleanor (Nicely Out of Tune)

RaW's Best Specialist Show* is back

With almost unprecedented continuity (so, um, precedented continuity then) RaW Folk returns from its holidays at the same time this term. Tune into RaW 1251am here every Saturday at 19:00 to hear an hour of tunes from music's broadest church, starting this weekend.

*It's official!

07/03/2009

Music Played
Artist - Song (Album)

Levellers - What a Beautiful Day (Mouth to Mouth)
Robyn Hitchcock - Hurry for the Sky (Goodnight Oslo)
Fleet Foxes - Mykonos (Sun Giant [EP])
Bob Dylan - Spanish Harlem Incident (Another Side of Bob Dylan)

Train Track (Double Header)
Johnny Cash - Orange Blossom Special (Orange Blossom Special)
Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues (At Folsom Prison)

Folk On or Folk Off
Dent May & his Magnificent Ukulele - Meet Me in the Garden (The Good Feeling Music of Dent May & his Magnificent Ukulele)

Scott Claassen - Blowing Off Steam (Monterey)
Neil Young - The Needle and the Damage Done [live] (Unplugged)
Show of Hands - The Galway Farmer [live] (The Big Gig)

The Legend of Stuff
Fairport Convention - Matty Groves [live] (Moat on the Ledge)

Oysterband - Love Will Tear Us Apart (ft. June Tabor) [live] (The Big Session)

28/02/2009

Music Played
Artist - Track (Album)

Ryan Adams - Answering Bell (Gold)
Bellowhead - Whiskey is the Life of Man (Matachin)
Nick Cave - Where the Wild Roses Grow (ft. Kylie Minogue) (Murder Ballads)

Train Track (Double Header)
Cat Stevens - Peace Train (Teaser and the Firecat)
Chatham County Line - The Carolinian (IV)

Mr Plow - Mary Margaret (Four Murder Ballads EP)
Richard Thompson - Oops! I Did it Again (1000 Years of Popular Music)

Folk On or Folk Off
Teitur - The Singer (The Singer)

Merle Travis - Sixteen Tons (Folk Songs of the Hills)
Gurf Morlix - One More Second (Last Exit to Happyland)
Peggy Sue - The Sea The Sea (First Aid [EP])

21/02/2009

Having packed in over twenty tracks on an hour's 1950s rock'n'roll special during the week, stat-watching devotees (there must be some, surely?) will be pleased to note that last Saturday's offering contained the fewest songs that I've ever played in a single programme. Did the previous show overrun? Yes. Was I waffling? Yes. Did I ask lots of rhetorical questions? Did I?

Music Played
Artist - Song (Album)

Joan Baez - Stones in the Road (Play Me Backwards)
Shooglenifty - Glenuig Hall / The Wrong Box (The Arms Dealer's Daughter)
Scott Claassen - Blowing Off Steam (Monterey)
Paisley Close - The Passionate Shepherd (All On a Day)

The Legend of Stuff
Fairport Convention - Sir Patrick Spens (Liege and Lief [remastered])

Nickel Creek - When In Rome (Why Should the Fire Die?)
Devon Sproule - Old Virginia Block (Keep Your Silver Shined)

Young Folkies
Jaywalkers - Run Sister Run (Folk Awards 2009 [various])

Mawkin: Causley - George's Son (Cold Ruin EP)
Charlie Daniels Band - The Devil went Down to Georgia (Million Mile Reflections)

The time it is a-changin' (sort of)

Due to RaW's extended coverage of the SU election results tomorrow (Saturday) night, RaW Folk will broadcast at the earlier time of 17:00-18:00 this week only. Tune in at radio.warwick.ac.uk/listen for your fix of folk.

14/02/2009

Keen to blow away any lingering Folk Awards-related radio hangover from the Saturday show (Wednesday was just a completely different vibe!), yesterday's programme featured the rousing tones of Show of Hands and the Demon Barbers, complemented by a couple of Chris Wood tunes to nourish and soothe. RaW Folk listeners continued to support the hypothesis of Big Bill Broonzy / Louis Armstrong that 'all music is folk music', with Amy MacDonald's This is the Life becoming the latest track to be declared a Folk On hit, albeit by the narrowest of margins.

In other news, Chumbawamba's Charlie, played in honour of Darwin's 200th birthday, became the 400th song on RaW Folk (including repeats, excluding bedding music and all those nominee excerpts from last week). Thoroughly meaningless, though rather neat.

Music Played
Artist - Song (Album)

The Nightwatchman - One Man Revolution (One Man Revolution)
The Shee - Chilly Winds (A Different Season)
Vin Garbutt - Punjabi Girl (Persona... Grata)

Train Track
Speedy West - Railroadin' (Radio & Recording Rarities volume 6 [various])

Chumbawamba - Charlie (The Boy Bands Have Won)
Chris Wood - Come Down Jehovah (Trespasser)
Glen Campbell - Wichita Lineman (Wichita Lineman)

Folk On or Folk Off
Amy MacDonald - This is the Life (This is the Life)

Show of Hands - Country Life (Country Life)
Ruby Suns - Tane Mahuta (Sea Lion)
Bob Dylan - Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn) (Self Portrait)
Chris Wood - The Cottager's Reply (Trespasser)
Demon Barbers - The Good Old Days (+24db)

11/02/2009

It's a surreal world in which we live and this week RaW Sport Midweek was off-air because there was a football match - following earlier reports that Chelsea were to be managed by an interim goose. Has anyone told the RSPB?

All of that (well the first bit anyway) meant that RaW Folk had a bonus show on Wednesday night, featuring Johnny Cash's gloriously ludicrous train impression and twelve top tunes. Happy Mittwoch!

Music Played
Artist - Song (Album)

The Leisure Society - The Last of the Melting Snow (single)
Chris While & Julie Matthews - Together Alone (Together Alone)
Christy Moore - Night Visit (Voyage)
Alvin Youngblood Hart - Tallacatcha (Territory)

Train Track
Johnny Cash - Orange Blossom Special (Orange Blossom Special)

Devon Sproule - Old Virginia Block (Keep Your Silver Shined)

Folk On or Folk Off
Tom Petty - Big Weekend (Highway Companion)

Luka Bloom - City of Chicago (Innocence)
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On) (Raising Sand)
Vin Garbutt - Punjabi Girl (Persona... Grata)
Joan Baez - Stones in the Road (Play Me Backwards)
Chris Wood - The Cottager's Reply (Trespasser)

RaW Folk - Midweek

Apologies for the late notice but RaW Folk returns for a bonus midweek airing tonight from 21:00. Tune in at radio.warwick.ac.uk/listen for your fill of folk on RaW 1251am.

07/02/2009: Folk Awards Special

Regular features were suspended for this special programme to mark the tenth annual BBC Folk Awards, which took place last Monday. Chris Wood and Jackie Oates were the big winners, taking home two trophies each, whilst previous winners Bellowhead, Eliza Carthy and Karine Polwart, with eight nominations between them, all missed out this year. Before announcing the winners I played a medley of songs from the four nominees in each category.

The show also included music from the two recipients of Lifetime Achievement Awards, Judy Collins and James Taylor. Last year's Lifetime Achievement winner, John Martyn, died last month and host Mike Harding began proceedings at The Brewery with a minute's applause in his memory. Bert Jansch and Ralph McTell later gave a tribute to the late Davy Graham, who died in December, duetting for a live performance of Graham's signature tune Angi, which was also featured on RaW Folk this week.

Music Played (award winners listed in bold, albums in brackets)

Lifetime Achievement: James Taylor - Not Fade Away (Covers)

Best Traditional Track medley
Chris Wood - Lady of York / Jackie Oates - The Lark in the Morning / Jim Moray - Lucy Wan / Bellowhead - Fakenham Fair

Horizon Award medley
The Shee - Chilly Winds / Jeana Leslie & Siobhan Miller - Edward / Jackie Oates - The Lark in the Morning / Bella Hardy - Alone, Jane?

Jackie Oates - The Lark in the Morning (The Violet Hour)

Musician of the Year medley
Tom McConville - Fair Pretty Maid / John McCusker - Jack Seward's / Martin Simpson - Duncan and Brady / Phil Beer - Blow the Man Down

Tom McConville - Pretty Fair Maid (Tommy on Song)

Best Duo medley
Bob Fox & Stu Luckley - The Bonnie Gateshead Lass / Chris While & Julie Matthews - Together Alone / Megson - Smoke of Home / Spiers & Boden - The Rain it Rains

Chris While & Julie Matthews - Together Alone (Together Alone)

Best Original Song medley
Jim Moray - All You Pretty Girls (written by Andy Partridge) / Chris Wood - Come Down Jehovah (written by Chris Wood) / Eliza Carthy - Mr Magnifico (written by Eliza Carthy and Ben Ivitsky) / Chris Wood - Cottager's Reply (written by Frank Mansell & Chris Wood)

Jim Moray - All You Pretty Girls (Low Culture)

Bert Jansch & Ralph McTell - Angi [live]

Best Live Act medley
Seth Lakeman - Haunt You [live] / The Demon Barbers - Good Old Days / Bellowhead - Haul Away [live] / Lau - Stewarts [live]

Album of the Year medley
Jim Moray for Low Culture - Leaving Australia / Karine Polwart for This Earthly Spell - Firethief / Chris Wood for Trespasser - Summerfield Avenue / Eliza Carthy for Dreams of Breathing Underwater - Follow the Dollar

Folk Singer of the Year medley
Julie Fowlis - Lon Dubh / Chris Wood - Come Down Jehovah / Karine Polwart - Dowie Dens of Yarrow / Eliza Carthy - Oranges and Seasalt

Chris Wood - Come Down Jehovah (Trespasser)

Best Group medley
Bellowhead - Fakenham Fair / Faustus - The Hostesses Daughter / Mawkin:Causley - George's Son / Lau - Banks of Marble

Lifetime Achievement: Judy Collins - Both Sides Now (Wildflowers)

A fairly hectic show but we managed to hear excerpts from every nominated artist, as well as full tracks from a selection of winners. As DJs are required to log all songs they play, this programme involved logging forty-four tracks in sixty minutes! The next show was late again, so we also heard Banks of Marble in full from Lau, winners of the Best Group award, as a bonus track.

To watch video from the evening (including several live performances) please visit the BBC's Folk Awards microsite and don't forget to tune in next Saturday for the return of regular features Folk On or Folk Off, Train Track and the Legend of Stuff - abnormal service will resume!

Reminder: Folk Awards Special tonight

Tonight's RaW Folk will feature news of from the tenth annual BBC Folk Awards, with music from all the nominees and a very special live performance from the evening. Tune into RaW on 1251am on campus or at radio.warwick.ac.uk/listen at 19:00 to hear an hour's highlights of the most important night in the folk calendar.

Predictions, or how I lost all credibility

Ahead of tonight's BBC Folk Awards in London - which, as far as I know have survived the unprecedented extreme weather event (snow) - it's prediction time! If you'd like to add your own, feel free to comment below.

Don't forget to tune into RaW Folk next Saturday from 19:00 for the results show.

My Dodgy Predictions:
Folk Singer of the Year - Chris Wood
Best Duo - Chris While & Julie Matthews
Best Group - Mawkin:Causley
Best Album - Low Culture (Jim Moray)
Best Original Song - Come Down Jehovah (Chris Wood)
Best Traditional Track - Lucy Wan (Jim Moray)
Horizon Award - Bella Hardy
Musician of the Year - Tom McConville
Best Live Act - Bellowhead

31/01/2009

This week RaW Folk explored the folk rock connections to the day the music died, fifty years ago on February 3rd. Had Buddy Holly lived it is tempting to wonder whether he would have contributed to the Sixties folk revival, having moved to Greenwich Village shortly before the plane crash that killed him at the age of 22, alongside Ritchie Valens (aged 17), JP Richardson (The Big Bopper, aged 28) and the pilot Roger Peterson.

The show also paid tribute to the late John Martyn, a terrific folk (and jazz) singer-songwriter and folk guitar virtuoso, who died on Thursday.

In addition the almost regular features Folk On or Folk Off, Train Track and Young Folkies graced the airwaves with customary gauche inelegance and I decided that Mykonos by Fleet Foxes is the most affecting track I've heard since Josh Pyke's Middle of the Hill.

Music Played
Artist - Song (Album)

Rodrigo y Gabriela - Tamacun (Rodrigo y Gabriela)
Ritchie Valens - La Bamba (Ritchie Valens)
Buddy Holly - Well... All Right (Very Best of)
Fleet Foxes - Mykonos (Sun Giant EP)
John Martyn - Glory Box (The Church With One Bell)

Train Track
Bob Dylan - It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry (Highway 61 Revisited)

John Martyn - Solid Air (Solid Air)
Cara Dillon - Spencer the Rover (Hill of Thieves)

Folk On or Folk Off
The Nightwatchman - One Man Revolution (One Man Revolution)

Young Folkies
Ryan Young - Catharsis, Humours of Tulla, Mittens Breakdown (BBC Folk Awards 2007)

Steeleye Span - Rave On (Spanning the Years)
Don McLean - American Pie (American Pie)

24/01/2009

Gifted an extra thirty minutes just a couple of hours before the show, I thought the time ripe for a look back at nine months of RaW Folk's contentious but convivial continuing item, Folk On or Folk Off. The hastily assembled result highlighted previously considered tracks from The Beautiful South, Tilly & the Wall, k.d. Lang, The Band, Martha Wainwright and Slow Club, as well as behind the scenes secrets and listener recollections.

Normal service resumed at 19:00, with last week's new feature "Train Spot" transformed to "Train Track" at a listener's suggestion, in a desperate effort to sound less geeky. Sir Bob's classic Theme Time Radio Minute on the big topic of mountains was given a second airing and among the musical peaks were tracks from RaW Folk debutants Dervish, Neil Young (solo) and Kathleen Edwards.

Music Played
Time Artist - Song (Album)

Dervish - Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves (Travelling Show)
Neil Young - Lookin' For a Leader (Living With War)
Old Crow Medicine Show - Union Maid (Big Iron World)

Train Track
Tom Waits - Downtown Train (Rain Dogs)

Emilie Autumn - O Mistress Mine
Byrds - All I Really Want to Do (Mr. Tambourine Man)

Theme Time Radio Minute (Classic) - Mountains
Ozark Mountain Daredevils - Fly Away Home (Men from Earth)

Folk On or Folk Off
KT Tunstall - Black Horse & the Cherry Tree (Eye to the Telescope)

Mawkin: Causley - Ye Mariners All (Cold Ruin EP)
Eliza Carthy - Worcester City (Anglicana)

Legend of Stuff
Martin Carthy & Dave Swarbrick - Death of Queen Jane (Straws in the Wind)

Whitley - Shot to the Stars (The Submarine)
Kathleen Edwards - Run (Asking for Flowers)

Early Start!

This week's show will kick off half an hour early with a Folk On / Folk Off special. Please tune in from 18:30 for more of your RaW Folk.

17/01/2009

Not one but two brand new features on Saturday's programme, for the first time since the first show when Folk On or Folk Off and the forgotten (not forgiven) Theme Time Radio Minute debuted to no great acclaim. Obviously such high standards cannot be maintained, so this time round we make do with the elaborately simple Train Spot and Young Folkies.

Music Played
Time Artist - Song (Album)

Bat For Lashes - Horse & I (Fur and Gold)
Ailie Robertson - The Exploding Bow (First Things First)

Train Spot
Josh Turner - Long Black Train (Long Black Train)

Ashley Hutchings - Black Joke (Grandson of Morris On)
Rachel Unthank & the Winterset - Blue's Gaen Oot O'the Fashion (The Bairns)
Christy Moore - Ride On (Ride On)

Folk On or Folk Off
Slow Club - Me and You (single)

Eddi Reader - Wild Mountainside (Eddi Reader Sings the Songs of Robert Burns)

Young Folkies
Last Orders - O'Keefe's, Unknown, Campdown Races (BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards)

The Queensberry Rules - New Colombus (Black Dog)
Laura Marling - Old Stone (Alas I Cannot Swim)
Jose Gonzalez - Heartbeats (Veneer)

10/01/2009

Music Played
Artist - Song (Album)

Shooglenifty - Missed the Bypass / The Reid St Sofa / Fit're Ye Dain, Up Ma Vennel! (The Arms Dealer's Daughter)
Fleet Foxes - Mykonos (Sun Giant EP)
Thin Lizzy - Whiskey in the Jar (Rockers)
Tom Russell - Rider on an Orphan Train (The Man from God Knows Where)
Jim Moray - Leaving Australia (Low Culture)
Emily Smith - Winter Song (Too Long Away)
Mawkin: Causley - Come My Lads (Cold Ruin EP)
Davy Graham - Angi (Folk, Blues and Beyond)

Folk On or Folk Off
Lonnie Donnegan - Rock Island Line (Singles Anthology)

Phil Ochs - Another Country (Broadside Tapes)

The Legend of Stuff
Mawkin: Causley - Botany Bay (Cold Ruin EP)

Peggy Sue - The Sea The Sea (First Aid EP)

New Term, New Time

Fleeter than, er, foxes, RaW Folk makes another dart around the schedule to find its third home in three months. With the Sunday experiment abandoned, tune into RaW at 19:00 every Saturday for an hour of your RaW Folk.

Oh go on, it might be quite good.