Rags & Robes
Fellside: FECD235
This was a nice surprise. Ewan McLennan’s a fine singer and guitarist. The influence of his tutor Martin Simpson is clear in McLennan’s elegant and tasty guitar-playing. Jackie Oates and Peter Tickell also contribute judicious accompaniment in some beautiful arrangements.
For all his musical qualities, it is the selection of songs that is noteworthy. Many are warhorses of the folk circuit (Jock Stewart, Jute Mill Song). It’s a real tribute to the freshness of his singing and musicianship, therefore, that he can open his first CD with a song as well-known as Tramps and Hawkers without crushing the listener with familiarity.
This choice of ‘standards’ combines with a sense of folk music as addressing the realities of injustice to give the CD a certain old-fashioned feel. That’s not an insult. It’s a political CD in many ways, with big songs like A Man’s a Man, Arthur McBride, MacColl’s Jamie Foyers, and Ian Campbell’s Old Man’s Tale. There’s also a very fine Joe Hill that breaks the expectation of a big Robeson-esque performance.
McLennan contributes two songs that fit this pattern perfectly. Another Morning’s Beggar reflects his experience of working with people living on the street. The excellent Yorkshire Regiment, about the impact of recent wars on the families of those sent to fight them, is a lovely serious piece of work.
This is a tasteful, engaged, and engaging CD. It’s an exciting debut.
Paul Cowdell Review from Folk London - October 2010
