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ProducerJon Moore; Ben Ivitsky; Ben Mandelson; Simon Emmerson; Sam Genders; Mike Lindsay

Record LabelReal World Records

UPC5099950386727

eBay Product ID (ePID)18050197817

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FormatCD

Release Year2007

GenreFolk

Run Time61 Mins 5 Seconds

ArtistThe Imagined Village

Release TitleThe Imagined Village [Alternate Tracklisting]

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Number of Discs1

Country/Region of ManufactureUSA

ReviewsDirty Linen (p.49) - "[A] bold experiment in re-imagining traditional English folk music....This album could turn on a whole new generation to the joys of traditional music."

EngineerDavid Kenny; Jim Barr; Martin Russell; Allyn Lee; Ben Ivitsky; Richard Evans; Phil Beer

Additional informationPersonnel: Martin Carthy (vocals, acoustic guitar); Eliza Carthy (vocals, fiddle); Kate Garrett (vocals, harmonium); John Copper, Sheila Chandra, Benjamin Zephaniah, Billy Bragg (vocals); Simon Emmerson (guitar, electric guitar, bouzouki, cittern, spoons); Ben Mandelson (guitar); Ben Ivitsky (acoustic guitar, viola); Tom Salter (electric guitar); Colin Cotter (banjo); Martin Russell (harp, keyboards, programming); Nigel Eaton (hurdy-gurdy); Timothy Whelan (sitar, organ, programming); Sheema Mukherjee (sitar); Phil Beer (violin); Chris Wood (fiddle, viola); Laurel Swift (fiddle); Barney M. Brown (cello); Chris Turner (harmonica); Jon Brenner (accordion); Andy Poore (anglo concertina); Rod Stradling (melodeon); Jim Barr (double bass); Jim Chase (drums); Johnny Kalsi (shaker, tabla); Hamid Mantu (programming). Audio Mixers: Martin Russell; Richard Evans . Recording information: Bamboo Studios; English Acoustic Collective, Kent, England; Ideal Sound, London, England; J And J Studios, Bristol, England; Mantu Mansions, London, England; Mill Studios; MP Studios; Riverside Studio, Exeter, England; Sonic Innovation 2, London, England; The Labour Exchange, Bath, Somerset, England. Photographers: York Tillyer; Marc Bessant. Arrangers: Chris Wood ; Eliza Carthy; Martin Carthy; Sheila Chandra; Ben Mandelson; Simon Emmerson. The Imagined Village is being hyped as "the most ambitious re-invention of the English folk tradition since Fairport Convention's Liege & Lief." Those are bold words indeed, and it would take a lot to live up to them, especially since Fairport didn't deliberately set out to re-invent the tradition -- they simply adapted folk songs to their style. This album draws on a number of talents -- Eliza Carthy, Martin Carthy, Paul Weller, Afro Celt Sound System leader Simon Emmerson and Sheila Chandra, and a number of others. But the point about traditions is that they evolve. Sometimes there are sudden leaps, but you can't sit down and say "I'm going to reinvent this type of music." It's all well and good to try and define the new, multicultural England, but adding sitars and dhol drums to "Cold Hailey Rainy Night" isn't the way to do it, nor beats to "John Barleycorn" (and having Weller perform a verse isn't radical -- after all, Traffic did a sublime version in 1970). "Tam Lyn" retold as dub poetry by Benjamin Zephaniah might sound interesting, but it's really not a reinvention -- the bridge between worlds so important in the original has no magic here. The closest it comes to success are with the ceilidh tracks at the end, Billy Bragg's modernization of "Hard Times of Old England," and the duet between Sheila Chandra and Chris Wood on "Welcome Sailor," which is effective because of its simplicity. And that's' the key -- throwing in beats isn't really necessary. Often a less is more approach would be more effective (certainly on "Cold Hailey Rainy Night" where the voice alone carry ample power with any instruments and programming). Perhaps the t

Number of Audio ChannelsStereo

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The Imagined Village [Alternate Tracklisting] by The Imagined Village (CD, 2007)

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