Post Description

The album is pleasingly varied. Overall it has an Americana-type feel, but opens - courageously and very successfully - with Trouble and Woe, which sounds like a traditional Appalachian tune with banjo and minimal backing. This is followed in contrast by excellent One and Only, a beautiful, band-backed modern Americana song, and the shifting mood continues throughout - one of the album's great strengths.

Another great feature is the arrangements, which are brilliant in places. Often restrained touches add immense atmosphere and character to a song - the use of minimal strings on One and Only, and the couple of brief appearances of a Brass Band sound on the fabulous title track are a couple of examples. The musicians are uniformly excellent. Ruth Moody herself is a very good singer and musician and the rest here do her proud. They are technically excellent and get the feel of the music exactly right.

I have to say that not every track is a gem. I'm not bonkers about the version of Springsteen's Dancing In The Dark, and the closing track Nothing Without Love is a pretty ordinary song, but the good bits (which is most of the album) are really, really good.

I tried this album because Mark Knopfler makes a guest appearance (unmistakeably playing and singing harmony on the lovely Pockets). It has been a delightful discovery for me and I warmly recommend it. 

01 - Trouble and Woe.flac
02 - One and Only.flac
03 - Dancing in the Dark.flac
04 - These Wilder Things.flac
05 - Trees For Skies.flac
06 - Pockets.flac
07 - Make a Change.flac
08 - One Light Shining.flac
09 - Life is Long.flac
10 - Nothing Without Love.flac

Met cue, log en covers