June Tabor: Search and Destoy (or Classic or Dud too I suppose)

From the little I know ... she has a voice a bit like Shirley Collins but even more flat and miserable sounding. That isn't entirely a bad thing. She sounds real, which is a good quality in folk singers, and a world away from the etheriality of say Enya. When she sings slow, dirges they can be very atmospheric and spooky.

The classic song is the extra-ordinary "The King of Rome", download it and see what you think. If you like it, you'll probably get on with other stuff. There's definitely some new age themes though (see Unicorns for example)

Can't recomend albums because everything I have comes from P2P, but I also particularly dig her great cover of "White Rabbit".

Search: Her two (maybe more, not sure) albums recorded with Maddy Prior (ex-Steeleye Span) as the Silly Sisters. Gorgeous trad British folk, with otherworldly harmonies. Some great songs too -- "Me Husband's Got No Courage In 'im" is a hilarious lament about impotence.

Destroy: I dunno, I only know the Silly Sisters, and they're great.

've heard (and've got) three of her alb's, and heartily recommend 'em all:

"Anthology" (2000, Topic) is a reasonably good overview of the 1976-1992 period, has 'The King of Rome' as well
"Silly Sisters" (1976), their first, methinks, w/ Prior -- and it does have that nifty 'My Husband's Got No...' ((Mojo On Him)), amongst other marvels
"Aleyn" (1997, Topic) -- a really terrific set with a small band; a nigh 'uncanny' folk-chamber-jazz-cabaret mixture

don't know her Green Linnet stuff; and haven't heard 1983's "Abyssinians", that's been quite widely regarded as (one of) her all-time best

Search: "The Barmaid's Song (She Walks Amongst Men)"

Recent stuff is generally as overproduced as you fear. Early things esp. _Airs and Graces_ are quite good--her a cappella performance of "Lord Bateman" (released on what I'm told is the lowest-selling of the original Peel Sessions 12"s) is one of the greatest things I've ever heard. It also shows up on _On Air_, which is where I'd start if you can find a copy--BBC sessions inc. that surprisingly fab version of "White Rabbit."

I once lived with a roommate who played _Freedom & Rain_ (her rockish collaboration with the Oyster Band) at least once a day for an entire summer, and I don't think I actually grew tired of it, though I got close.

As for her singing style: her voice is actually more than a bit like Maddy Prior's, but more in the alto range, and she's an _interpretive_ singer: you can tell she thinks hard about what spin to put on the words.

Douglas, thanks, that sounds yummy. I'll look for On Air....

This thread is made for me and when I get home and can look at the eight or so CDs I've got I'll answer the question more fully. For now I just want to say that June Tabor's record label is Topic. If Green Linnet are involved I would think it is with distribution. As far as I know June Tabor started her recording career with Topic but at some stage moved to Cooking Vinyl. Recently she returned to Topic.

I'm a big fan of her recent work which occupies a generically undefined position. She still does some folk songs but not usually in a typical way. I would not describe her recent recordings as over-produced. They are live studio recordings (all at once - vocals and instruments - no effects). She works with some fantastically talented players who know how to complement her singing.

I'm back with my June Tabor CDs to hand. First, about her voice, it's neither reserved nor flowery. I gather that she learnt folk singing from listening to Anne Briggs records and practising the ornamentation slowly at first. She uses ornaments judiciously rather than frequently. Her style is very intimate so that you feel that she's in the room with you. It's also melancholic and (a word of warning) I know that some people find her music depressing.

I started off with 'Abyssinians' and 'Aqaba' about fifteen years ago. 'Aqaba', in particular, struck a chord with me and remains one of my all time favorites. I've got every solo album she has released since then except 'Angel Tiger' (the next on my list). Of the more recent work, 'Aleyn', is the one I like best, although really I like them all. 'A Quiet Eye' is the only one that disappointed me because some of the songs make me cringe but there's good things on it too. The CD I bought most recently is 'Against The Streams'. In one track she recites a poem called 'Beauty and the Beast: An Anniversary' over a musical accompaniment told from the point of view of the ageing and childless Beauty (of the fairy tale fame). I never thought that June Tabor would make a track on which she didn't sing!

Sometime I'll get around to collecting her earlier records. My impression is that she started out as pretty much a straight folk singer whereas now she has evolved into a general singer and song interpreter who works with a group of musicians who play acoustic instruments but not a typical combination for folk music (piano, accordian, strings, clarinet & saxophone). Her song choice encompasses traditional folk, contemporary, songs from musicals (e.g. The Old Man's Song from Don Quixote) and old popular songs such as 'The Rose Of Picardy' on her latest album 'Rosa Mundi' on which all the songs are on the theme of roses.

june tabor is easily the most moving live performer i have ever seen. a wonderful voice. i really love "alleyn" and especially the more jazz tinged "a quiet eye". there's a beautiful version of "a long way to tipperary" on it

my favourites though are the album "abyssinians" on which she does a beautiful version of lal waterson's "the scarecrow", "sudden waves" and "the turn of the road" are also absolutely beautiful. i think "against the streams" is her best album though generally

I'm not that familiar with her oeuvre, but fond memories of an old girlfriend's copy of Aqaba (which we listened to falling asleep most nights) made me happy to see this topic come up. Good lookin' out.

I liked her more purely folk-oriented recordings and sort of lost interest when she branched out. However, my taste may have changed since then, so I'm not sure what I'd think now. I've always been moved by the anti-war "No Man's Land/Flowers of the Forest" (which I just checked on and see is quite old--I had not yet heard of her when that was released).

I vote Tabor!

I did a second's research, and Amarga is right, she's on Topic. Green Linnet is just her American label.

Amateuist, I should also contest your characterisation of Green Linnet recording artists as 'traditional Celtic arrangments with "ethereal" new-agey synth'. I've got their artist list in front of me and whilst I don't know them all, I can tell you that none of Kevin Burke, Lunasa, Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill, Inti Illimani or Patrick Street would fall into that category. None of them are anything like Enya.

Mark S's 1984 review of "Abyssinians" to thread, surely (hmmm ... maybe I should dig it out like I did in that other thread about 523 years ago)

Revive. I found Airs and Graces and (just this past weekend) Silly Sisters. The latter in particular really blew me away--a beautifully conceived and arranged and sung record. June's rendition of "Geordie" is especially moving for its terseness and for Martin Carthy's extraordinary accompaniment. "The Grey Funnel Line" too, mm. June's voice is definitely the more striking of the two but the harmonies manage to be very tricky without betraying the spirit of the traditional tunes one bit. I like this quite a bit more than, say, Steeleye Span. As for Airs and Graces, I was surprised to really enjoy her version of "O Waly, Waly," which I know only in the Britten arrangement (which is one of my favorite pieces of music ever). My favorite thing on here may be "Plains of Waterloo" which again is a piece of music close to my heart.

So I really want to read Mark S's review of Abyssinians. Where can I find it?

Also someone's going to have to recommend me some Martin Carthy records now.

Oh no wait I just found Mark's review elsewhere on ILM.