FORTYssimo
Wild Goose WGS407CD
1. Devon Bonny Breastknot / Getting Upstairs / Blue Eyed Stranger; 2. La Quelette / Parnell's March; 3. Leeds Polka / Jenny Bell Polka; 4. Gypsy's Hornpipe / Astley's Hornnpipe / Coleford Jig; 5. Les Trois Puits / Barbara Allen / The Green Ship; 6. Salford Lasses / Lady Compton's Whim / Welsh Jigg; 7. Varsoviennes: Herbert Smith's / Sally Sloane's / Rita Baker's; 8. Whistling Rufus / Woodland Revels; 9. The Queer Fella's Shot-ese / Hayward's Shottische; 10. Not For Joe / Seamo's Folka; 11. The Rose Tree / (Thee Bottom of) The Punchbowl; 12. Covent Garden Row / Hunting the Hare / The Hop Jig / Bishop of Chester's Jig; 13. Alexandra Park / President Garfield; 14. Kelso Fiddle & Accordion Club / March of St Timothy.
Absolutely fabulous - no question! Here's a tune that jumped out at me on the first listen, The Green Ship from track 5 - lovely stuff! In his review of OSB's last Swan-Upmanship CD back in 2005, Dan Quinn remarked: There is another statement being made here - that these are great tunes and, look, we are still playing them. That remains true here, and we find Whistling Rufus / Woodland Revels sounding even better than ever, along with Bonny Breastknot / Getting Upstairs / Blue Eyed Stranger and Gypsy's Hornpipe / Astley's Hornnpipe / Coleford Jig brought in from the 1990s' English Country Dance Band repertoire, in which Paul, Flos and Martin played. Not having kept up with the OSB repertoire over the years, I can't say which are the newest sets, but I guess that tracks 2, 5, 6 and 12 are probably amongst the more recent additions.
There's a nice variety of tune types here; mostly polkas, jigs, hornpipes, schottisches and marches of course, but we do get a set of that rare breed, the English slip-jig, Covent Garden Row / Hunting the Hare / Bishop of Chester's Jig, which some callers will insist on for strip-the-willow type dances. And it's good to see that the old "No Reels" injunction still applies!
Enough! This is a lovely record - great tunes, beautifully played. As Dan Quinn wrote: In 1995, I concluded my sleeve notes to the Old Swan Band's compilation CD Still Swanning … by saying 'The Old Swan Band was the leader of the pack'. Ten years later, with the issue of their new CD, I see no reason to change my opinion. In the light of this 2014 recording I can only say that I share his opinion absolutely.
Rod Stradling - 12.8.14
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