While MacColl's most influential period came in the late '50s and early '60s, he hadn't lost a step as a singer in the '70s. One of the prime movers -- if not the prime mover -- of the English folk revival, he didn't limit himself to English songs; "The Tattie-Lifting Song" comes out of Scotland, as does "Ya Hae Lien Wrang, Lassie," which was collected by poet Robert Burns. The majority of the material here, however, was from the four corners of England, with MacColl easily assuming the appropriate regional accents, like ...
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While MacColl's most influential period came in the late '50s and early '60s, he hadn't lost a step as a singer in the '70s. One of the prime movers -- if not the prime mover -- of the English folk revival, he didn't limit himself to English songs; "The Tattie-Lifting Song" comes out of Scotland, as does "Ya Hae Lien Wrang, Lassie," which was collected by poet Robert Burns. The majority of the material here, however, was from the four corners of England, with MacColl easily assuming the appropriate regional accents, like the supposedly naïve bumpkin of "The Penny Wager" who outfoxes the professional gamblers. While MacColl loves the serious songs (his own "Lament for the Death of a Nobody," for example, is the tale of an elderly suicide) and the big political ballads, like "The Bonnie Bunch of Roses" or "The Bold Poachers," he's equally at home with lighter fare, like the extremely bawdy "The Molecatcher" or "The Iron-Moulder's Wedding," which, while a folk song, almost crosses over into music hall territory. Whether ancient (the 18th century text of "Alan Tyne O'Harrow") or modern ("The Tunnel Tigers," MacColl's own tribute to the Irish navvies who built the London Underground), it's heartfelt and performed with wonderful sympathy by MacColl, with help from Peggy Seeger and John Faulkner. Like all his albums, this is a landmark release in the history of British folk music. ~ Chris Nickson, Rovi
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Add this copy of Solo Flight to cart. $73.39, new condition, Sold by Entertainment by Post - UK rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from BRISTOL, SOUTH GLOS, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2000 by Topic Records.
