Post Description

(Twee nummers staan in 16-44.1)

While many may be more familiar with hearing Phil Tyler teamed with Cath Tyler as a duo (Some Heavy Hand, The Ox and The Ax, Dumb Supper), this new collaborative offering finds him paired with Sarah Hill for an equally rich earthy folk album. 

Phil and Sarah first met in Newcastle around 2008, where they played in local folk nights and sang in Sacred Harp sessions, leading to Hill contributing vocals to a few songs on Tyler’s solo album We Sunk The Ship To Get Rid Of The Rats.

If there’s one thing you can say about any of the music from the Tyler camp is that nothing is ever rushed, and the song selections are always considered and far from obvious. The same appears to be true of What We Thought Was A Lake Was A Field Of Flax which was recorded in two sessions back in 2016 and seems to have been forgotten about for a while, only to finally resurface to be released on Phil’s own Ferric Mordant label. After hearing this, you’ll be thankful that it did resurface, as it is exceptional in every sense of the word.

Many of these ballads would have crossed over to America from the British Isles, and, like the repertoire of Phil and Cath Tyler, some here are given the Appalachian treatment on banjo. One such track is Are You Going To Leave Me? which is sung by Sarah. While there aren’t plentiful versions, this song of an unwanted pregnancy did feature on Shirley and Dolly Collins‘s Love, Death and Lady (1970) and later, Isobel Campbell also did a great version on her 2006 folk album Milkwhite Sheets.

Phil’s guitar playing on the instrumental J B Milne is a sheer delight, and his ukulele gets an outing on Willie the Waterboy, on which they are joined by a whistling Phil Begg, who also recorded the album. Sarah’s voice is particularly sublime on this recording, something that the well-chosen accompaniment accentuates.
Phil sings lead for the first time on the banjo-led Sweet Lemney (it’s spelt in many different ways), which is also his own arrangement. Sarah’s accompaniment is spot on, another sweet highlight amongst the treasures they’ve gathered here. According to my spiral-bound copy of The Copper Family Songbook, the name probably arises from an old English word ‘leman’ which means sweetheart.

Tracks:
01  Bold Fisherman (16)
02  Matt Hyland
03  Are You Going To leave Me
04  J B Milne (16)
05  Willie The Waterboy
06  Sweet Lemney
07  Heathery Hills Of Yarrow
08  Tarwater
09  Golden Lads
10  Suffolk Miracle
11  Sunnyside

Staat er compleet op, 10% pars mee gepost. Met zeer veel dank aan de originele poster. Laat af en toe eens weten wat je van het album vindt. Altijd leuk, de mening van anderen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6OSmv68bAw