Post Description

Singer-songwriter, folk. Een lust voor het oor.

There’s something engagingly old-school about the Ian Walker Band’s album We Come To Sing, released on the 16th January 2023. Perhaps that’s not surprising, since Ian has been performing for many years, and his songs have been sung by artists as varied as Dick Gaughan, Roy Bailey, and the Yetties. Old school? Well, yes, in the best sense: the album includes strong message songs with highly singable choruses; classic modern(-ish) songs such as love songs by Tom Paxton, Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson, lesser-known gems like Francis Fahy’s ‘The Tide Full In’, and a closing set of fiddle and banjo tunes. The band consists of Ian on vocals, banjo, guitar and autoharp; Jimmy Scott on vocals and guitar; and Moe Walker on vocals and an unusual percussion effect on ‘The Iron Workers’ Song’. 

Their core sound is effectively augmented here and there by John Graham (fiddle, bass, mandolin, vocals); Fraser Speirs (harmonica); Stevie Lawrence (percussion, whistle, jaw harp); Scott Walker (Appalachian fiddle); Alan Reid (piano, accordion, vocal); and Mary Reid (vocal).

‘Hawks And Eagles Fly Like Doves (Reprise): it’s a little unusual to see the first track on an album tagged “reprise”, but in this case the tag comes not because it appears elsewhere on the album, but because Ian Walker’s powerful song about apartheid in South Africa was originally recorded in 1985 and has been covered many times since by other artists such as The McCalmans and North Sea Gas.

In short, We Come To Sing is a well-balanced mixture of old favourites and less familiar songs, performed with a spontaneity that more than compensates for the occasional rough spot.

Tracks:
01 - Hawks and Eagles Fly like Doves (Reprise)
02 - We Come To Sing
03 - The Man on the Moon
04 - Sun
05 - Will Ye Go Tae Flanders
06 - The Tide Full In
07 - Home To Me (Is Anywhere You Are)
08 - The Iron Workers' Song (The Upton Forge)
09 - Dimming of the Day
10 - These Old Feet Still Walk the Walk
11 - The Water is Wide
12 - Carry Your Dancing Down
13 - Who Knows Where the Time Goes
14 - Buttercup Hill
15 - Walking On Sunday
16 - Rammy in the Glen
17 - The Goodnight Song
18 - Cripple Creek - Old Joe Clark - Grandad's Favourite

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. Oh ja, MP3 doe ik niet aan.