Track Listing

1. Worcester City
2. Just As The Tide Was Flowing
3. Limbo
4. Little Gypsy Girl
5. No Man's Jig + Hanoverian Dance + Three Jolly Sheepskins
6. Pretty Plowboy
7. Bold Privateer
8. Dr MCMBE
9. In London So Fair
10. Willow Tree

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25777 in Music
• Released on: 2002-10-21
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
Although academically rooted in the traditional music of the British Isles (Mum and Dad, need it be reiterated, are Norma Waterson and Martin Carthy) ace fiddler and folk starlet Eliza Carthy describes Anglicana as "an expression of Englishness as I feel it". This--given her one-girl quest to make archaic Yorkshire sword dances and songs about courting farm labourers acceptable to 21st century alternative-lifestyle persons with studs in their tongues--is a fairly candid admission that mild interpretative forces are at play.

Rummaging through Dad's old dusty song sheets and century-old Lincolnshire field recordings for inspirational sources, Anglicana is a country mile from the mainstream pop gloss of 2000's major-label release Angels and Cigarettes, offering a healthy contrast of the familiar and obscure, all of which is indubitably "traditional" bar the one self-penned instrumental, "Dr McMBE", a meditative little tribute and acknowledgement to her Father's scholarly acclaim and trip to see Liz at The Palace. Be it the well-worn "Just As The Tide Was Flowing"--a tune much-favoured by Vaughan Williams and 10,000 Maniacs--in which the sombre tone of a melodeon gives way to the sweetness and tragedy of Carthy's voice, or the shadowy, atmospheric versions of "Bold Privateer" and "Worcester City"--a poisonous, crime-of-passion tale rattling from the speakers with a muscular combination of Carthy's brusquely-scraped fiddle and Donald Hay's martial drumming--Anglicana is as faultless as these things come. The whole thing is aptly curtain-called by "Willow Tree", a swinging mélange of jazz violin, trumpets and saxes, resembling the late 1960s Kinks doing a sundown, cider-slurred cabaret slot at the village fete. --Kevin Maidment

CD Description
Eliza Carthy provides vocals, fiddle and piano on this her fifth album for Topic records since 1996. She has followed in the footsteps of her father Martin and mother Norma Waterson, by carving out a name for herself on the English folk scene. 'Anglicana' includes nine interpretations of traditional songs alongside an original piece, 'Dr McMBE'.

Customer Reviews

Best Folk Release of 2002
This album marks the fulfillment of Eliza Carthy's great early promise. On her previous albums (and with Waterson: Carthy), I've enjoyed her fiddle playing and the song arrangements, but have not been quite sure about the quality of her singing. I felt all along, however, that it was only a matter of time before she entered into her inheritance. "Anglicana" is the first masterpiece of Eliza Carthy's maturity. The fascinating thing is that you can hear the strengths of both her father's and her mother's singing styles. At last she enters into and inhabits her material in the way that marks out her parents (and her aunt and uncle, Lal and Mike Waterson) as Britain's finest singers of traditional material. This isn't at all like her album of "modern" songs last year (though I quite liked that too): all the songs are traditional (except a lovely instrumental on which Martin plays guitar, written by Eliza for her Dad's 60th birthday), but there are none of the stale choices on so many folk albums. On "In London So Far", Eliza accompanies herself on the piano - I've not heard folk music accompanied by the piano before (except for the wonderful Britten/Pears collaborations), and Eliza's playing is a revelation. This is a stunning rendition. The same can be said of "The Bold Privateer", a song which she wrung out of her old man, and which she sings very much as one imagines as he would sing it, with great strength and appreciation of its dark power. If this doesn't win best performance of a traditional song at next year's Kate Rusby Aw- sorry, Radio 2 Folk Awards, there is no justice in the world. Truly a revelation.

A strong hint of this suddening blossoming of a long-suggested talent can be heard on the latest Waterson: Carthy album, on which Eliza contributions are finally the equal of her illustrious parents' (and is my second favourite folk release of 2002, after Anglicana). After her brief flirtation with popular music (of a superior kind), Eliza has made a triumphant return to her roots .

Folk Magic
In a good year for folk releases this stands out. Anglicana is a collection of classic folk songs performed with Eliza Carthy's wit and attention to detail. If your friends still live under the illusion that British folk is un-subtle and grossly nasal, this is the CD to peove them wrong. Intense and intelligent performances delight the ear and stretch the mind.

He accompanying musicians share her passion and her understated readings of great songs. This is an important release and a delight.

pretty much faultless...
well i thought that rice was pretty damn good, but when i got this for christmas (i had to restrain myself heavily from buying it beforehand) i nearly fell over. everything i liked about rice is included here - eliza's beautiful and highly characteristic voice, her wonderful fiddle playing and her flair for arranging songs in unexpected and delightful ways..

although i am a big fan of paired down arrangements usually, i'd trust any song in eliza's hands. alongside more traditional folk arrangements we have elements of jazz and anything else she feels will add to the music....

needless to say i am a huge fan, and anyone doubting her amazing vocal skills should see her live. i saw her before christmas at a small gig in edinburgh and she sang a couple of acappella songs, effortlessly keeping the whole audience listening to the story and enjoying the warmth of her voice.