Track Listing

1. John Hardy
2. Horn Island
3. I Can't Keep From Crying Sometimes
4. Easy Money
5. Payday
6. This World Is a Trouble and a Trial
7. Ghost in the Pines
8. The Coo Coo Bird
9. Love Never Dies
10. Some Dark Holler
11. Rico
12. Georgie
13. Wild Bill Jones
14. The Devil's Partiality
15. Rollin' & Tumblin'
16. The Last Shot Got Him

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #45778 in Music
• Released on: 2003-08-26
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

CD Description
Seventeenth studio album from English-born, American-based singer-songwriter and guitarist follows 2001's 'The Bramble Briar'. Although best known as a folk performer, on this album Simpson turns in a set of raucous, mostly traditional Delta blues which showcases his remarkable technical ability onacoustic and electric slide guitar and banjo.

Customer Reviews

Undoubtedly the best guitarist in the world
For anyone who's heard Martin Simpson before, all I need to say is that this is up to (and even beyond) his usual standard. The playing is technically spectacular and incredibly expressive. "Love Never Dies" in particular is wonderful.
I'm not much of a fan of American folk music in general (in terms of the songs themselves I prefered his last album - The Bramble Briar) but that still didn't detract from my enjoyment of Simpson's performace.
For anyone who hasn't heard Martin Simpson before then I really think you should find out what you've been missing. If you like American music start with this album, if you prefer English folk I'd recommend The Bramble Briar.

A stunningly talented multi-instrumentalist
I first heard Martin Simpson play during the annual Radio 2 Folk Awards on the radio, where he was accepting the award for Musician of the Year (for the second time). I was caught immediately, and I ordered this CD online the same evening.

That was more than a year ago, and I listen to this album as regularly now as when I first bought it. Martin Simpson is an incredible performer, and his intuitive treatment of the material he so obviously loves is a true pleasure to hear. As a technician, he is awe-inspiring, with total mastery of his instruments - equally at home on acoustic or electric guitar, lap steel or slide guitar, banjo or ukelele. This allows him to create the most amazing effects with seeming ease, and his virtuosity will be a joy to musicians and non-musicians alike.

This album is a superb collection of traditional blues, old time ballads and instrumentals from the American South, interpreted in his unique way. There is a great variety of material here, from haunting solo acoustic guitar or banjo arrangements ("Some Dark Holler", "Ghost in the Pines", "The World is a Trouble and a Trial") to a lively arrangement of "The Coo Coo Bird" driven along by a full band. Among my personal highlights are two of Simpson's own songs: "Easy Money" - The tragic story of a young New Orleans Jazz musician told in a bluesy drawl over beautiful rolling guitar licks, and "Love Never Dies" - a wonderful example of his songwriting prowess.

If there is a complaint, it is that this essentially simple music feels a little too studio crafted on a couple of tracks, the arrangements a little forced, but this is a very occasional sense, and certainly not something to worry about.

Martin Simpson is a prodigious talent, and deserves to be far better known by far more music lovers. Check out a previous album "The Bramble Briar", which shows that Simpson is as great an authority in English Folk music as in the American material played here. Please become do yourself a service and buy this exceptional folk album today.