Track Listing

1. Sir Eglamore
2. As I Roved Out
3. Jolly Plough Boys
4. Annan Waters
5. {a}
6. Stananivy {a}
7. Jack & Jill {a}
8. Rose In April
9. Radio Sweethearts
10. I Am Stretched On Your Grave
11. Old Man Time
12. Drowned Lovers
13. Bold Riley

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3181 in Music
• Released on: 1997-03-01
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Folk music seems simple, and many pretenders pull into town with little more than a presentable voice and a handful of beginner guitar chords. Much more infrequently, performers come along with basically the same constituent parts but through the sheer force of their artistry and integrity are able to use these simple elements to communicate whole lifetimes of experience. Such a performer is youthful Kate Rusby, who sings with the focus and depth one usually associates with the graceful compensations of age. Her crystal-clear voice (reminiscent in turns of Linda Thompson and Sandy Denny) rings out from the first cut. Rusby's assured delivery is dappled with small, unmasked idiosyncrasies that add emotional immediacy. Meanwhile, the all-acoustic presentation is inventive but never slick or overwhelming. Hourglass announces an important new light in the traditional British folk scene. --Anthony Bonet

CD Description
Kate Rusby delighted the folk scene with HOURGLASS, her first solo album, in 1997. An earlier record with Kathryn Roberts had been voted Best New Album of 1995 in the prestigious Folk Roots annual poll. Both singers had then joined the talented Lakeman brothers in a promising new group Equation, but Rusby ducked out before the band signed with multinationalWarners. Ironically, Equation's major label debut disappeared without trace, while Rusby won plaudits for her own-labelalbum.
Much of the material is wholly or partially traditional, including the opening "Sir Eglamore" and a fine "Annan Waters". Rusby's own "A Rose in April" is very much in the tradition. Variety comes in the form of a pretty instrumental prelude ("Stananivy"), a country waltz from the repertoire of fiddler and producer John McCusker ("Radio Sweethearts"), and an adaptation of the anonymous poem "I am Stretched on Your Grave", previously tackled by Sinead O'Connor. Amongst the musicians accompanying Rusby are guitarist Ian Carr and accordion player Andy Cutting.

Customer Reviews

Prepare to be moved
Kate Rusby has a honey rich mezzo voice, and she has gathered around her a group of subtle, sympathetic and tasteful musicians. She has here recorded a set of songs and tunes which combine the cream of the folk tradition with her own lyrical compositions. Those are the bald facts - and they they do not begin to describe what an absolute joy this CD is. I have already saved a place in my choice for Desert Island Discs (well, we can all dream) for the heartbreakingly beautiful Annan Waters, which features some delicately underplayed piano from Kate, and I have been forced to reconsider my view that nothing more could be done with the shanty Bold Riley. But the list of gems does not end there; her voice descends to a sensual contralto for the seriously mellifluous As I Roved Out, and she adopts a lighter mood for the jazzy waltz Radio Sweethearts. I could go on; there is not a weak track on this CD. Buy it; it will move you.

Beautiful songwriting, haunting voice
I first encountered Kate Rusby in an interview in a guitar magazine, and, as she is shortly to visit Morecambe, thought I would purchase a CD before purchasing a concert ticket. Reviews on this Amazon site made choosing difficult, but in the end I opted for this one.

As other reviewers have commented, Kate Rusby's voice is delightful, with a lovely natural sound. Especially winsome is her refusal to mask her Yorkshire accent, and as a fellow notherner I like to hear "mother" pronounced as "mutha", "love" as "luv" and so on! And the voicing is lovely too; listen to the magical voicing of the word "rode" in the lines "..she rode through fields of barley, and she rode through fields of corn.." on "Rose in April."

In the interview I read, Kate Rusby said she considers herself a singer rather than a songwriter. I agree with another reviewer who thinks "Hourglass" is the best song on the album. Besides THAT haunting voice, there is some lovely imagery of "Old Man Time" whose hourglass for Kate seems to have less sand than most people's, causing Kate to wonder if God didn't give him all her sand, or whether hers has been shared with someone else, or washed away, and to wonder if she brought some in a sack, perhaps he'd give some back. Marvellous!

The CD is a mixture of originals, traditional, and traditional lyrics adapted or put to original tunes. The arrangements are very tastefully done, too, with all of the (variety of) instruments adding to the sound without encroaching on it. In the interview I read, Kate expressed a preference for sad songs - plenty of those here! I haven't exposed myself to "traditional" folk music for quite a while, this could now change. I can't wait for the concert, and intend purchasing her other CDs.

Fantastic!
Kate's first album is her at her best, and I cannot stop listening to it, particularly Old Man Time which has to be her best ever song. I would tell everyone to buy this album if I could. Even people who hate folk cannot fail to fall under the spell of Kate's clear voice.