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Abyssinians
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| List Price: | £9.99 |
| Price: | £7.98 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Delivery on orders over £15. Details |
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Average customer review:
Product Description
Arguably June Tabor's most stripped-down and somber album, 1981's ABYSSINIANS is so low-key that even those songs that have minimal instrumental backing sound almost like Tabor issinging them unaccompanied. "The Scarecrow", with its almost subliminal guitar and cello arrangement, is one of Tabor'sfinest and saddest performances. The rest of the album is nearly as dark, with the overall tone ranging from hopeful melancholy to the absolutely bleak despair of "She Moves AmongMen (The Barmaid's Song)". One gets the idea that the album's title has less to do with cats, despite the cartoony cover drawing, and more to do with the concepts of "abyss" and "sin". ABYSSINIANS is as bleak as Joy Division's CLOSER or the darkest hours of hardcore country music, and like those albums, there's a cathartic spirit to this album that makes itultimately a satisfying listening experience.
Track Listing
- Month Of January
- Scarecrow
- One Night As I Lay On My Bed
- She Moves Among Men (The Barmaid's Song)
- Lay This Body Down
- Smiling Shore
- Bonnie Boy
- I Never Thought My Love Would Leave Me
- Bonnie Hind
- Fiddle And The Drum
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #31313 in Music
- Released on: 2008-06-09
- Number of discs: 1
Customer Reviews
Outstanding - even for June Tabor!
This must be one of this singer's finest albums.
An unerring mix of traditional songs and covers of material ranging from Lal & Mike Waterson's 'The Scarecrow' to Joni Mitchell's 'The Fiddle & the Drum'.
Some a capella songs and some with sparse backing by Dave Bristow, Martin Simpson and Ric Saunders; all showing off the wonderful voice.
The Shanachie release 'sleevenotes' are deplorably lacking in details about the songs (even who wrote them!) and the other musicians involved - and as for lyrics - forget it!
A dark and melancholic album, but what music!
Purity of voice and spirit
The finest album by the greatest of contemporary English folk singers. A mixture of traditional and modern compositions, the sparse arrangements (several songs unaccompanied) and the clarity of June Tabor's expression make this one of the most moving albums I've heard. A Smiling Shore is a song to weep for every time you hear it.
