Chris Bishop

While the last decades of the twentieth century saw a revival of the genre, the twenty-first century has brought not only continued relevance, but a new appreciation for English folk music. An ever-growing audience embraces the brilliant, fresh crop of musicians, who enrich the tradition with novel takes on old songs and new tunes. This album features the super talented singer-songwriter Eliza Carthy, who duets with her mom, the legendary Norma Waterson, both Mercury Award nominees. Multi-instrumentalist Pete Coe has been one of the most consistently excellent traditional musicians and songwriters to remain inspired since the 1970s. Ian King came from outside the folk scene with radical reworkings of traditional English songs made with the help of reggae producer Adrian Sherwood and Little Axe guitarist Skip McDonald. Glastonbury-born Emily Portman quickly distinguished herself in the trio Devil’s Interval before flattening everybody with her extraordinary songs dealing with the weird and dark side of folklore.

Buddy and his band at the height of their popularity and influence, with seven arrangements that display not only Buddy Rich s virtuosity but his unsurpassed musicianship, as well. Included is a rare example of Buddy on brushes and a brilliant rendition of his signature piece, the medley from West Side Story…

Follow-up volumes appeared in 1993 and 1996, extending the time period to 1979 and with additional songs from the 1972-76 period, available on cassette or CD (ALL 25 volumes were issued in both formats). Each volume has twelve songs. Despite the greater capacity of compact discs, the running time of each of the volumes is no longer than the limit of vinyl records in the 1970s, from 38 to 45 minutes long.