VIV LEGG AND THOMAS MCCARTHY - Jauling The Green Tober
Brown Label TMVL0302
Viv Legg and Thomas McCarthy are from Roma traveller and Irish traveller backgrounds in Cornwall and Ireland respectively. Jauling The Green Tober (Travelling The Green Roads) came out of a meeting at Bodmin Folk Club and was recorded in a relaxed manner by Chris Brown at his home in Hampshire. He captures both singers on top form. Both are part of an oral tradition (an increasingly rare thing) and, as they take turns to sing unaccompanied, they cherish the memories of departed relatives including Thomas’s mother Mary and Viv’s mother Sophie.
Thomas’s style is decorated, with a subtle vibrato. He adjusts the length of lines for effect. Viv sings in a simpler fashion, full of warmth and with a fine sense of rhythm. For both singers, the words must flow and must serve the song. The wealth of traditional songs includes many lesser known variants. There’s also a scattering of Irish patriot and music hall songs. Any of the 16 merit a paragraph. From Thomas, I’ll single out the fun of Mikey O’Leary Courted A Fairy and the pathos of The Exile Of Erin. From Viv, The Young Rackly glitters with Romany words as a result of tinkering by her and Sophie, while the closing Romany Rose was written by her friend Tony Truscott, a Cornish Bard.
This 63-minute album will delight lovers of the pure drop. One of Viv’s songs (also in her brother Vic’s repertoire) is Catch Me If You Can. Well, catch Viv and Thomas if you can.
www.thomasmccarthyfolk.com
Tony Hendry
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