HANZ ARAKI & KATHRYN CLAIRE - As I Roved Out: Songs Of Spring
The Celtic Conspiracy CELCON002
This, the second of Hanz and Kathryn’s series, is Songs Of Spring, and contains a mixture of traditional songs and tunes loosely based on this theme.
The material here is all well known - songs like As I Roved Out, Rosemary Fair, Pleasant And Delightful, Verdant Braes Of Skreen and Blackbirds And Thrushes. They are well sung, particularly by Hanz who has an attractive, strong voice. The tunes are also standard session fare, but are well handled. Spring In The Air / Up And About In The Morning is a nice set showing off their versatility on flute, fiddle, bodhran and guitar, and they are joined on other tracks by several guest musicians to pleasant effect, though at times there is an overuse of percussion for my taste.
Hanz and Kathryn handle the material here well, and the overall effect of the album is a good one, though for me, it doesn’t do anything new and with these songs and tunes being recorded so frequently before, it perhaps needs something more to make it sparkle.
Fiona Heywood
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this CD online from The Listening Post The Listening Post is the CD mailorder service of The Living Tradition magazine. This album was reviewed in Issue 96 of The Living Tradition magazine. |