Max's Favourites for 2011
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Fatoumata began her artistic carreer as an actress and dancer after escaping from Mali to Paris. She took up singing and was offered tours with Omou Sangare who became her mentor, and helped her to get a recording deal with World Curcuit, which led to this highly acclaimed debut album. It is a joyous album which rewards repeated plays and is my “Malian” recording of 2011. |
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Confession time. Since seeing Mariza performing at Womadelaide in 2007, I’m hopelessly addicted. I have loved all her albums to date – her more recent outings have explored new boundaries, but here, as the title announces, it’s back to tradition. This is a great fado album by an artist at her peak. |
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Very difficult to classify – a bit bluesy, with some nice harmonica work. But also folk and world music elements. Whatever the case, the more I listened to this album the more I seemed to enjoy it, to the point that it’s in my Top 10 for 2011. Hope you like it as much. |
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Three Palestinian brothers who descend from a family of oud makers and players, have released this, their fifth album. The oud is one of my favourites, so to have 3 playing together is a triple treat. They have enlisted Dhafer Youssef to help out on this outing and the results are very satisfying. |
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NELSON FRIERE - LISZT:HARMONIES DU SOIR To celebrate the Liszt year 2011, Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire personally selected the tracks for this recording. He is a multi award winning artist who seems to improving with age, and this is a really beautiful selection, sensitively played. |
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HOW MANY ROADS - BLACK AMERICA SINGS BOB DYLAN Ace records have compiled 3 great collections of soul music this year - the songs of Lennon & McCartney, songs of Dan Penn & Spooner Oldham, and the songs of Bob Dylan. Although I like them all, I lean towards this one as my favourite - possibly because I like the songs the best! |
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KRONOS QUARTET & KIMMO POHJONEN and SAMULI KOSMINEN - UNIKO This is one of the most interesting and unusual bodies of music I've heard yet this year. It is like the Kronos Quartet to come up with unexpected syntheses that help define the 21st Century musically. They've done it once again, thanks of course to the considerable compositional and arranging talents of Pohjonen and Kosminen. It's one of Kronos's very best! |
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JUNE TABOR & THE OYSTERBAND - RAGGED KINGDOM Wonderful collaboration between these icons of the English folk scene - 21 years since their last momentous recording. This is real folk music, with reworkings of contemporary tunes, including a heartfelt rendition of the Joy Division classic, "Love Will Tear Us Apart". Altogether a great album. |
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ALISON KRAUSS & UNION STATION - PAPER AIRPLANE
I really love good bluegrass, and Alison Krauss is one of the greats. This is her first album since 2004 with her regular band, Union Station. And what a band! Each player is a bluegrass super star in his own right, and with over 20 years playing together, they never skip a beat. Alison’s voice is a perfect partner to this very accomplished outfit. |
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One of my all-time favourite albums, released it 1971, it recounts a Vietnam veteran’s return to the country he had been fighting for and seeing nothing but injustice, suffering and hatred. I was lucky enough to see Marvin in New York in the mid 70’s performing these songs, a show I’ll never forget.
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Eliza Carthy and Norma Waterson: Gift
(Topic)
- guardian.co.uk, Thursday 8 July 2010 22.50 BST
- Article history
The daughter-and-mother team of Eliza Carthy and Norma Waterson have sung and recorded before, often with the family group Waterson:Carthy, but this is the first time that these award-winning pioneers of the folk revival have released an album together as a duo, and the result is both bravely straightforward and powerfully emotional.