Album Reviews
'Traditional folk combined with a funky edge' (March 03, 2010)
‘Simple
Folk’ is a new album from Chris Ricketts and Mark Wilshire. And if you’re a fan
of traditional folk combined with a funky edge then you will enjoy the eight
songs on this album. This small collection includes seven traditional
re-arranged by Ricketts (guitar) and Wilshire (bass) plus one original Ricketts
composition. And the calibre of music it delivers makes me wish that Simple
Folk offered more than eight tracks.
Chris
Ricketts is a musician forging a strong folk presence. A student of folk and
traditional music at Newcastle University, a finalist in the BBC Young
Folk Awards, Chris clearly understands
his music and effortlessly combines traditional tunes with his own original
touches. Add Mark’s funky bass lines for a genuine rhythmic pulse and you have ’Simple Folk’.
‘Chase the Buffalo’ opens and right
away you’re into Chris’s rich vocals and Mark’s funky bass overlay. ‘Take Me as
Your Own’ (the only Ricketts composition) continues the earthy folk style. They’ve even reworked
the capstan shanty ‘Sally Brown’, added some funk and produced a folksong with a
reggae-like drive. The album also includes their versions of ‘Briery Bush’ and
‘Nobody’s Fault But Mine’ (yes, ample proof were it needed that Led Zeppelin knew
their folk roots) but Chris and Mark have rewritten them to perfection.
These songs
combine the groundwork of tradition with nonconformist modernity. If there is
such a genre as ‘earthy acoustic-pop' or funk-folk’ these guys are first-rate exponents. If not
they’ve just forged their own style.
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