Interesting albums from the folk and roots music history, by Marius Roeting.
Fifty years old and still worth listening to. This time we are talking about the debut album The Rout of the blues by the brotherly duo Robin and Barry Dransfield. Two guitars or a guitar and a violin with sporadic additions formed the basis for their perfectly intertwined vocals. This harmonic harmony became the brothers’ trademark. Their two first albums, as well as Rout of the blues and its successor Lord of all I behold, are still highly regarded folk items. Later, the brothers recorded some solo albums, but they just didn’t reach that top level. An album they made in 1974 with ex-Longdancer bassist Brian Harrison as Dransfield did, however. On the album Fiddler’s dream they subtly experimented with electric amplification, but it was not a commercial success. They parted ways after a third joint album, but the spirit of the times – the rise of punk – got in the way of the two. Barry focused on theatre and film and later became a highly respected violin restorer. There was nothing wrong with the three albums he produced in the 1990s and the first decade of this century, though, but they lacked the chemistry of the first two albums he made together with his brother Robin.
Robin & Barry Dransfield – Rout of the blues – Trailer LER2011
1. The Rout Of The Blues 2:30
2. Scarborough Fair 4:04
3. St Clement’s Jig & Huntsman’s Chorus & Nancy 2:46
4. Water O’ Tyne 2:31
5. Earl Of Totnes 4:00
6. Tapestry 2:30
7. The Trees They Do Grow High 4:52
8. A Week Before Easter 2:53
9. A Fair Maid Walking All In Her Garden 3:09
10. Who’s The Fool Now 2:47
Robin & Barry Dransfield – Lord of all I behold – Trailer LER2026
11. Paddy Ryan’s Favourite 1:14
12. Adam And The Beasts 4:21
13. Lord Of All I Behold 5:13
14. Still He Sings 2:17
15. Just As The Tide Was Flowing 5:51
16. The Wild Rover 5:18
All tracks trad.arr. Robin & Barry Dransfield, except for Track 3a, track 6, track 13: Robin & Barry Dransfield Track 3c: Tom Clough Track 5: words trad, Music John Pearse Tracks 12: Alasdair Clayre Track 14: Allan Taylor
