I brought home a new six-string friend a month or two ago. And she sings very beautifully!

It’s been about eight months since I first listened to Martin Simpson’s superb disc Prodigal Son, and during that time there has rarely been a week when I haven’t played it at least once. It’s his best album in years, I think.

By way of explanation to those who may be unfamiliar with his work, Martin is a devotee of both the traditional folk music of the British Isles and also traditional American blues, with the odd original song thrown in for good measure. He tends to produce albums that focus on one particular strand of his repertoire: for instance, Smoke and Mirrors (1995) and Righteousness and Humidity (2003) were blues albums, while The Bramble Briar (2001) and Kind Letters (2007) were traditional British folk, and When I Was On Horseback (1991) and Cool and Unusual (1997) were wholly instrumental. What makes Prodigal Son so special is that it is a blend of all the strands; in other words, it is the sort of experience that you would normally get only by going to one of Martin’s live shows, at which he would include a broad cross-section of his repertoire. And the public seems to be responding; Prodigal Son won Best Album at the 2008 BBC Folk Awards, and the track ‘Never Any Good’ won best original song.

A list of highlights of this album can hardly help including almost every track! The disc opens with ‘Bachelors Hall’, a song by Dick Connette set to the tune of the gorgeous American folk song ‘Pretty Saro’; for those listeners who may be new to Martin’s style, the song introduces his breathtaking guitar-playing along with his distinctive style of singing. We’re then treated to a fine banjo instrumental, ‘Pretty Crowing Chicken’, a traditional American tune, followed by ‘Lakes of Champlain’ (the tune of this song is best known to churchgoers as the ‘traditional Irish melody’ of ‘Be Thou My Vision). Martin’s take on this tune is quite fast; connoisseurs might like to compare it to Nic Jones’ slower version, ‘Lakes of Shillin’, which I heard on the recent live collection Game, Set, Match.

I could go on and comment on every track, but I will try to restrict myself to a couple more highlights! There are a couple of very fine original songs on this album. ‘Never Any Good’ is a moving tribute to Martin’s father, who was never any good with money and found it difficult to hold down a job, but taught his son the ways of the countryside and a love of music; I first heard this song live at the Edmonton Folk Music festival last year and loved it instantly. Those who are new to the traditional style might find the tune somewhat repetitive; the verse and chorus have the same melody, and there are rather a lot of verses! However, this is characteristic of the traditional genre, and the fact that Kate Rusby sings a beautiful harmony on the track doesn’t hurt (another feature of this album is the quality of the musicians Martin has enlisted to help produce it). ‘A Love Letter’ is one of the most beautiful love songs I’ve heard in years, beginning with the opening verse:

    Where on earth did this come from?
    I never thought to feel it.
    This is such a young man’s song,
    I was scared to reveal it.
    The dawn was bright this morning
    and every bird was singing,
    and I am so alive today,
    I would join them in my joy.


I went to school in England where we had ‘assemblies’ almost every morning, most of which included the singing of a hymn. ‘When a Knight Won His Spurs’ was a popular choice, with lyrics by the poet Jan Struther set to the traditional tune ‘The Fair Flower of Northumberland’. Martin works his way into this piece with an original instrumental, ‘Kit’s Tune’; my only quibble with his rendering of the Struther song is that he has changed her ‘for God and for valour he rode through the land’ to ‘for love and for valour he rode through the land’. But if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I can only say that I’ve been including my own version of this song in my repertoire for two or three months now, and it has been very well received.

My pick for best track on this album (and there are many contestants for this position!) would be the Irish song ‘The Granemore Hare’, a traditional tale about a hunt (with the traditional sad ending), with the distinctive touch of being sung first from the viewpoint of one of the hunters and then from the viewpoint of the hunted hare. The pathos of the last few verses is almost unmatched in traditional music (I’m told that ‘The Granemoor Hare’ was once voted as ‘the saddest ever traditional song’, and that, my friends, is a very crowded field!).

Long-time fans of Martin Simpson will find on this disc a wonderful combination of all the things they enjoy about his music. Newcomers will find it a good introduction to the different strands of his musical style (a reverent and respectful handling of British and American traditional music, superb guitar and banjo playing, and good original songs). Martin’s MySpace page includes two sample tracks, 'Bachelor’s Hall' and 'Duncan and Brady', and the official Compass Records site includes short samples of all of the tracks. I have no hesitation in pronouncing Prodigal Son as my personal favourite album of 2007.

A lot has changed in the Edmonton music world since I wrote my last entry. Rhea's open stage at Cargo and James came to a sad end, and for a few months there was nothing to take it's place. But then came the news that she was starting up again at Hulbert's on 76 Avenue and 115 St. on Monday nights. Hulbert's is a fine location with a great sounding room (wooden floor too) and an already existing tradition of live music. And now the open stage is shifting back from Monday nights to Sunday nights, which is way better for many of those who go.

In the interim, the one constant for me has been Alex Boudreau's open stage at 149 St. and 89 Ave. on Wednesday evenings. I'm not always free on Wednesdays, but whenever I am I try to go to this open stage, which is normally quite relaxed and low key. One nice thing about it is that there are people who come especially to listen, not just to play; at Rhea's it sometimes seems as if pretty well everyone who is listening is only there because they're going to play (in fact, I noticed last week a couple of people who came too late to play, and when they found out that they couldn't play they left - which seems to me to be a very egotistical way of approaching the evening!). At Alex's there is a small group of fans who are there every week, just because they want to listen. And this is nice.

And then, of course, there's the enjoyment I always get from playing guitar with Alex, who is one of the best and most tasteful lead guitarists in Edmonton - not to mention being a good friend...

This is my first entry at the EZFolk site. I'm a family man, a pastor, and a folk musician living in Edmonton, Alberta. My main musical interest is traditional folk music; my influences are people like Martin Simpson, Planxty, Martin Carthy, Kate Rusby, Maddy Prior and others like them. I also enjoy guitar instrumentals by people like Tony McManus, Bruce Cockburn, and Don Ross.

In Edmonton my main musical home is Rhea March's Sunday night open stage at Cargo and James' Tea House on Whyte Avenue. If you've never been there, you must come over from 7.00 - 10.00 p.m. Sunday nights. Rhea is a great host, and we get some fine musicians, young and old.

I also frequently attend Alex Boudreau's open stage at 2nd Cup on 149 St. and 89 Ave. on Wednesday nights.

Alex and I play gigs together from time to time; we play a mix of traditional and contemporary folk music, some of it together, some of it separately. Alex is a great lead guitarist and a fine songwriter too.