The definitive album of English folk music, English Originals collects great performances of classic and contemporary repertoire from the greatest singers from both the tradition and the revival. English Originals is both a perfect introduction and a joyful celebration of the country's powerful traditional music heritage.

We all take for granted the continuity and uniqueness of the national cultures of many nations. We all recognise an Irish tune or Greek dance music or Spanish flamenco. The English may not think their own culture so readily identifiable, but English Originals repudiates that notion. When folk musicians interpret the repertory of what we call English folk music, they may draw on personal associations of tune or lyric and see themselves as links in a chain of traditional experience or recast the material, creating new work that remains faithful to its origins. English Originals includes traditional songs sung in the traditional way, such as the great Walter Pardon singing Van Diemen's Land, traditional songs with a contemporary slant, such as Eliza Carthy's Whirly Whorl and modern compositions with traditional sensibilities by Lal Waterson and a new song by John Tams. These and the rest of the songs and tunes on English Originals illustrate the utterly familiar continuity of English culture.

Issued to help celebrate Topic Records sixtieth anniversary, English Originals is both a perfect introduction and a joyful celebration of the country's powerful traditional music heritage.