June Tabor – At The Wood’s Heart

This is the June Tabor album – from the opening track, a magisterial reading of The Banks of Sweet Primeroses, through Anna McGarrigle’s Heart Like A Wheel and her in-concert showstopper, Duke Ellington’s Do Nothing ‘Till You Hear From Me. June has also chosen a new song from the pen of one of her favourite English songwriters – Bill Caddick’s The Cloud Factory.

The inspiration for June’s choice of songs was the particular group of musicians she brought together for her BBC4 Sessions concert in 2004. Obviously I was already aware of the strong character of each musician’s playing, but what I was not prepared for was the impact of the ensemble as a whole, as well as the undreamed of textures and colours of new permutations within the group. The effect is remarkable, and June’s voice and performance have moved into even more impressive new territory.

“No one else has come close to Tabor’s clarity and strength of expression. Her instinct and training make every phrase count.” – The Daily Telegraph
“From the opening notes…you realise you are in safe hands… coaxes unimagined sensations out of traditional tunes and performs elegant arrangements of new ones” ★★★★ The Sunday Times
“To describe June Tabor as simply a folk singer is to ignore her achievements – and this new album proves she is one of our finest interpreters of songs of almost any kind. The starting point is traditional material, but her treatment of The Banks of the Sweet Primroses shows how she makes a song her own with her story-telling. A Chaucer song is followed by an exquisite, pained treatment of Anna McGarrigle’s Heart Like A Wheel, while the traditional Oh! Alas I Am in Love leads in to a drifting Duke Ellington ballad. A thoughtful, personal album.” ★★★★ The Guardian
“She’s a national treasure” – The Independent on Sunday
“At the Wood’s Heart finds the powers in enthralling form. That sinuous, melancholy voice still does ‘dark’ impeccably – but always verdant, always human.” ★★★★ The Observer

1 The Banks Of The Sweet Primroses
2 The Broomfield Wager
3 Ah! The Sighs
4 Now Welcome Summer
5 Heart Like A Wheel
6 Johnny Johnny
7 Oh! Alas, I Am In Love
8 Do Nothing ‘Til You Hear From Me
9 Les Choses Les Plus Simples
10 She’s Like The Swallow
11 The Cloud Factory
12 Lie Near Me

June Tabor vocals
with
Huw Warren piano
Martin Simpson guitar
Andy Cutting diatonic accordion
Mark Emerson viola & violin
Mark Lockheart tenor & soprano saxophones
Tim Harries double bass
Iain Ballamy tenor saxophone on tracks 10 & 12