Migrating Bird: The Songs of Lal Waterson

Overview

A good tribute album often can be a benefit if the subject of the tribute is relatively obscure, serving as a chance to place a figure or style squarely in a new context. While Migrating Bird itself is like many other efforts -- a mix of the quite enjoyable and the well-meant but not always successful -- as a chance to showcase British folksinger Lal Waterson, who came to prominence in the 1960s as part of her family group, the Watersons, and then performed and released irregularly on her own and with others until her passing in the late '90s, it's a gentle treasure. It's also a good sampler of whatever the psych-folk scene can be called these days, ranging as it does from a near contemporary veteran of Waterson's (Vashti Bunyan, who concludes the disc with an interpretation of the title track) to Young Turks such as Alasdair Roberts, whose "The Bird" is a lovely, delicate interpretation with just voice and piano able not only to demonstrate the song's beauty but his own fine gifts. Other efforts of interest come from Victoria Williams, whose older, twang-tinged voice comes off to intriguing effect on Waterson's most well-known effort, "Red Wine and Promises," and the inimitable Michael Hurley, with his own striking singing and the gentle touch of accordion resulting in one of the album's warmest, most inviting contributions on "How Can I Leave?" Charlotte Greig matches him with a similar instrumental approach on "Her White Gown," her own resonant voice another strong standout. At its worst the disc is fair but never horrible; if songs like Nancy Elizabeth's "Cornfield" and Jeb Loy Nichols' "Stumbling On" leave little impact, they still sound pleasant and aren't a disservice to Waterson's memory. ~ Ned Raggett

Product Details

Release Date:	04/15/2008
Label:	Honest Jon's
UPC:	5099950680627

Tracks

1. Fine Horseman  -  King Creosote  - Lal Waterson
2. Cornfield  - Nancy Elizabeth  - Oliver Knight  - Lal Waterson
3. At First She Starts  - Lal Waterson  - James Yorkston
4. Red Wine and Promises  - Lal Waterson  - Victoria Williams
5. So Strange Is Man  - Lavinia Blackwall  - Oliver Knight  - Alex Neilson  - Alexander Neilson  - Lal Waterson
6. The Bird  - Alasdair Roberts  - Lal Waterson
7. How Can I Leave?  - Michael Hurley  - Oliver Knight  - Lal Waterson
8. Wilson's Arms  -  Danny & the Champions of the World  - Oliver Knight  - Lal Waterson
9. Her White Gown  - Charlotte Greig  - Oliver Knight  - Lal Waterson
10. Stumbling On  - Oliver Knight  - Jeb Loy Nichols  - Lal Waterson
11. Never the Same  - Adrian Crowley  - Lal Waterson
12. Memories  - Richard James  - Oliver Knight  - Lal Waterson
13. Phoebe  - Oliver Knight  - Lal Waterson  -  Willard Grant Conspiracy
14. Dazed  - Arthur Rimbaud  -  Sabbath Folk
15. Song for Thirza  - Lal Waterson  - Lindsey Woolsey
16. The Welcome Sailor  -  Traditional  - Richard Youngs  - Sorley Youngs
17. To Make You Stay  -  Memory Band  - Lal Waterson
18. John Ball  - Sidney Lee Carter  - Mark Olson
19. Migrating Bird  - Vashti Bunyan  - Oliver Knight  - Lal Waterson

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Lindsey Woolsey   Primary Artist
Victoria Williams   Primary Artist
Danny & the Champions of the World   Primary Artist
Alex Neilson   Primary Artist
Charlotte Greig   Primary Artist
Jeb Loy Nichols   Primary Artist
Nancy Elizabeth   Primary Artist
Richard James   Primary Artist
Michael Hurley   Primary Artist
Sorley Youngs   Primary Artist
Lavinia Blackwall   Primary Artist
Alexander Neilson   Primary Artist
Richard Youngs   Primary Artist
Mark Olson   Primary Artist
James Yorkston   Primary Artist,Vocals,Guitar
Vashti Bunyan   Primary Artist
King Creosote   Primary Artist
Sabbath Folk   Primary Artist
The Memory Band   Primary Artist
Willard Grant Conspiracy   Primary Artist
Alasdair Roberts   Primary Artist
Adrian Crowley   Primary Artist
Nancy Wallace   Guitar,Vocals
Jennymay Logan   Violin
Stephen Cracknell   Percussion,Guitar
Joanna Bartlett   Vocals
Simon Lord   Banjo
Rob Spriggs   Viola
Jon Thorne   Bass
Kevin Murphy   Cello

Technical Credits

Jon Bennett & Ralph Cardall   Performer
Edward James   Production Support
Malcolm Lindsay   Arranger,Engineer,Producer,Performer
Garo Nahoulakian   Performer
Julian Hayman   Production Support
Robin Bennett   Performer
Danny Wilson   Performer
Jeb Loy Nichols   Engineer
Oliver Knight   Arranger,Composer
Lindsey Woolsey   Producer
Stephen Cracknell   Producer,Arranger
Joanna Bartlett   Performer
Will Bankhead   Design
Ski Williams   Paintings
Brian Shuel   Photography
Arthur Rimbaud   Composer
Brian O'Shaughnessy   Engineer
Lal Waterson   Composer,Arranger
Vashti Bunyan   Performer
Charlotte Greig   Liner Notes
Sidney Lee Carter   Composer
Traditional   Composer