Search - Richard Thompson, Sandy Denny :: Circle Dance: The Hokey Pokey Charity Compilation

Nice Collection

02/08/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Circle Dance is an 18-track compilation put together by the editorial staff of Hokey Pokey, a quarterly Richard Thompson fanzine, to benefit a variety of charities devoted to poor and disabled children. Given the crowd, it's unsurprising that the cream of the British folk-rock axis centered around Fairport Convention contributes. Beginning and ending with two very different versions of the traditional "Maid in Bedlam" performed by Andrew Cronshaw (once on Moldavian flute and once on, of all things, electric zither), the set features exclusive tracks and rarities from a remarkable lineup. Ashley Hutchings' Albion Band, Iain Matthews (performing a terrific live take of Richard Farina's classic "Reno, Nevada"), June Tabor (playing two traditional tunes set to fiddle accompaniment), and Adams, French, Kaiser and West (delivering a wild reinterpretation of Thompson's "The Madness of Love") are all notable, but the real treasures are two simple demos by the late Sandy Denny (an exquisite piano and voice rendition of "The King and Queen of England" recorded in 1976) and Linda Thompson (an otherwise unavailable collaboration with keyboardist Betsy Cook called "Her Father Was a Sailor"). Thompson himself weighs in with the surprisingly jazzy "The May Day Psalter," in collaboration with longtime friend Danny Thompson on double bass. - Stewart Mason, All Music Guide"

Nice charity collection of British folk and folk-rock

woburnmusicfan | Woburn, MA United States | 10/14/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Fans of Richard Thompson should enjoy this 1991 charity compilation put out by his British fanzine "Hokey Pokey". Highlights include Bob Adams, John French, Henry Kaiser and the Dregs' Andy West on "The Madness of Love", a song RT wrote but has never recorded, Julian Dawson's "Shrink", Iain Matthews performing "Reno Nevada" (a Richard Farina song Fairport Convention played back in Iain's day), Gregson and Collister's "Standing in the Shadows", Linda Thompson's "Her Father Was a Sailor", and the 1989 version of Fairport's live Cropredy rendition of "Who Knows Where the Time Goes?" Former Fairporters Ashley Hutchings, Jerry Donahue, and the late Sandy Denny (on a 1976 demo) also appear. Richard Thompson's contribution is a duet with bassist Danny Thompson on "The May Day Psalter", one of RT's lesser songs. Much of the album is folk music, and if you're heavily into British folk, add another star. This CD is much more consistent than the next Hokey Pokey compilation, "All Through the Year", so try to track this one down first.(1=poor 2=mediocre 3=pretty good 4=very good 5=phenomenal)"