Bold Reynold

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Brass Monkey> Songs> The Foxhunt Bold Reynolds / Reynard the Fox / Gentlemen of High Renown / The Foxhunt / Old Snowball From 2 January we’ll be featuring significant albums reviewed 2003-2023 in our featured album sequences as part of GRTR!@20 They’ve got bold Reynold by the brush and will not let him go. Fairport Convention sing Reynard the Fox It comes as a surprise that despite a lengthy and distinguished period of involvement in music, David Carroll isn’t a household name, even to folk cognoscenti. His early tenure with folk band Spinning Wheel on the late-70s club’n’college circuit was succeeded by a long career as a fully qualified craftsman making and repairing stringed instruments, supplemented by a steady flow of session work – where over the past four decades he’s met, worked with and gained the friendship and respect of a large number of well-respected top-flight musicians from (mostly) the field of folk. Having appeared in that capacity on several recordings for other artists, David has spent the past few years gathering ideas to make a solo album in his own right while calling in the services of a whole cluster of those illustrious friends. By all accounts, all such contributions were most enthusiastically garnered. This comes through in the evident bonhomie – and natural-born expertise – of the playing (in other words, you don’t ever get the sense that they are just a competent, efficient bunch of hired session musicians). The positively ear-watering roll-call speaks for itself – two members of Fairport Convention ( Chris Leslie and Dave Pegg), three from Gryphon ( Brian Gulland, Dave Oberle and Graeme Taylor), and Tom Spencer (from The Men They Couldn’t Hang and The Professionals), plus fine vocalist Lucy Cooper.

With instrumentation ranging from crumhorns, cor anglais and uilleann pipes through fiddle, tabla, bouzouki and dulcimer to bass, drums and electric guitar and all stops in between, this is a soundscape not to be missed. Locating proceedings in Graeme Taylor’s studio with Brain Gulland and Dave Oberle as perma-presences means that there is much that’s Gryphon like from the crumhorn breaks to Taylor’s fierce electric guitar- especially effective on the ‘Foxhunter’s Jig,’ yet that never overpowers Carroll’s ideas and settings. Likewise the familiar bass of Dave Pegg and Chris Leslie’s fiddle could suggest Fairport but assured production and sympathetic desk work from Taylor means no one dominates and balance is kept. SINCE their debut album Tidings in 2020 this Yorkshire-based female band have had some changes of line-up but the current trio of Bella Gaffney, Holly Brandon and Kate Griffin still offer an exciting combination of superb harmonies and instrumentals. Straight in at No.1 is James Yorkston, Nina Persson and The Second Hand Orchestra’s The Great White Sea Eagle (Domino Recordings), the follow up to James Yorkston and The Second Hand Orchestra’s The Wide, Wide River – a Guardian Top 10 Folk Album of 2021. The record didn’t start life as a follow up; in early 2021, Yorkston began visiting his studio in Cellardyke, Fife and for the first time, started writing songs on the piano as opposed to his usual guitar, as he gazed upon the sea outside his window. After sending the first five or six songs to Karl-Jonas Winqvist (the ringleader/conductor of TSHO), they began to discuss working on the music together. With Yorkston’s shift from guitar to piano, they thought about what other changes they could make to their process which led to the involvement of a guest singer and the legendary Nina Persson (The Cardigans) was brought into the fold. They followed the same methodology as The Wide, Wide River – apart from James, Nina and KJ, none of The Second Hand Orchestra had heard the music prior to entering the studio – and the arrangements were made up on the spot.These including She Moved Through The Fair and Banks of the Nile as well as a fine revamp of Dave Cousins’s classic The Battle, stylishly aided and abetted by assorted members of venerable institutions such as Fairport Convention and Gryphon, whose multi-talented Brian Gulland displays his mastery of the crumhorn, contra bassoon and cor anglais in the process. The finished product should appeal to anyone who’s ever enjoyed the collected works of Albert or Freddie King or any of the fine musicians who recorded for the Stax organisation during its creative heyday, and roots music enthusiasts should find it well nigh indispensable. CHILDREN OF BODOM ‘A Chapter Called Children of Bodom (Final Show in Helsinki Ice Hall 2019)’ Spinefarm Records They call it “a fusion of friends” and old pals they are indeed, David Carroll who used to roll with SPINNING WHEEL and has called recently on the members of FAIRPORT CONVENTION and GRYPHON – Dave Pegg and Chris Leslie from the former collective plus Dave Oberlé, Graeme Taylor and Brian Gulland from the latter – as well as THE PROFESSIONALS’ Tom Spencer, also known from THE MAN THEY COULDN’T HANG, and Lucy Cooper to assist him in recording a debut solo album. Titled “Bold Reynold” and scheduled for release on January 20th, 2023, it presents a stunning sonic panorama wrapping a nice selection of traditional fare, “The Battle” from THE STRAWBS repertoire and “The Last Leviathan”: the Andy Barnes’ anti-whaling piece which displays the ensemble’s epic leanings.

FORMED in 1969 Trapeze were a classic English prog band, popular on the college circuit who had been signed by Moody Blues for their Threshold label. Wailing Again is the result, and devotees of Pugh’s stylish and inventive approach to music-making should enjoy gems such as Eddie Boyd’s 24 Hours and a fine revamp of their trademark song, Junior’s Wailing. THIS interesting collection was the brainchild of David Carroll, who has actively immersed himself in the delights of traditional music for the past half a century or so as both a performer and instrument maker. Archie Churchill-Moss is one of the best young squeezebox players around, known for his work with Moore Moss Rutter and his duo with Tom Moore. This playful debut solo album is a chance for him to explore his creative potential and really showcase what he can do. Carroll’s long overdue solo debut, Bold Reynold, has now finally been captured for posterity by the good people at Talking Elephant and the contents feature his affectionate interpretations of a string of classics from the folk canon.The services of renowned Gryphon, Fairport, The Professionals and The Men They Couldn’t Hang members provide accomplished support on the album. When you see “and friends” in a billing you tend to think of a group of worthy but unknown local musicians. On Bold Reynold, however, the friends include three Gryphons: Dave Oberle, Brian Gulland and Graeme Taylor; two Fairports: Chris Leslie and Dave Pegg plus Lucy Cooper and Tom Spencer. David himself is a veteran of the 70s with a career including instrument making and innumerable groups, which is presumably where he made such good friends. The second CD features an extensive jam dubbed Silver And Gold, featuring an annoying flute player.

Themes of nature and freedom are explored in The Corncrake and the song from which the album title is taken The Greenmore Hare. There is also a powerful version of Four Loom Weaver the 19th century lament about the Lancashire cotton famine. THE latest offering from Thomas Ruf’s admirable blues-based label focuses attention on the exuberant musical exploits of St Louis singer-guitarist Jeremiah Johnson.

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Finally, ‘Gentlemen Of High Renown’, which gives the album its title, enjoys an arrangement reminiscent of early 70s Fairport until Gulland weighs in with more crumhorns and a brief snatch of hunting horn. It’s far from being politically correct but it provides Bold Reynold with a rousing finish. Any criticisms I have expressed are mere niggles (and personal idiosyncrasies) because Bold Reynold is an absolutely splendid album and I commend it to you whole-heartedly. Pugh had been based in Los Angeles ever since those days in a state of semi-retirement until the guitarist hit upon the bright idea of starting work on a new Steamhammer project in close collaboration with former Jefferson Starship stalwart Pete Sears, who’d actually lent a hand on keyboards on the original band’s debut album long long ago in 1968. Take off his head likewise his brush and give him three Hurrays. The Young Tradition sing The Foxhunt