Martin Simpson is to release a new album on September 5th through Topic Records titled purpose + grace. Having built upon the success of his last two albums: ‘Prodigal Son and ‘True Stories’ this album promises to be something extra special.
Jon Boden, B J Cole, Dick Gaughan, Fay Hield, Will Pound, June Tabor and Richard Thompson will be joining Martin on purpose + grace along with his regular band of Andy Cutting, Andy Seward and Keith Angel. The title of the album is inspired by American songwriter Yip Harburg (somewhere over the rainbow). According to Topic Records the material will shift from Anglo-American ballads, Scots and English traditional songs to new compositions from Bruce Springsteen, Richard Thompson, the aforementioned Yip Harburg and Martin Simpson, although looking at the tracklisting there are some traditional songs.
Central to the whole project is a new Simpson composition based upon the words of Banjo Bill Cornett of Hindman, Kentucky, from a 1958 home recording. Cornett makes a heartfelt exposition of the beauty and purpose of traditional music-making:
“This is Banjo Bill Cornett, I’m at home today, thirteenth day of February 1958. Here by myself, nobody but me around and that’s when I usually play the banjo and sing and whatever. My children grew up, and they fell for this rock’n’roll music – honky tonk music whatever you might call it. I don’t like that and I catch them all gone, my wife gone and then I carry on to suit my own self and I’m a making this record to give somebody – I don’t know who I’ll give this recording to, I want to give it to someone who will keep it and if there’s any people after I’m gone who’d like to hear my carrying on as far as my singing and banjo playing is concerned, I’d like them to keep it.”
I can only guess at who is collaborating on which track but I’d hazard a guess that Jon Boden will feature on ‘The Sheffield Apprentice’ which he covered on A Folk Song A Day : February
. As for who will be indulging on the rest you’ll just have to wait and see but with the line-up mentioned above it’s going to be good, not that I’m biased of course… Interesting to see Lakes of Ponchatrain as a featured track, no doubt a favourite which Martin gave the Cajun treatment to on Sad or High Kicking
(1999):
track list:
1 The Sheffield Apprentice
2 Bold General Wolfe
3 Brothers Under The Bridge
4 Little Liza Jane
5 Brother Can You Spare A Dime
6 Jamie Foyers
7 In The Pines
8 Strange Affair
9 Banjo Bill
10 Barbry Allen
11 Don’t Leave Your Banjo In The Shed Mr Waterson
12 Bad Girl’s Lament
13 Lakes Of Ponchartrain
Video
Martin playing with June Tabor: Strange Affair (by Richard Thompson)
Pre-Order
Amazon UK: Purpose and Grace
Artist Link
www.martinsimpson.com
Topic Records