Various Artists – Strings That Nimble Leap
Fellside Recordings/Fylde Guitars – Out Now
This beautifully packaged double CD album with its hundred and thirty page integrated book is the result of Roger Bucknall’s desire to document some of the music created on a whole range of Fylde instruments constructed across the years and produce it as a project with profits going to charity. If you are a stringed instrument nut and are into the craftsmanship and materials that go into a build, along with the tunings for the songs, then the notes and photos included here will make your mouth water. If, however, you just want to listen to the music, then this will also please you very much, as there is a huge host of top-end musicians playing here, many performing bespoke songs or tunes for the project including gorgeous traditional pieces or originals. One such is Martin Carthy, who plays us a cracking version of ‘Cuckoo’s Nest’ in his signature thumb heavy style, following on from Gordon Giltrap‘s lovely opener ‘Down the River’ and setting up Barbara Dickson with ‘The Rigs of Rye’ and Archie Fisher with the splendid ‘Lullaby for Bert and John’, a micro-masterpiece of playing. There are too many great tunes across these two seventy-plus minute discs to tick off one by one, but, as a great compilation should, the list is varied in style, genre and instruments and holds delights at every corner.
For example, Jez Lowe‘s ‘Gull’s Eye’, performed on bouzouki is a gorgeous and fresh song in the mix, with Lowe’s clear voice and excellent playing perfectly framing a well-written piece. Elsewhere, Graham Coxon has never sounded better than on his solo acoustic guitar piece ‘That Someone Ain’t You’ and Lisa Hannigan is absolutely mesmerising on the beautiful ‘Little Bird’ from her Passenger album, while Andy Irvine‘s ‘Erin’s Green Shore’, played on a low tuned mandola, is wonderful. Martin Simpson also has to appear here, being an important player of Fylde guitars of all shapes and sizes, and an instrumental version of ‘Who’s Going to Shoe Your Pretty Little Foot’, soon to appear on Seeded, the bonus material available for his new Rooted album, is as gloriously played as you could wish. Special mention should also go to the late Vin Garbutt, whose ‘When the Lark Salutes the Sky’ is another disc one highlight. We also get the inimitable Nic Jones playing the classic ‘Canadee-i-o’ closing the first half. Wow. These are but a few pieces of the twenty-one making up the first half of this set, which gives you an indication of its quality.
Moving across to the second half, there are plenty more big hitters on the list, as well as some lesser-known acts, such as Adam Bulley & Chas MacKenzie, who pair acoustic guitar and the charming tenor guitar together very nicely on ‘Niel Gow’s Lament for the Death of His Second Wife’; it’s great to hear a tenor, such a sweet sound, included here. Also unusual is Eric Bibb‘s ‘guitar uke’, a half size steel strung guitar on a ukulele body, which takes the lead on his sweet miniature ‘G and P’, but before that John Smith and Clive Carroll (what a super duo) play us ‘Killing the Blues’, a lovely song performed with utmost class and skill, as you would expect from these two. Also, always welcome to hear is Megan Henwood, who plays and sings so beautifully on her original song ‘Mr Housefire’, a softly sentimental piece about value and gratitude. Elsewhere, Charlotte Carrivick plays a faultless and complex ‘Making Horses’ and the ever-excellent Ben Walker plays us a perfectly paced version of Celtic tune ‘Sheebag Sheemore’, just after Billy Watman‘s nylon-strung ‘Riversong’. Towards the end of the disc we have Rhayader’s Toby Hay with his custom Fylde twelve-string tuned strange to give us an improvised peach called ‘The Summer the Sky cried for Rain’, and gypsy guitar player Remi Harris dazzles on ‘Burnout’.
As I said, there are many more pieces of music across these two and a half hours that should be heard, but it would take a very long time to discuss every artist’s contribution to Strings that Nimble Leap, so rest assured that this collection is of the highest quality, with beautiful instruments being played by some of the very best musicians in the game. It is also a limited edition release with profits heading to charities like the Woodland Trust, MIND, Help Musicians UK and others, making it a very worthy investment, as well as one that stands up as a very rewarding and enduring listen across both discs.
Videos of some of the tracks on the album
Videos of some of the tracks on the album:
Strings That Nimble Leap can only be purchased via Fylde Guitars website here: https://www.fyldeguitars.com/cd.html