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Various ‎– Shirley Inspired - New Vinyl 2015 Earth Recordings Limited Edition 3 Lp Compilation Pressing with Tri-Fold Jacket - Folk / Covers

Various ‎– Shirley Inspired - New Vinyl 2015 Earth Recordings Limited Edition 3 Lp Compilation Pressing with Tri-Fold Jacket - Folk / Covers

Regular price $34.99 $0.00

An album of Shirley Collins covers featuring contributions from Graham Coxon, Lee Ranaldo, Bitchin Bonnie Billy Bajas (Bonnie Prince Billy), Stewart Lee, Eric Chenaux, Josephine Foster, Johnny Flynn, Stuart Estell, Trembling Bells and many more..

Earth Recordings are extremely proud to announce the release of ‘Shirley Inspired’. July 2015 will see Shirley Collins celebrate her 80th year – an age that would seem frankly ridiculous for a woman as spritely as her, had it not been for all she’s achieved. From her seminal field-recording trip to America to her lauded musical career; from her role as historian and protector of the folk tradition, to the very fact that this record can exist – more than half a century after her career began – all of these things are testament to the breadth of her influence.And so we arrive at ‘Shirley Inspired’. It would be almost lazy to the talk about the resurgence of folk music or the ‘new folk’ sound – the recordings found here are so much more than that. This is the very essence of folk – songs handed down from person to person, interpreted by modern musicians – as a way of keeping these songs alive.

Make no mistake these are modern versions; we’ve the soulful dirge of Bitchin Bonnie Billy Bajas’ ‘Pretty Saro’; the rabble-rousing minimalism of Stewart Lee (yes him) and Stuart Estell’s ‘Polly On The Shore’; the prism-like vocals of Ela Stiles’ ‘Murder of Maria Marten’… even Graham Coxon’s traditional affair evokes something altogether more rebellious, his clawing, feral style is much in evidence here. This compilation was an inheritance of sorts: borne to us from the kickstarter appeal that funded ‘The Ballad of Shirley Collins’ – a film that is currently being made about the First Lady of Folk Music’s life. We here at Earth now have the privilege of giving these songs a tangible existence in the shape of this special recording.

The woman herself had this to say: “I’ve been overwhelmed by the generosity of the singers and musicians who responded to the invitation to be part of the Shirley Inspired collection. Their choice of songs is fascinating, the interpretations of them fresh and various, beautiful and sometimes challenging! Listening to these recreations shows me again that English folk music has timeless power and significance.”

Tracklist

A1 Bitchin Bonnie Billy Bajas Pretty Saro
A2 Trembling Bells Richie's Story
A3 Stewart Lee & Stuart Estell Polly On The Shore
A4 Johnny Flynn Rambleaway
A5 Lee Ranaldo The Plains Of Waterloo
B1 Alasdair Roberts & David McGuinness A Blacksmith Courted Me
B2 Graham Coxon Cruel Mother
B3 Meg Baird Locks And Bolts
B4 Angel Olsen The Blacksmith
B5 Ela Stiles The Murder Of Maria Marten
C1 Stuart Estell Just As The Tide Was Flowing
C2 Bonnie Dobson And Lords Of Thyme Hares On The Mountain
C3 Rachael Dadd Polly Vaughan
C4 Josephine Foster Love Is Pleasing
C5 The Owl Service And Laura Cannell Edi Beo
C6 Jackie Oates Banks Of The Bann
D1 Crying Lion* Shepherd's Arise
D2 Ned Oldham The Blacksmith
D3 Ulver Poor Murdered Woman
D4 Sally Timms With The Mini Mekons* Go From My Window
D5 C Joynes It Was Pleasant And Delightful
D6 Sharron Kraus Gilderoy (Heart's Delight)
E1 Joe Murphy (3) Adieu To All Judges And Juries
E2 Slate Islands Proud Maisrie
E3 Sophie Williams Charlie
E4 Rozi Plain Long Years Ago
E5 Paul Smith (6) Geordie
E6 Olivia Chaney Oxford Girl
F1 Orlando (32) And Tom Furse My False True Love
F2 Barbarossa (3) Dearest Dear
F3 Belbury Poly Cambridgeshire May Carol
F4 Eric Chenaux Just As The Tide Was Flowing
F5 Tunng And Farao Never Again
F6 Findlay Brown Sweet England

Notes

Record Store Day limited release of 1000 copies