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Title: Charming UK/Celtic folk songs
Review: Coal mining is a subject that holds a continuing fascination for UK folkies, both as folklore and as a topic fit for all upstanding class-conscious lefties. (The Thatcher-era miner's strike was one of the last great British labor struggles of the 20th Century... Scotland's gruff-voiced Dick Gaughan, who contributes several excellent performances to this disc, revisited the miner's plight on a couple of albums that came out in the mid-1980s.) At any rate, this is a fine album, featuring an celebrated Northumbrian ensemble anchored by Alastair Anderson on concertina, along with Johnny Handle, Colin Ross and Tommy Gilfellon. Gaughan sings on a couple of songs and Lancashire's Harry Boardman on a couple others -- the whole album is nice, with goofy, sprightly, humorous songs and lots of that oddball Celtic musical charm. I thought this record would sound really dry and academic, but was pleasantly surprised at how fun it was. Definitely worth checking out!
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