Product Description Waterson:Carthy are the most important and best loved English folk group currently in existence. Comprised of Martin Carthy (vocals, banjo, guitar), Norma Waterson (vocals, triangle), their daughter Eliza Carthy (vocals, fiddle) and Tim Van Eyken (vocals, melodeons) they are at the top of their game with the highest group and individual profiles on the scene. Martin and Norma have been awarded MBE’s for their services to English music. Martin, Norma and Eliza have each individually won the prestigious Singer Of The Year award on the BBC Radio Two Folk Awards. Eliza has also won the Album Of The Year and Traditional Track Of The Year awards for Anglicana and two separate Mercury Music Prize nominations. Tim Van Eyken won the Young Folk Musician Of The Year award. A truly impressive record. Fishes & Fine Yellow Sand, their fifth album for Topic, finds them in characteristically fine fettle with eclectic material ranging from a stunning performance of the historic song “Napoleon’s Death” to the group’s take on the Jerry Garcia/Grateful Dead classic “Black Muddy River”. The album features several Eliza Carthy led songs, her first recordings since Anglicana. This year also finds Waterson:Carthy performing at the centrepiece of the Sidmouth Folk Festival’s 50th Anniversay celebrations in August: the Waterson Family Special will be the most taked about event on the folk festival calendar. Amazon.co.uk The fifth album from the first family of English folk music, Fishes & Fine Yellow Sand is a solid, if unsurprising, addition to their impressive canon. The continuing use of melodeon player Tim Van Eyken as an “honorary family member” is a considerable asset to the group, and Norma Waterson’s triangle playing is going from strength to strength. She is by far the group’s best singer as well, although Van Eyken’s performance on “Napoleon’s Death” and “Twenty One Years On Dartmouth” make him a close second. Martin and Eliza Carthy’s singing voices are an acquired taste; although the latter is a fine harmony vocalist and her violin skills are awesome. Three fine instrumental sets (reels, jigs and hornpipes) break up the songs. The material is mostly old English, with some American imports, and is linked by the theme of criminality or badness. The only non-trad song is Gerry Garcia’s wonderful “Black Muddy River”, which has been recycled from Norma’s first solo album and appears in a surprisingly effective acoustic rearrangement. As always, Martin Carthy’s distinctively percussive fingerstyle backs the other musicians throughout and the frequent meshing of melodeon and fiddle are a treat. –Jon Lusk
About Eliza Carthy, Martin Carthy, Norma Waterson and Tim Van Eyken
