If
Tom Waits ever decided to make an album of traditional English folk, it might sound a little like
Bellowhead, the folk big band. The aptly titled disc has a real circus quality to the sound, especially on the opener, "Rigs of the Time" and the more abstract "Flash Company," which make full use of the mix of brass and strings. But this very ambitious full-length debut takes in a great deal, from the ballad "Death and the Lady" to the more gospel-ish "Jordan" (actually a shanty tweaked a little) and some instrumentals, like "Sloe Gin" that have been expanded from their original form to sound very full (as well they might with an 11-piece group). "Courting Too Slow" is revisited from an early
Spiers & Boden album, with
Jon Boden showing just how his singing has improved, a mix of deep emotion and fairground barker. It's a record that's to be praised for the chances it takes -- they could have played it fairly safe and been praised as groundbreaking -- even though they don't all succeed. But even the failures, like the clumsy "Flash Company" are never less than interesting. Kudos to the producers, who bring clarity to a dense sound. This is a summation of the formation of this sound; where they take it will be the fascinating part. ~ Chris Nickson