Atrax Records: TheSwarbStore: Other Back-Catalogue: Rags, Reels & Airs

Dave Swarbrick with Martin Carthy & Diz Disley

'Rags, Reels & Airs'

£13.00 (inc. UK p&p)

EUR 23.00 (inc. European p&p) / $21.00 (inc. worldwide p&p)

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Information; Track-Listing; Reviews etc.

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A lost classic, now found and restored; Rags, Reels & Airs was first released in 1967 and was immediately recognised as being a recording landmark. It soon went out of print and has been a highly coveted collector's item for over 25 years now.

Rags, Reels & Airs was produced by Joe Boyd, who introduced Dave Swarbrick to Fairport Convention - the result of which was Liege & Lief and a whole new era for folk and rock music.

Dave Swarbrick first came to prominence on the folk scene as as young instrumental virtuoso in the Ian Campbell Folk Group. By 1967, when the recording took place, Dave had already left them and had teamed up with Martin Carthy as a duo. While they featured hot instrumental tracks in their live sets and recordings, Dave's forte in the duo was sensitive accompaniment to Martin's vocals and guitar. On Rags, Reels & Airs the focus was solely on Dave and it finally gave him a chance to really stretch out and demonstrate his leading instrumental prowess. The result was a new era of English instrumental folk music and a new approach to folk music altogether. As Joe Boyd says in the liner notes, "...Dave Swarbrick is doing perhaps the finest job of reconciling traditional instrumental styles with modern ideas and technique".

SIGNED COPIES AVAILABLE ON REQUEST!

Track-Listing:

01. Spanish Ladies Medley
02. Hens March to the Middens
03. Bottom of the Punchbowl / The Swallow Tail / Marquis of Tullybardine
04. Barney Brallaghan / The New Widow Well Married / Paddy Be Aisy
05. Dill Pickles Rag
06. Gurty's Frolics
07. The Blackbird
08. The Cuckoo's Nest
09. Lietrum Fancy Medley
10. Porcupine Rag
11. Villafjord / Fourposter Bed
12. Staten Island / Jimmy Allen
13. The Salamanca Medley
14. The Teetotallers Medley
15. Lord Mayo
16. The Kid on the Mountain
17. Jolly Tinker / Rags & Tatters
18. Father Kelly / Skopje / Sligo Maid

Dave Swarbrick: fiddle; mandolin; 8-string fiddle;

Martin Carthy: guitar;

Diz Disley: guitar.

 Reviews:

 Dave Swarbrick - Rags, Reels & Airs

Dave Swarbrick was the first instrumental virtuoso to emerge from the 1960s English folk revival. He also represented an altogether new breed of musician, one who wasn't tethered to just one regional tradition but was pleased to integrate a myriad of English, Scottish, and Irish styles, with a bit of ragtime and swing jazz thrown in. This openness made him an obvious candidate when, two years after this record's release, Fairport Convention recruited him to bolster their capacity to play English folk music.

But what makes this disc an unambiguous joy to hear is Swarbrick's obvious delight in playing, period. His rapid bowing and nimble picking imbue the album's eighteen tunes with excitement, but he never lets technique overwhelm the material. Carthy and Disley lend understated support throughout, keeping the spotlight on Swarbrick, and he never falters under its glare.

 

Published in 'The Ledge' Magazine

DAVE SWARBRICK - RAGS REELS AND AIRS - TOPIC TSCD517

Originally released in 1967, and finally on CD this is Swarb often solo, sometimes accompanied by Martin Carthy, and Diz Dizley on a few tracks. The eighteen tracks, many of them medleys include several tunes that were re-recorded in later years and became Fairport favourites, such as “Hens March To The Middens”. Here “Four Poster Bed” is part of a medley with “VilIafjord” rather than the later pairing. “Lord Mayo”, “Bottom Of The Punchbowl” and “The Swallowtail” are a few others which will be remembered when you hear them even if the titles don't register immediately. Be it fiddle or mandolin Swarb plays, it is with a youthful exuberance, sheer enjoyment of the music. All acoustic instruments of course, and on its release in 1967, a musical landmark. You all know the quality of the playing, so really all I need do here is inform you that it is available, and detail the catalogue number because the shops will need it when they have to order it for you.

Ian Burgess of Friends of Fairport

Last updated on 26 September 2002