GLOBAL FUSION CATALOGUE (p. wg3)

WILDGOOSE: ENGLISH FOLK AND OTHER TRADITIONAL ACOUSTIC MUSIC
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THE IAN BRUCE BREEZE BAND: A KIND AND GENTLE NATURE
(Modern folk songs: male vocals, guitar, oboe, violin, accordion, percussion)

Cat. No. WGS 277 CD

'When I was asked to review a new Ian Bruce recording my reaction was, Yes please!. I'm not disappointed. In fact I'm extremely pleased that its so good, but then I should have expected it to be. What else would you expect from a man who wrote such folk standards as Hawks and Eagles and Too Far From She.' What's Afoot magazine, UK

'This is a collection which maintains the high standard of writing, production and performance we have come to expect from this consummate professional' Buzz magazine, UK

'Once again Ian Bruce has successfully put to music many real life situations that most of us can relate to. He writes from the heart and has combined his own musical talents with those of The Breeze Band.' Folkwrite magazine, UK

'I thought that the quintessential Ian Bruce album would be the "unplugged" recording he did with Ian McCalman, then I heard this. ....... Melody writing has always been one of Ian's strong points, and the eleven songs here are all testament to that with tunes I found myself humming for days. Good songs, good arrangements, good performances, what more can you ask for? On this showing Ian Bruce is 'Up There With 'em', and deservedly so.' Living Tradition magazine, UK


This album of modern folk songs by Ian Bruce also features the talents of Paul Sartin (oboe, violin) and Paul Hutchinson (accordion) from Belshazzar's Feast, as well as those of Ian Murray on percussion. Honest and often sad lyrics are accompanied by some fine musicianship.



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THE MELLSTOCK BAND: TENANTS OF THE EARTH
(Music of English Village bands of the last century: instrumental, male and female vocals and harmonies from The Mellstock Quire, early nineteenth century instruments, clarinets, flute, serpent, trombone, oboes, vox humana, fife, violin, concertina, percussion)

Cat. No. WGS 281 CD

'The dance music bubbles along and the songs soar with a glorious choral quality.' Folkwrite magazine, UK

'This CD is a nicely judged collection of the fruits of considerable scholarship, lightly carried and affectionately displayed. This CD enriches our appreciation and understanding of a previous generation of popular musicians and their repertoire - an important recording, and good listening.' Buzz Scans magazine, UK

'The stereo separation is accurate and the presence of the individual instruments and voices is stunning, a real triumph for the artists and take a bow Doug Bailey who produced it. A priceless recreation of village music which is still highly entertaining.' Folk on Tap magazine, UK


Tenants of the Earth highlights the sacred and secular nature of the work of the jobbing local musician in the last century. The varied music ranges from vigorous dance music to the marches of the militia bands, and from the carols of the West Gallery choirs to the songs of the pub and the fireside.

The Mellstock Band appeared in the 1996 BBC Television production of Pride and Prejudice as well as in several of the Songs of Praise series. They also featured in recent film versions of the Return of the Native and The Woodlanders. On BBC national Radio, as well as guest appearances on Round Midnight and Folk on 2, they provided the music for the 1994 classical serial version of the Mayor of Casterbridge.

In the Theatre they provided music for Sir Peter Hall's production of David Edgar's Entertaining Strangers at the National Theatre in the UK, and for Patrick Garland's Victory! at the Chichester Festival Theatre on England's south coast.

The band has also toured Europe and Africa for the British Council as well as touring in the US.

They take their name from the fictional name which poet and novelist, Thomas Hardy, gave to his home parish of Stinford in Dorset, South West England. Hardy's vigorous portrayals of music, song and dancing have been an inspiration to the Mellstock band and they perform music from the Hardy family's collection of manuscript books.

They usually use instruments in their early nineteenth-century forms for their distinctive authentic sounds such as the clear incisive tone of the boxwood C clarinet, the warmth of the classical oboe and its tenor cousin, the vox humana, the purity of the English concertina's tone, and the deep rich note of the serpent.



THE BURSLEDON VILLAGE BAND: THE SOUTH WIND
(Traditional English country dance music: instrumental, melodeons, fiddle, Anglo concertinas, keyboard, drums and percussion, Eb tuba, Eb tenor horn)

Cat. No. WGS 283 CD

'Issued to coincide with their twentieth birthday celebrations this album is much more than a souvenir of two glorious decades of dancing - it is quintessentially all that is wonderful about English traditional social dance music; vibrant, contagiously danceable and tuneful. And what tunes .. this could become a "classic" dance band recording.' Folk Roots magazine, UK

'There are some cracking good tunes here, some familiar, some less so - mainly English (Sussex Tune Book and the Hardy Collection both well represented) with the occasional excursion to Ireland and Scotland.' Folkwrite magazine, UK

'here is an accomplished, tight, and bouncy band' Shire Folk magazine, UK

'production is crisp and sympathetic, and the album is unreservedly recommended to all lovers of English Country Dance Music.' Folk on Tap magazine, UK

'Normally, I would have passed by this type of album in shop or on a festival record stall, but I am grateful for the opportunity to hear it and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Essential listening to anyone interested in dance music and early versions and variants of songs and tunes popular today, as well as more unusual material. The album includes both excellent performances and sleevenotes and is well worth a hearing.' Folk Roundabout magazine, UK


Once described as the 'best kept secret on the English Folk dance scene', the Bursledon Village Band look set to become widely admired following the release of this album. Although the tunes have their origins all over the British Isles, the band's chunky English sound gives all the tunes the distinctive stamp of Southern England in general and of Burseldon in particular - largely due to the influence of such seminal traditional musicians as Scan Tester.

The album was made with dancers in mind, for example providing a few bars introduction for most of the tunes, and is ideal if you can't get hold of a live band.



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