(2022) Sam Sweeney - Solo EP          


Review:
The name of Sam Sweeney will, of course, be familiar to the majority of folk and traditional fans. From his collaboration with Andy Cutting and Rob Harbron as the exceptional trio Leveret, through to Bellowhead and The Full English, as well as Jon Boden’s Remnant Kings, Fay Hield’s Hurricane Party, and his work with Emily Portman and Martin Carthy, amongst many, many others, Sweeney has garnered a very deserved reputation as one of the most exciting and talented musicians on the music scene today. His latest work, Solo, comes in the wake of his 2020 release Unearth Repeat. The new EP is delivered as the first instalment of a project highlighting members of his touring band who accompanied him on his 2020 release and was recorded in September 2021 at St Martin’s Church in Stoney Middleton in the Peak District. The church has fond memories for the musician. Sweeney used to live close by and regularly practised and recorded in the village’s church. Similarly, the tracks on offer provide an element of familiarity. Some are old favourites; others are tunes Sweeney learnt during the long drought of the global pandemic, providing an element of comfort during a difficult time. The six-track EP opens with Untitled Waltz #1, which is also the first single from the recording. Taken from the manuscript of Thomas Wrigley (1755), it’s a sprightly introduction, with a bright, finely pitched swing that reels the listener in before slipping into the traditional dance ‘Tweedside’. This early 19th-century dance is less frenetic as it would traditionally be played and becomes more a romance; smoother with a few gentle sweeps to lift your dance partner. It’s a beautifully expressive way to begin a striking EP. Cuckoo’s Nest / Old Oxford follows with a fine set of morris tunes, whilst The Four Seasons is a playful little tune from Samuel Dickinson’s 1768 manuscript. It is a precise, energetic and dazzling listen. On the other hand, The Old Captain has a darker, almost melancholic mood. It is a reflective tune, which is perhaps suggested by the title. Sweeney has a natural talent for finding the emotive edge of a tune. Familiar and even unfamiliar tracks take us on poignant journeys, especially so through the sublime recording by Andy Bell. The closing set, Old Way’s Best / Booth’s Hornpipe, come from John Johnson’s 200 Favourite Country Dances Volume 1 (1740), as does, incidentally ‘The Old Captain’, and Playford’s The Dancing Master, Volume 3. They provide an exquisite close to a genuinely stunning EP.





Track List:
1.Untitled Waltz #1 / Tweedside 04:54
2.Cuckoo’s Nest / Old Oxford 06:13
3.Untitled Waltz #2 02:23
4.The Four Seasons 02:30
5.The Old Captain 03:40
6.Old Ways Best / Booth’s Hornpipe 05:16


Media Report:
Genre: acoustic, folk
Country: UK
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits


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