Martin Simpson: True Stories

Jul 26 2009 by Daniel Smith, Sunday Mercury

MARTIN SIMPSON

True Stories

(Topic)

wFOLKIE Martin Simpson returns with an album that walks confidently a tightrope over the gulf between tradition and contemporary songwriting. Time-honoured tunes such as Sir Patrick Spens, The Wind & The Rain and Look Up, Look Down rub rustic shoulders with self-penned delights such as the nostalgic Home Again, poignant One Day and gorgeous Greystones, the latter a subtle instrumental. Backed by an all-star band including BJ Cole on pedal steel, Danny Thompson on bass and Bellowhead’s frontman fiddler Jon Boden, this is folk at its finest. PC