New music

Rooted topic records

A tempestuous journey through rich folk landscapes A new album from folk stalwart and guitar virtuoso Martin Simpson is always a major event in the calendar. “The music and songs embrace nature and travel, mental health, real-life stories, loss, politics and history…” he tells us. “Threads that bind all this together can be followed back a long way, to 1965 when I got my first guitar and started to soak up material and ideas at a very rapid rate.”

Available in both standard and deluxe formats (the latter comes with a second CD of instrumentals), Rooted comprises 13 tracks delivered on an eclectic collection of instruments. Along the way, Martin plays banjola, five-string banjo, six-string fretless banjo, electric, acoustic and resonator guitars as only he can. In the case of the album’s second track, Kimbie, he plays

a Martin D-28 that cult artist Jackson C Frank wrote and recorded the staple folk track Blues Run The Game, a song that has featured on Martin’s previous album, Trails And Tribulations.

The album takes the form of a travelogue through some of the finest American and British folk, with some of Martin’s originals along the way. Possibly the most heart-rending tale on the album is Martin’s version of Shel Silverstein’s Hills Of Shiloh, where a woman waits for the return of her partner who was killed in a war 40 years previously. Queen Jane is a previously unreleased song by banjo player Hedy West and receives a fierce fingerstyle accompaniment. Another Hedy West song,

Joe Bowers sees Martin take to his slide for some superb, soulful playing. [DM] Standout track: Hills Of Shiloh For fans of: Martin Carthy, Roy Bailey