Songs From the Great War: Far, Far From Ypres

October 15th, 2008

My review of Far, Far From Ypres, a collection of songs from the UK dating back to World War I, has been posted up at Green Man Review and is a Featured Review this week.

A snippet:

The first CD features newly-recorded versions of songs sung by the soldiers in the trenches, a couple of bagpipe pieces, and a handful of the popular music hall songs of the era. Contributors include Scottish folk luminary Ian McCalman, Maartin Allcock, formerly of Fairport Convention and Jethro Tull, Hamish Bayne, and a host of others. The bulk of the disc is given over to the short bits of song that the Tommies sang to pass the time as they waited for the bullets to fly again. McCalman leads The Scottish Pals as they bring to life nearly 30 tunes. Instrumentation is minimal with acoustic guitar, a fleeting accordion, and percussion to be had, but the emphasis is on the vocals. The songs are simple yet convey very vividly the struggles of the young men who fought in the war.

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1. Freedom Songs
2. Didn't Black People Make Any Great Music This Year?
3. Show #164: Tongue – 16 Songs (1994-1998)
4. Rick Wright Now Playing at Great Gig in the Sky
5. Show #31: Rhythm'n'Jews – "Songs of Our Fathers" (Part 3)