- Audio CD (Aug 17 1999)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Label: Compass Records
- ASIN: B00000JWCN
- In-Print Editions: Audio CD
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#18,222 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
- #68 in Music > Folk > Traditional British & Celtic Folk > British Folk
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Product Details |
Track Listings
| 1. The Cobblers Daughter |
| 2. I Wonder What Is Keeping My True Love This Night |
| 3. The Fairest Of All Yarrow |
| 4. The Unquiet Grave |
| 5. Sho Heen |
| 6. Sweet Bride |
| 7. All God's Angels |
| 8. The Wild Goose |
| 9. The Duke And The Tinker |
| 10. Our Town |
| 11. The Sleepless Sailor |
| 12. Bonus Track: Cowsong |
| 13. Bonus Track: Botany Bay |
Product Description
From Amazon.com
Anyone expecting a stylistic leap the second time out for this bright talent will be disappointed with Sleepless. The mystery, however, is how anyone could listen to Kate Rusby's stunning debut, Hourglass, and wish that she'd abandon a sound that fits her like a custom-cut bodice. The Yorkshire, England-based classicist is clearly committed to the traditional folk music of her homeland, and she inhabits the music with preternatural confidence. First and foremost, she has a rare knack for making arcane phraseology seem vibrant. Witness the first album's "He took up his sword and he went to fight / Fa la lanky down dilly." Or, from this sophomore effort: "She's hit him on the head / The young man fell like lead / Quite dead / Upon the floor he lay." She dances over the words as if tipsy on some magical potion. Like its predecessor, Sleepless is marked by warm and supple playing. Among the smart originals and adapted traditionals is one contemporary selection--Iris DeMent's "Our Town." Appropriate, for as DeMent resuscitates old-time American hill music with unselfconscious élan, so does Rusby make the timeworn music of the British Isles come alive. --Steven Stolder
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
I love this album!,
By
This review is from: Sleepless (Audio CD)
This is my first experience with the voice of Kate Rusby. It makes me want to get her other CDs. I have listened to it only a couple of times but each time I hear it I hear new things and the music means more to me. That is the mark of a good album. I will only comment on one song, "Wild Goose," which is my favorite. In fact I loved it so much I went hunting for sources and found out (as I suspected) that it is a sea shanty (a "halyard song" to be precise), sometimes known as "Ranzo" or "Ranzo Ray." Those words appear in the chorus, as another reviewer mentioned. Of course Kate does her own thing with it, and the results give me a lump in the throat. It's a wonderful thing to know how a song can live many lives, from long-ago sailors singing as they work the sails and ropes, to my living room in 2004, and still have a powerful meaning. Thanks, Kate.
5.0 out of 5 stars
It's Your Town....Goodnight,
By
This review is from: Sleepless (Audio CD)
Anyone who has even the slighest interest in traditional folk music, either from Britain, Ireland, or from the U.S., is doing themselves a disservice by ignoring this CD. Someone mentioned a comparison to June Tabor, which is a good starting point, except June has experimented with folk/rock and cabaret jazz genres, whereas Ms. Rusby's feet are firmly planted on traditional soil. Her gorgeously burnished voice hides her relative youth; her work is truly a stunning accomplishment. While the pronounciation in her thick native Yorkshire accent can be a bit idiosyncratic, there is no hiding the heartbreak and melancholy that she brings to the traditional songs, and particularly to her well chosen cover of Iris Dement's "Our Town." See if you can listen to that song with a dry eye. Ah, but there is some much more to bathe yourself in as her voice permeates your head and heart.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.6 out of 5 stars (19 customer reviews) 16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Better than "Hourglass",
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Sleepless (Audio CD)
Kate Rusby is a new voice to me, but her music is familiar. I have to admit I was swayed by reviews on this site that said her first cd was better than this one. I disagree. Though the first is totally above average--"A Rose in April" and "I am Stretched on Your Grave" total standouts--I feel the material on this cd is stronger. "Sho Heen" is haunting, "The Sleepless Sailor" a sing-along favorite, "Cowsong" begins soft and gets your toe tapping, makes you want to "fall down in the green grass," like the lyrics. But make no mistake, this is a very mellow cd, for those cold winter nights, by firelight and candlelight. Or a lazy Sunday morning, sunlight streaming through the curtains. P.S. If you like Kate, you'll like Connie Dover (begin with "Wishing Well"). 9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
I love this album!,
By Christopher Bonds - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Sleepless (Audio CD)
This is my first experience with the voice of Kate Rusby. Repeated listenings confirmed for me that there is something new to hear each time. That is the mark of a good album. Because I enjoyed this album so much, I got most of her other CDs as well as her concert DVD. I will only comment on one song, "Wild Goose," which is my favorite. In fact I loved it so much I went hunting for sources and found out (as I suspected) that it is a sea shanty (a "halyard song" to be precise), sometimes known as "Ranzo" or "Ranzo Ray." Those words appear in the chorus, as another reviewer mentioned. Of course Kate does her own thing with it, and the results give me a lump in the throat. It's a wonderful thing to know how a song can live many lives, from long-ago sailors singing as they work the sails and ropes, to my living room in 2004, and still have a powerful meaning. Thanks, Kate.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Album - Quirky & Fun,
By S. Kirk - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Sleepless (Audio CD)
I freely admit to being one whose tastes run more towards the pierced-navel gazing sort of folk music, so I was surprised at just how much I enjoyed this CD. I bought it because of Kate's amazing cover of Iris Dement's "Our Town" and have come to love the other tunes here as well. Kate's voice is stunning and the arrangements are simple (nothing like those of Loreena McKennitt whose music I either find lush and haunting or pretentious and over-the-top, depending on my mood) and, despite the high body count, there is humor to be found throughout. Recommended to all, even to those who believe themselves to have an aversion to traditional folk.
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