Irland Journal (Germany) September 2009
Click on image to read the full article by Markus Dehm in this quarterly German Irish magazine. |
|
Living Tradition CD & DVD Review: Fil Campbell – SONGBIRDS (CD and companion DVD) (Glenshee Records) The Fermanagh-born singer/songwriter has changed tack for her latest project (and fourth album release), on which she looks back at the music of her childhood and pays tribute to the songs of the past and the women singers who performed them. Its genesis lies in Fil’s desire to make a CD of folk songs that she had grown up with and that had first been recorded in the 1930s by Delia Murphy, but that basic idea has since evolved further to also embrace the lives of four other women who had also recorded this material (Ruby Murray, Bridie Gallagher, Mary O’Hara and Margaret Barry), eventually blossoming into a six-part series for Irish Television – entitled Songbirds: The First Ladies Of Irish Song – which was first shown in autumn 2005. more.... |
Fil Campbell Fil has written six of the ten tracks, and co-written another with Eugene Brosnan. Good to hear old familiar songs like "Free My Soul" and "Hold My Heart" from Fil's stage shows - perhaps her most personal statements - sung here with passion and commitment, and with great choruses. Fil's not afraid to let a song breathe - "I Still Think of You", a poignant tribute to her father, "Lover's Eyes" with its moody cello, and "Touch of Your Hand" are starkly effective. "Even Then" is a catchy minor key song with a swinging bossa nova beat and Celine Carroll's "On the Water" is also a great pop melody. Perhaps my favourite song on the CD, though it's hard to pick, is "Wilderness Years" once again penned by Dubliner Celine Carroll. It is a beautifully crafted ballad about rejection and reconciliation, sympathetically arranged although I would have liked to hear Anne Murnaghan's cello carrying the lovely melody. Fil Campbell has come of age with this recording and it will bring repeated pleasure to listeners. It deserves to do very well. |
"Dirty Linen (USA)" Phil Campbell Dreaming |
"Folksblatt (Feb/March '97)" ... und es gibt noch mehr als die Sands Family ,,Egal wie kalt und naß Du bist solange Du nur warm und trocken bist'' - da hat man den Mund schon ganz schön voll, oder etwa nicht? Hierbei handelt es sich um den Titel des dritten Albums von der Band Craobh Rua, einer der neuen Welle von Bands aus Nordirland. Craobh Rua und viele andere sind Teil der neuen Welle von Folkgruppen und Künstlern, die aus dem Norden Irlands kommen. In den frühen 80ern blühte dort die Szene, dann wurde sie ruhiger, aber haute ist sie wieder voll im Kommen. Die Bands touren jetzt durch Europa, Amerika und England, sie spielen aber auch oft auf den heimischen Bühnen - so kann man sicherlich Phil Campbell & Tom McFarland genauso leicht irgendwo in Deutschland oder Cran in England finden wie zu Hause. Namen wie die Sands Family sind legendär und bringen ein Läacheln der Vertrautheit auf die Lippen der Folk Fans. Und es gibt auch andere genauso talentierte Musiker, deren CDs auf jeden Fall den Kauf lohnen, aber vielleicht habt ihr ja noch nie etwas von Craobh Rua oder More Power To Your Elbow oder Sean Donnelly gehört. Das Duo Phil Campbell & Tom McFarland ist eines der am härtesten arbeitenden und nun auch eines der angesehensten in Europa. Die Sängerin Phil, deren Einflüsse von traditionellen Liedern bis zu Joni Mitchell und Nina Simone reicht, wird nun auch zum Songwriter: ,,Dreaming'', das selbstgeschriebene Titellied ihres letzten Albums, zeigt einen Umgang mit Worten, der eine große Zukunft verspricht. Tom ist mehr als nur Perkussionist, er gibt den Heartbeat zu Phil's sinnlicher Stimme. |
"Folksblatt (Autumn 1996)" Phil Campbell CD "Dreaming" |
"Folk On Tap" PHIL CAMPBELL Phil Campbell is a singer/songwriter from Northern Ireland and this is her second recording, the first being "The Light Beyond The Woods" in 1992. On this album she keeps a tight rein on her own writing talents choosing only to include one song, the title track 'Dreaming', which it must be said is very good. Her taste in other songwriters is extremely catholic and includes Lennon/McCartney's 'Two Of Us', Van Morrison's 'The Way Young Lovers Do', a couple from the pen of Julie Matthews, one from Chris While, plus 'Baby Mine' from the Disney film "Dumbo". The accompanying arrangements are excellent, never intrusive, always tasteful, combining well with the classically trained voice of Phil Campbell. There's not much more to say except that I found the CD pleasant but not bland, engaging but not over demanding, in truth a very satisfying and pleasing album. |
"Rock 'n' Reel" PHIL CAMPBELL - DREAMING |
"Folk Roots"PHIL CAMPBELLDreamingFrom Beleek in Co. Fermanagh, now living in Rostrevor, Phil and her percussionist - other half Tom McFarland - have carved out a career for themselves on the autobahns of Holland and Germany and the British and Scottish folk clubs. Dreaming has the mantle of the interpreter as its core but there are a few surprises present, none more so than the self-penned title track. A series of recurring images in dreams roughly relating to pre-ceasefire Northern Ireland, Dreaming crosses the thin line between hopes and despair. One hopes for more next time from her pen, such is its success rating. The other success is her choice of material. Two Of Us, a lesser-known Lennon/McCartney composition, recalls the effervescence of Barbara Dickson's Decca recordings, while The Way Young Lovers Do turns Van Morrison's paean to teenage romance into a torch song of considerable power. Here one hangs on to every note and word as it emerges. Phil Campbell's voice is a clear and highly distinctive mechanism, china-like in its fragility yet clear as the proverbial bell. The works of Chris While, Julian Dawson and Julie Matthews also beckon with Blue Songs On A Red Guitar and 100 Miles fitting in here like gloves. Phil Campbell has a gently commanding way with a song... she draws you in slowly until it's a case of sweet surrender. An extremly worthwhile collection. John O'Regan |
"The Word" PHIL CAMPBELL |
"Tykes News" DREAMING I try to avoid direct comparisons, not only because some dead bloke said they are odious, but also because they imply that a similarity in one respect means an across-the-board duplication. So, with the disclaimer out of the way, I must confess that several times this CD has caused the word "McGarrigle" to pop into my head. It's not the material or the arrangements or the production, which are all highly individual and original. It's an indefinable quality in Phil's voice, especially when heard out of the corner of one ear. Fortunately, in this household there is no greater praise bestowed on a female vocalist than to have the Mac-word applied to her. I certainly haven't heard it used before. I suppose it's a bit like someone in a Tibetan Buddhist community being told "By gum, but you remind me of the Dali Lama..." The 11 songs come from a wide range of contemporary sources (though John-and-Paul and Van-the-man are teetering on the edge of becoming trad-arr.) and each track stands alone as a carefully arranged and beautifully performed piece of work. Special mention must be made of the title track - a song of extraordinary power and honesty. It's the only self-penned number on this album but it stands out even among such fine writers as Chris While and Julie Matthews. Light and shade crop up in all forms, not only in choice of material and vocal style of delivery but in the rampant good taste of the accompanists. The percussion stool is ably filled by Tom McFarland, Phil's right (and left?) hand man - his ambidexterity is unquestionable! Guitars are by Ted Ponsonby, bass by James Blennerhassett, keyboards by Rod McVey, and engineering and shared production performed by fellow Rostrevor muso Colum Sands. Andrea Rea contributes lovely viola on one track and backing vocals are by Liam Bradley. Ready, everyone - step forward (two, three) - bow (two, three) - up (two, three), step back and pat each other on the back for a bloody good job bloody well done! Alan Rose |
"Zitty Magazine" Berlin Sie kommen aus Ulster, wo
sie in den Folk Clubs spielen.
Trotzdem widmen sie sich
auch dem Jazz, Leonard
Cohen und dem Blues, den
der Tabla und Bodhran
spielende Ehemann schon in
Belfast trommelte: |
