An Introduction to Martin Carthy

One of the jewels in Topic's vast catalogue has to be the work of Martin Carthy, one of the colossi of post-war British folk, a man who has exerted a powerful influence on the likes of Bob Dylan, as his source for the songs ‘Girl from the North Country’ and ‘Bob Dylan's Dream’, and Paul Simon (‘Scarborough Fair’). Carthy's version of ‘Franklin’, the inspiration for the latter, is majestic and epic, qualities it shares with ‘Sailor's Life’ and the superb ‘Prince Heathen’. Most of the music here comes from his solo albums, and his duets with Dave Swarbrick, from his eponymous debut through to what is currently his last studio release, 2004's Waiting for Angels. There's nothing from his work with the Watersons, Waterson:Carthy, Albion Band or Steeleye Span, but there are a welcome two tracks from the singular 1980s band Brass Monkey, which combined trumpet and trombone with squeezeboxes, guitar and mandolin.

The material here is almost entirely traditional, researched and reassembled by Carthy himself from archives and source singers, while the covers include a rousing ‘Palaces of Gold’ from Leon Rosselson. One of the best of Topic's Introduction series, this bit of Martin Carthy should be in every folk-lover's collection.