Thirty year celebration involving… everyone!
This album has a rightly celebratory feel as Rusby, a key mover and shaker in progressing folk from the confines of the beard stroking isolationists that had bedevilled the form for so long, lays out some favourite tracks from her career with the help of a plethora of musical cohorts each perhaps representing an area of influence from the pop sensibility of KT Tunstall on the melody stuffed ‘Let Me Be‘ to the African rhythms of Lady Blacksmith Mabazo on opener ‘We Will Sing‘. And this all follows her highest charting success with the album of covers “Hand Me Down”
This should build upon that success as the range is broad and all encompassing. There is no musical direction taken here that is not rooted by Rusby’s crystal clear vocals and folk sensibilities all of which means that this album is a very pleasant way to spend some time with consummate musicians and a very good archivist choosing material of a very high quality. It does not forge new ground or change perceptions which perhaps previous outings may have done but this is not the point. Here is an artist celebrating 30 years in a notoriously fickle business and acknowledging the recognition for her role in broadening the appeal of the form. Dive in and enjoy.
