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NOW PLAYING: 'FREEDOM FIELDS' BY SETH LAKEMAN...

Rob

Updated: Jun 15, 2024

Originally released in 2006, this is the album that got me into Seth Lakeman. It has now been released for the first time on vinyl and includes a bonus LP of unreleased demos, oh and a signed print - nice!


If you are unfamiliar with Lakeman he is/was the next big (commercial) thing in modern British folk. I’d heard his songs on BBC6Music (probably not that big a surprise, the station is a broad church as they like to boast) but also on Radio 2 (now that was a surprise). He was actually Mercury Prize nominated in the 00s.


He writes cracking songs about the myths and legends of the West Country - not the most contemporary themes but hey, this is folk music! For example, on this album there are songs about a mythical night-dancing witch who will steal your soul if you meet her gaze (The White Hare), a Cornish shipwreck in 1780 (Lady Of The Sea) and 17th-century civil war skirmishes (1643).


I love the storytelling on this album and the deceptively simple sounding musicianship, all acoustic guitars, banjos and fiddles.


The bonus LP is a nice touch too, featuring 12 songs including unreleased tracks, alternative versions and demos.


Tracks To Try: ‘Lady Of The Sea’, ‘The White Hare’, ‘The Colliers’, ‘Riflemen Of War’, ‘Send Yourself Away’, ‘Childe The Hunter (Dub Version)’

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