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ALASDAIR ROBERTS - THE AMBER GATHERS (LP)

ALASDAIR ROBERTS/THE AMBER GATHERS (LP)

Alasdair Roberts the Amber Gathers on Vinyl

On 2005's No Earthly Man, Scottish singer/songwriter Alasdair Roberts offered up eight traditional ballads with minimal accompaniment. That he pulled it off without nailing the listeners eyes shut within the first two minutes is a testament to both his gift as an interpreter, and his reedy, yet impossibly fluid and melodious voice. On the Amber Gatherers, Roberts balances regional folk songs with his own self-penned odes to heartache, death and drink, successfully blurring the line between the two like a young Nic Jones or Martin Carthy. A full band is employed this time around, and their lightly brushed drums, fingerpicked guitars, accordions, and backing vocals wrap themselves around Roberts' careful phrasing like a winter coat. Standout tracks such as 'I Had a Kiss of the King's Hand,' 'Cruel War' and 'Old Men of the Shells' sound like lost cuts from the late-'60s and early-'70s British folk heydays, and a hand-drawn map of the U.K. with songtitles for cities, as well as a handy tuning chart that explains where to capo your guitar for each song, gives the whole affair a rustic, communal vibe that manages to avoid feeling contrived.

Alasdair Roberts the Amber Gathers Track Listing

1. Riddle Me This 
2. Where Twines The Path 
3. Waxwing 
4. I Had A Kiss Of The King's Hand 
5. The Cruel War 
6. Let Me Lie And Bleed Awhile 
7. Firewater 
8. River Rhine 
9. I Have A Charm 
10. The Old Men Of The Shells 
11. The Calfless Cow