Albums to watch

Folk Songs

James Yorkston And The Big Eyes Family Players

Folk Songs

The Fife folk singer-songwriter teamed with the Sheffield outfit for an album of traditional-style songs

ADM rating[?]

7.1

Label
Domino
UK Release date
10/08/2009
  1. 8.0 |   Mojo

    Print edition only

  2. 8.0 |   Uncut

    Yorkston may have set aside his “personal muse” for a moment, but Folk Songs is still part of his rich re-imagining of our heritage.
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  3. 8.0 |   The Scotsman

    Although some Yorkston fans may regard this album as merely marking time until his next collection of original material is released, they might be surprised just how seamlessly its themes and textures feed into the rest of his catalogue
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  4. 8.0 |   The Observer

    Yorkston's mournful vocal burr is intimate and engaging, while the instrumental backings, by Leeds's Big Eyes Players, are consistently inventive... This is an inspired homage to timeless British song
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  5. 8.0 |   The Times

    Too many folk albums should come with their own hair shirt. This is one you’ll actually enjoy
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  6. 8.0 |   Evening Standard

    Gradually, on repeated listening, the words and music come together to recreate a lost world in a forgotten soundscape. Your heartstrings are well and truly plucked
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  7. 8.0 |   The Quietus

    Fine tribute to the folk tradition of a musician taking long established songs, putting his own mark on the tested formulas and then passing them on for consumption by whoever encounters them along the road
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  8. 8.0 |   PopMatters

    A joy from beginning to end.
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  9. 7.0 |   musicOMH

    Folk Songs is one of those albums that fails to live up to the sum of its parts. However, despite its faults, it is still an admirable stab and worth checking out for anyone keen on a back-to-basics approach to folk
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  10. 7.0 |   Clash

    ‘Folk Songs’ serves as fine introduction to both Yorkston and traditional folk. Many are bound to recognise a tune familiar if ever caught on their grandparents’ radio as a child, while those who are au fait with the newer age of folk can embrace the opportunity to learn from the old guard
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  11. 7.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    It all helps to remind us that this highly talented, consistently modest Scotsman isn’t easily put into a box for the selling; Folk Songs probably won’t soundtrack a woman exhorting you through your flatscreen to buy yoghurt in the foreseeable, but it will be received with a deserved warmth by an established cluster of fans
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  12. 6.0 |   The Guardian

    Will impress fans of his laidback, often deadpan style - though he does vary the mood for a couple of tracks, including the pounding finale Low Down in the Broom. The surprises come from the often lush and inventive arrangements
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  13. 5.0 |   NME

    Print edition only

  14. 4.0 |   Q

    Print edition only


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Preview & download it

James Yorkston And The Big Eyes Family Players: Folk Songs

  • Download full album for just £8.49
  • 1. Hills Of Greenmoor £0.89
  • 2. Just As The Tide Was Flowing £0.89
  • 3. Martinmas Time £0.89
  • 4. Mary Connaught & James O'Donnell £0.89
  • 5. Thorneymoor Woods £0.89
  • 6. I Went To Visit The Roses £0.89
  • 7. Pandeirada De Entrimo £0.89
  • 8. Little Musgrave £0.89
  • 9. Rufford Park Poachers £0.89
  • 10. Sovay £0.89
  • 11. Low Down In The Broom £0.89
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