Release date: 06.07.2018
Label: Acid Jazz Records
Length: 51:50
Rating: 8/10
Judy Dyble is best known as the founding singer of English folk rock legends Fairport Convention, with whom she recorded their self-titled debut in 1968. At gigs she turned heads by knitting little shirts for her male ‘fellow sufferers’ in the band during the vocal breaks, whenever it was time for a longer instrumental section or a solo. After short stints with the proto-King Crimson lineup Giles, Giles & Fripp, where she briefly moved, suspecting nothing, with her then boyfriend, multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald, and with the short-lived group Trader Horne, where she landed after the relationship with McDonald ended, she got worn out by her first longer concert tour, got married and retired from music for more than three decades. She made an unexpected return to the music scene in 2004 with her solo debut »Enchanted Garden«. Helped along by numerous longtime musical friends, her renewed activity proved a success, and since then she has racked up a nice number of solo releases, most of which found a warm reception among plenty of fans of folk rock and symphonic progressive rock.
Her latest album, »Earh Is Sleeping«, the follow-up to »Summer Dancing« (2017), on which she collaborated with Andy Lewis, offers this ‘forgotten but rediscovered’ singer what is almost her trademark blend of folk rock and symphonic progressive rock, with simple yet ethereal, mostly acoustic arrangements. These are suffused with a generous dose of warmth and a melancholic, rustic mood. Most of the material was written between 2009 and 2016. The most fascinating thing about »Earth Is Sleeping« is that Judy’s voice is almost untouched five decades after she first appeared on the music scene, so it was no surprise that Fairport Convention recently invited her to a reunion gig of all surviving original members, held to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the band. She also recently worked with Big Big Train on their album »Grimspound« (2017).
»Velvet to Atone« is a rearranged version of a Trader Horne piece from 1970, which Dyble recreated together with songwriting partner Martin Quinteton. The album is dominated by symphonic and acoustic-leaning ballads that are ideal for her velvety, ethereal voice, while all the guitar contributors and the orchestral section, led by the strings, deserve praise too. »She Now Owns a Heart of Stone«, about lost love, is one of the few tracks on the album where the backing band flexes its muscles a little more and delivers a very pleasant symphonic prog rock journey. »Lullabye for Irene« is a lullaby for Dyble’s granddaughter Irene, and its main charm is the lovely string arrangements. As a whole, »Earth Is Sleeping« is not a musical milestone. Its real richness is its remarkable ambient breadth, which you can feel in every single composition.
With the beautiful ambient journey that is »Earth Is Sleeping«, which will be most interesting to anyone who knows her story and her work, Dyble has once again proven that it’s never too late to return from musical retirement, or from near-total obscurity. It’s nice to hear a musician who, after more than three decades of inactivity, rediscovered her creative spark and has been making albums ever since, albums that can be a real positive inspiration to plenty of people from her generation. Fifteen years ago it looked like Dyble would be remembered merely as the founding member of Fairport Convention who gave up her spot in the legendary band to the far more famous Sandy Denny, but with her return to music things have taken a surprising turn in a very interesting direction.
by: Peter Podbrežnik
tracklist:
01. Marianna (4:17)
02. Promises (3:44)
03. Answerphone (3:09)
04. Take Me Dancing (3:44)
05. Velvet To Atone (2:44)
06. Faded Elvis (5:22)
07. See What Your Words (2:31)
08. She Now Owns A Heart Of Stone (6:59)
09. Lullaby For Ellie (2:33)
10. I Found A Rainbow (2:03)
11. Broken Day (4:49)
12. Earth Is Sleeping 4:36)
13. New-born Creatures (5:39)
musicians:
Judy Dyble – vocals, autoharp
Alistair Murphy – keyboards, acoustic guitar, horn arrangements
Neal Hoffman – backing vocals, guitar, organ, bass guitar, glockenspiel, synthesizer
Paul Love – drums
Laurie A‘Court – tenor, alto and soprano saxophone
Jeremy Salmon – guitar
Mark Fletcher – bass guitar
Phil Toms- keyboards, string arrangements
Steve Bingham – violin
Brenda Stewart – viola
Daniel Grace – cello
Ian Burrage – drums
Pat Masetelotto – drums
Brenden McAuley – whistles
Matt Stevens – guitar
Rich Nolan – drums
Brian Gulland – bassoon
Dean Francis Hawksley – programming, cello arrangements
