Bold Reynold

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FORMED in 1969 Trapeze were a classic English prog band, popular on the college circuit who had been signed by Moody Blues for their Threshold label. David Carroll spent much of the 1970s in vans travelling the country earning a crust from the then buoyant folk club and college circuits with folk band Spinning Wheel. The advent of punk led to a lessening of interest in older forms of music, so to supplement a waning income, a qualification in stringed instrument making and repair was gained, leading to a long and successful career in the musical instrument industry. Several bands, duos and solo performances followed over the years, as well as a steady flow of both live and studio session work on instruments as diverse as uilleann pipes and appalachian dulcimer as well as the more normal guitar, bouzouki and mandolin. After appearing on numerous recordings for other people the idea of a solo album fermented over several years and, bolstered by offers of help from many good friends (including all the above!) the ideas and arrangements finally surfaced in 2022. Whilst we will do our best to review any release that comes through the office we are not able to guarantee that we will be able to review everything When you see “and friends” in a billing you tend to think of a group of worthy but unknown local musicians. On Bold Reynold, however, the friends include three Gryphons: Dave Oberle, Brian Gulland and Graeme Taylor; two Fairports: Chris Leslie and Dave Pegg plus Lucy Cooper and Tom Spencer. David himself is a veteran of the 70s with a career including instrument making and innumerable groups, which is presumably where he made such good friends.

A strong feminist theme runs throughout the album including in their treatment of the traditional songs. I Never Will Marry and Hares on the Mountains. But there is also the lively Appalachian feel of Fall on My Knees. Ending with a cover of the Eurythmics Sweet Dreams this is an album full of surprises.THIS interesting collection was the brainchild of David Carroll, who has actively immersed himself in the delights of traditional music for the past half a century or so as both a performer and instrument maker. They call it “a fusion of friends” and old pals they are indeed, David Carroll who used to roll with SPINNING WHEEL and has called recently on the members of FAIRPORT CONVENTION and GRYPHON – Dave Pegg and Chris Leslie from the former collective plus Dave Oberlé, Graeme Taylor and Brian Gulland from the latter – as well as THE PROFESSIONALS’ Tom Spencer, also known from THE MAN THEY COULDN’T HANG, and Lucy Cooper to assist him in recording a debut solo album. Titled “Bold Reynold” and scheduled for release on January 20th, 2023, it presents a stunning sonic panorama wrapping a nice selection of traditional fare, “The Battle” from THE STRAWBS repertoire and “The Last Leviathan”: the Andy Barnes’ anti-whaling piece which displays the ensemble’s epic leanings. On Tuesday 7 February the Official Charts Company in partnership with English Folk Expo reveal the Top 40 best-selling and most streamed folk albums released in the January reporting period in the UK. The chart is first announced to the public at 7pm GMT as part of the Official Folk Albums Chart Show presented by Folk on Foot via their YouTube channel. Actually, it were the renowned players that offered Carroll, a part of Oberle’s THE BEAGLES since 2009, their help in striking on his own as a recording artist, rather than session facilitator and maker of stringed instruments David’s been for decades, and taking his guitar, Uilleann pipes, Appalachian dulcimer, bouzouki and mandolin to the fore. The results, as one can judge by the sample below, are fantastic (read the review) – and what’s more fantastic, the second volume of “Bold Reynold” seems to be in the works now. With instrumentation ranging from crumhorns, cor anglais and uilleann pipes through fiddle, tabla, bouzouki and dulcimer to bass, drums and electric guitar and all stops in between, this is a soundscape not to be missed.

Take off his head likewise his brush and give him three Hurrays. The Young Tradition sing The FoxhuntFinally, ‘Gentlemen Of High Renown’, which gives the album its title, enjoys an arrangement reminiscent of early 70s Fairport until Gulland weighs in with more crumhorns and a brief snatch of hunting horn. It’s far from being politically correct but it provides Bold Reynold with a rousing finish. On Tuesday 7 February the Official Charts Company in partnership with English Folk Expo revealed the Top 40 best-selling and most streamed folk albums released in the January reporting period in the UK. The chart is first announced to the public at 7pm GMT as part of the Official Folk Albums Chart Show presented by Folk on Foot via their YouTube channel. These including She Moved Through The Fair and Banks of the Nile as well as a fine revamp of Dave Cousins’s classic The Battle, stylishly aided and abetted by assorted members of venerable institutions such as Fairport Convention and Gryphon, whose multi-talented Brian Gulland displays his mastery of the crumhorn, contra bassoon and cor anglais in the process. LIZZY HARDINGHAM is a young folk singer-songwriter who burst onto the folk scene in 2019 prior to the pandemic. Her latest studio album of self-penned songs explores the relationship between music and mental health.