Anne Briggs - Anne Briggs

Reissued gilded perfection

This autumnal reissue of Anne Briggs’ first eponymous solo album, cited as the influential tipping-point of the post-war British folk revival, could not be more timely. These immaculate intuitive performances evoke a painterly ode to an Albion of dappled deciduous woodlands and sumptuous bucolic fantasy. Of the 10 tracks, only four are instrumentally accompanied, and minimally at that, allowing the undiluted grace of Briggs’ voice, which is paramount to her majesty, to soar, transcend and transport you to her necessary church of solace and purity.

From the plain opening strains of Blackwater Side, it’s clear that Briggs is here to circle your heart with her honesty. But while the jagged, austere tones of her acapellas elicit the most potent and noble of sorrows, other tracks, such as Willie O’ Winsbury, with its freewheeling Kentucky dulcimer, bounce you up and over with glorious satiating melodies suggesting something much more victorious.

Amid these air-stilling renditions of old, there might be no finer testament to Briggs’ ability as a songwriter than Go Your Way (written because she “wasn’t seeing enough of someone”). You’d be hard pressed to find a more gratifying insight into the questing, original spirit of this oft-elusive, yet much lauded bastion of British folk.

5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars

Water | WATER 199

Reviewed by Melissa Osborne
<< Back to Issue 357

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