(Fellside)
Hedy West was one of the great American stars of the 60s folk revival. Born in Georgia, the daughter of a union organiser who worked with mining communities, she sang mining songs, epic narrative ballads, children's songs and country tunes, accompanying her no-nonsense vocal style with equally effective, gently attacking and rhythmic playing on the five-string banjo. She spent several years in the UK, where she was rightly treated as a folk celebrity, touring with the likes of Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick, and recording three albums for the Topic label. These have been unavailable for years, but are all now, thankfully, re-released on this 41-song double CD, which provides a timely reminder of why she still has a cult following, six years on from her death, and influenced contemporary performers such as Martin Simpson. There's enormous variety here, from the angry, rousing mining song The Davison-Wilder Blues, through to the gospel of Promised Land, and exquisite, timeless versions of great British ballads that migrated to the Appalachians. West's treatment of the tragic story of Little Matty Groves is as powerful as the classic recording by Sandy Denny with Fairport Convention.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/aug/04/hedy-west-cd-review
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