Search - Anne Briggs :: A Collection

Beautiful, pure and haunting...

Ralph H. Peters | Washington, D.C. area | 05/26/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a dark, beautiful album from a magnificent singer little known in the USA, and too little known even in her UK home. Anne Briggs sings the old, great folksongs of Britain in a timeless, clear and wrenching voice. This is a "folksinger" who was truly one of the folk, not a product of a scene, or of the glitzy world of the recording industry. Rather, Anne Briggs "lived the blues" the way Robert Johnson or Son House did--not that the sound is remotely the same, for there are no flatted sevenths here, but the on-the-edge life, the love of music for its own sake, and the voice etched by physical as well as emotional hardship make this the ultimate "white soul" album. The songs are those of the English countryside and Scottish lowlands, performed as simply and truly as possible, but the spirit is of all mankind. Few albums are indispensible, but, if you have loved the "daughters of Anne Briggs," such as Sandy Denny or Kate Rusby, you will treasure this wonderful set of recordings. For heart-bangers, not head-bangers."

The glorious girl that started it all

Elizabeth A. Genco | Brooklyn, New York USA | 04/19/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you're a fan of contemporary British folk and "folk rock", you might want to take a little time to get to know Anne Briggs, if you haven't already. Not only will you be treated to a voice as pure and breathtakingly beautiful as can be imagined (and you can't, really -- Anne is to be heard to be believed), but you'll get a little history, too.It's no secret that Anne singlehandedly changed the face of the British folksinging tradition. Sandy Denny, Maddy Prior, June Tabor, as well as more contemporary female voices such as that of Susan McKeown -- all of them hearken back to Anne. This collection is a solid compendium of Anne's criminally few recordings (she retired at the age of 27 because of her dislike for her recorded voice, and hasn't publically sung since). Almost all of the songs are traditional, and make for a nice introduction to some of the British folk standard repertoire (though I'd be willing to bet that some of these songs made it into the cannon by virtue of Anne's performances!). In addition to the songs, this edition's got great liner notes with some great stories about the musical life of Anne and some of her contemporaries -- all of them folks who made extensive contributions to the British folk revival. An absolute must for all interested in the British singing tradition!"

Just give me a time machine...

eurydike | Santa Cruz, CA USA | 03/08/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Anne is the girl who tricked the Queen of Faeries and rescued Tambling, and the same who wandered off with Reynardine into the fogs that mask the face of true lands of milkwhite steeds, unpolluted by cellphones. She rides on the West Wind and bemoans the East Wind, while the North Wind courts her, and the Great South aches with white flowers garlanded about her dark tresses. I would give seven pots of gold for a time machine, and I would travel back to the Cambridge Folk Festival in '65, and wander traipsing among the daisies with fair Anne, and chase the swallows as they play among the haywains of an ancient summer.



She has swum with the Salmon of Wisdom.



It doesn't get any better than this."