Ralph McTell - From Clare to Here: The Songs of Ralph McTell

Title: From Clare to Here: The Songs of Ralph McTell Artist: Ralph McTell Release Date: 5/21/1996 Label: Red House Records Duration: 70:25 Album Type(s): Greatest Hits UPC: 033651008620 Genre: Folk Styles: Singer/Songwriter, British Folk, Contemporary Folk, British Folk-Rock Moods: Amiable/Good-Natured, Sentimental, Earthy, Intimate, Literate, Bittersweet, Earnest, Gentle, Organic, Reflective, Wistful, Autumnal, Melancholy, Plaintive, Poignant Total Copies: 0 Members Wishing: 0 Number of Discs/SwapaCD Credits: 1

1. Summer Girls [#]
2. The Girl from the Hiring Fair
3. Barges
4. Michael in the Garden
5. Tequila Sunset
6. Bridge of Sighs
7. Song for Martin
8. Throw Out a Line and Dream
9. The Setting
10. From Clare to Here
11. Mr. Connaughton
12. Hands of Joseph
13. Stranger to the Seasons
14. Weather the Storm
15. The Ferryman
16. Streets of London

Year Type Label Catalog # 1996 CD Red House Records 86

No other editions were found for this album.

Folk fans owe a debt of gratitude to Minnesota independent label Red House for putting a thorough Ralph McTell compilation into print in the U.S. This collection, copyright 1991, contains 16 tracks at a running time of nearly 71 minutes. One song is new and three others are re-recordings, but none of that matters very much. New listeners are liable to be reminded of McTell's contemporary Al Stewart, who has a similarly becalmed British delivery and musical arrangements keyed to his delicate fingerpicking. (Various members of Fairport Convention, past and present, frequently accompany McTell, with lead guitarists Jerry Donahue's and Richard Thompson's playing sometimes suggesting Mark Knopfler, although since McTell preceded Dire Straits by a decade, maybe it should be the other way around.) Other soundalikes would include James Taylor and Chris DeBurgh, though McTell has none of the pop sensibility of the former or the melodramatic tone of the latter. Rather, he delivers his songs in an unhurried manner that corresponds to the wistfulness and regret of his lyrics, which are reflections on working-class life, full of aspirations and disappointments. His story songs have a fable-like quality, not so much in the sense of being grandiose as in the sense of being distanced -- the emotion has been distilled by time so that they always seem to be works of memory. Even "Streets of London" (presented here in its third, "hit" recording), which has a point to make, does so in such a prosaic way that there's no sting. It may be that the reason it has been McTell's only hit is that he's essentially a formalist, less interested in the opportunities folk music presents for expressiveness than in the ties it maintains to tradition. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

Name Credits Alun Davies Guitar (Rhythm), Guitar (Acoustic) Andrew Powell Illustrations Ben Jones Engineer Benny Gallagher Vocals (Background) Billy Livsey Piano, Fender Rhodes Dave Pegg Bass Dave Swarbrick Violin Gerry Conway Drums Graham Preskett Synthesizer, Keyboards, String Arrangements, Strings Jerry Donahue Guitar John Giblin Bass John Perry Vocals (Background) Ken Gold Vocals (Background) Martin Allcock Bass, Bass (Acoustic), Strings, Mandolin Michael J. McDonagh Compilation Nigel Portman Smith Bass Peter Swettenham Vocals (Background), Keyboards Phil Collins Drums Phil Palmer Guitar Pick Withers Percussion, Drums Ralph McTell Compilation, Vocals, Guitar (Acoustic), Harmonica Richard Thompson Guitar Robert Kirby String Arrangements Rod Clements Guitar (Bass), Vocals (Background) Simon Nichol Guitar (Rhythm) Tim Matyear Engineer Tommy Keane Uillean Pipes Tony Rivers Vocals (Background)