Description
Label Review.
2005 album with 3 bonus tracks and 28pp booklet. Topic Records.
Our Overview.
John Tams has been a leading light in British Folk circles for decades, for his work as a solo artist, a member of Home Service and the Albion Band, so this release of ‘The Reckoning’ as a Deluxe CD with 3 bonus tracks is just a delight for fans old and new. Originally released in 2005, John Tams’ third and final album, ‘The Reckoning’ received produced a triple whammy at the following year’s BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, winning Best Album, Best Traditional Track (for Bitter Withy) and Folk Singer of the Year.
‘The Reckoning’ is a masterful collection of traditional and self-composed material including a spellbinding reading of ‘The Bitter Withy,’ a powerful reworking of ‘A Man Of Constant Sorrow’ and a magnificent set of sea songs including ‘Pretty Nancy’ and ‘A Sailor’s Life.’ The musical settings range from sparse acoustics to full-on band recordings with such musicians as Barry Coope and fellow Albion Band and Home Service alumni Graham Taylor and Roger Wilson.
John Tams was a member of Derbyshire folk group Muckram Wakes in the 1970s, then worked with Ashley Hutchings as singer and melodeon-player on albums including ‘Son of Morris On,’ and as a member of the British folk rock group Albion Band. Splitting with Hutchings in the 1980s, he formed Home Service.
Tams may be best known for playing a regular supporting role (to Sean Bean) in the ITV drama series Sharpe, as rifleman Daniel Hagman. He also co-wrote the music for the series alongside Dominic Muldowney. In 1996, Tams and Muldowney released the best-selling album,’ ‘Over the Hills & Far Away: The Music of Sharpe.’ This album has sold over 120,000 copies. He also worked as a music consultant on War Horse at the National Theatre - the most successful show ever staged by the National which received six nominations for the Olivier Awards, including one for the Best Sound, for Tams and fellow team members Chris Shutt and Adrian Sutton.
This new deluxe CD re-issue, as part of the new Topic Treasures series to celebrate the label’s 80th anniversary. The CD also includes 3 bonus tracks (2 previously unreleased) and includes a 28 page booklet with new sleeve notes by acclaimed journalist/Sandy Denny biographer, Mick Houghton and new intro by John Tams.
Tracks: Written In The Book / Safe House / Amelia / How High The Price ? / All Clouds The Sky / St. Hilda’s Waltz / Bitter Withy / A Man Of Constant Sorrow / Pretty Nancy / A Sailor’s Life / One More Day / As I Looked East, As I Looked West / Including Love / Sweet Home Oklahoma (Demo) BONUS TRACK / No Luck At All (Demo) BONUS TRACK / I’ll Fly Away BONUS TRACK