Hourglass

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
Folk music seems simple, and many pretenders pull into town with little more than a presentable voice and a handful of beginner guitar chords. Much more infrequently, performers come along with basically the same constituent parts but through the sheer force of their artistry and integrity are able to use these simple elements to communicate whole lifetimes of experience. Such a performer is youthful Kate Rusby, who sings with the focus and depth one usually associates with the graceful compensations of age. Her crystal-clear voice (reminiscent in turns of Linda Thompson and Sandy Denny) rings out from the first cut. Rusby's assured delivery is dappled with small, unmasked idiosyncrasies that add emotional immediacy. Meanwhile, the all-acoustic presentation is inventive but never slick or overwhelming. Hourglass announces an important new light in the traditional British folk scene. --Anthony Bonet

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2007-09-30 rating:
One of the best!
This had to be one of the all time best Kate Rusby albums. It has fantastic songs and a lot of them are either fast and memorable, or slower but at the same time catchy. All the tracks on this CD are actually very well done, but the best ones have to be:

Sir Eglamore - it's a song about a dragon. Who couldn't love that? It had a really good sort of repeating line as well, that keeps the tune going and adds to the overall flavour of the track.

Radio Sweethearts - A sweet old tune about an old couple waltzing to a radio. You would think that it would be slow and set to a waltz it self, but it goes at a medium pace and has a veyr nice little melody to it!

I Am Stretched On Your Grave - Based on an old poem, this is by far the best song on the album. It's sung incredibly well, and has a deathly drum beat set to it from the second verse. There's no messing around, it's straight to the point and it leaves you singing all day. Fantastic!

There are meany otehr high quality tracks on this album, and it really is one that you should have no doubt about adding to your collection!

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review by: date: 2005-07-01 rating:
Hourglass
This was my first exposure to the fantastic talents of Kate Rusby and although I have expanded my collection of her albums to include later material, this, her first album, will always have a special place in my CD collection.

As others have commented her, Kate's voice is her finest tool and she uses it with accomplished skill. Neither perfect in pitch or tone and heavily northerly accented you would expect such a combination not to work, but it is this very "honesty" about her voice which works so very well, whether singing in mournful lower tones or stretching to the limits of the higher ranges it carries the listener on an emotional roller coaster ride.

The songs themselves are a wonderful mix of traditional folk, whether that is joyful tunes about working life (Jolly Ploughboys) or fireside tales (Sir Eglamore) or darker mournful ballads about lost love (Annan Waters) or even forbidden love (Rose in April). But there's also place for tales of more modern love (Radio Sweethearts) or a contemporary view of the passage of time (Old Man Time)

The musical accompaniment is wonderfully understated, after all it's Kate's voice that is the star, but when the soaring fiddle work powers in, (Annan Waters for example) it is simply sublime.

Album favourites for me include the dark humour of Old Man Time, the clap-along saga of Drowned Lovers and the honest workmen's anthem of Jolly Ploughmen.

If you haven't discovered Kate yet, or have only hear her more recent output make this your next "must have" CD purchase!

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review by: date: 2002-02-10 rating:
Beautiful songwriting, haunting voice
I first encountered Kate Rusby in an interview in a guitar magazine, and, as she is shortly to visit Morecambe, thought I would purchase a CD before purchasing a concert ticket. Reviews on this Amazon site made choosing difficult, but in the end I opted for this one.

As other reviewers have commented, Kate Rusby's voice is delightful, with a lovely natural sound. Especially winsome is her refusal to mask her Yorkshire accent, and as a fellow notherner I like to hear "mother" pronounced as "mutha", "love" as "luv" and so on! And the voicing is lovely too; listen to the magical voicing of the word "rode" in the lines "..she rode through fields of barley, and she rode through fields of corn.." on "Rose in April."

In the interview I read, Kate Rusby said she considers herself a singer rather than a songwriter. I agree with another reviewer who thinks "Hourglass" is the best song on the album. Besides THAT haunting voice, there is some lovely imagery of "Old Man Time" whose hourglass for Kate seems to have less sand than most people's, causing Kate to wonder if God didn't give him all her sand, or whether hers has been shared with someone else, or washed away, and to wonder if she brought some in a sack, perhaps he'd give some back. Marvellous!

The CD is a mixture of originals, traditional, and traditional lyrics adapted or put to original tunes. The arrangements are very tastefully done, too, with all of the (variety of) instruments adding to the sound without encroaching on it. In the interview I read, Kate expressed a preference for sad songs - plenty of those here! I haven't exposed myself to "traditional" folk music for quite a while, this could now change. I can't wait for the concert, and intend purchasing her other CDs.

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review by: date: 2001-03-12 rating:
Prepare to be moved
Kate Rusby has a honey rich mezzo voice, and she has gathered around her a group of subtle, sympathetic and tasteful musicians. She has here recorded a set of songs and tunes which combine the cream of the folk tradition with her own lyrical compositions. Those are the bald facts - and they they do not begin to describe what an absolute joy this CD is. I have already saved a place in my choice for Desert Island Discs (well, we can all dream) for the heartbreakingly beautiful Annan Waters, which features some delicately underplayed piano from Kate, and I have been forced to reconsider my view that nothing more could be done with the shanty Bold Riley. But the list of gems does not end there; her voice descends to a sensual contralto for the seriously mellifluous As I Roved Out, and she adopts a lighter mood for the jazzy waltz Radio Sweethearts. I could go on; there is not a weak track on this CD. Buy it; it will move you.


review by: date: 2000-11-13 rating:
Everything she does is magic!
Kate is an incredible artist. Anyone who hasn't already heard it should also listen to her album with Kathryn Roberts (1995, Pure Records) as well as Sleepless, which is also amazingly good. Her live performances are fantastic and she comes across as being so pleasant and down to earth that you can't help liking her.

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