Underneath The Stars

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
With Underneath the Stars, her first studio album since 2001's Little Lights, Kate Rusby takes a massive step forward. Like her fellow north-easterner Eliza Carthy, she's still plundering a folk back-catalogue that stretches back several hundred years and finding many a narrative to delight and amuse. But unlike Carthy, who attempts to inject a youthful wildness into this ancient music, Rusby concentrates on the purest, clearest performance of her chosen songs. Tastefully employing accordions, citterns, banjos and mandolins, as well as Eddi Reader and members of the Grimethorpe Colliery Band, Underneath the Stars does achieve a quiet but deeply moving clarity.

All the instruments, like Rusby's sweet voice, are geared only to move along these stories of lovers separated by water, press gangs and death. What really lifts the album to extraordinary heights, though, is the exceptional quality of the songs Rusby has written herself. While "Young James" and "Polly" fit easily among the older tales of perpetually unrequited love, both "Falling" and the closing title track are crushingly beautiful love songs with an enlightened twist, both grieving and glad. Really, they're stunningly good, close to holy, clearly very personal for Rusby but evocative enough to draw the listener helplessly inside. --Dominic Wills

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Description
Fifth album from celebrated Brit folk artist follows 2001's'Little Lights'. Uniformly praised by the mainstream and the trad press as her best album yet, this blends exquisitely arranged traditionals and Rusby's original material into a seamless whole. Features contributions from Eddi Reader and the Grimethorpe Colliery Band, and includes a version of Nic Jones's 'The Blind Harper'.

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2007-08-08 rating:
Very typical Kate Rusby - but still excellent!
This is a fantastic CD by a fantastic artist. It's very like Kate Rusby's other work, but if you like that then you will love this CD. I personally prefer it to some of her older CD's, as it has a lot of fast and memerobal tracks in it that you'll find yourself singing all day! Great tracks on this CD - "The Good Man", "Let me be", "The Blind Harper", "Young James". All the songs are uniquely Kate Rusby though, and it's a great addition to any collection!

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review by: date: 2007-07-24 rating:
The voice ...
Kate's voice is sheer beauty - a wonderful tone, slightly sad, slightly vulnerable, her Barnsley accent shining through on occasions, perfectly suited to the songs she sings.

The traditional and new-in-traditional-style songs on this album vary from middle of the road folk to excellent. The true glory of this CD however is in two of Kate's originals.

"Falling" is heart stoppingly lovely, achingly sad and lost, yet uplifting at the same time. "Underneath the stars" is simply breathtaking, for me one of the most wonderful songs ever, lyrically and melodically. Why on earth nobody else has picked this up and made a galactic scale hit of it I cannot understand.

Covers would never do justice to the originals however, as Rusby's voice has never sounded better, singing to the simplest and cleanest of arrangements. "Underneath the stars" is perfect in this arrangement - Kate and guitar and her wonderful voice.

Seeing her sing this accompanied by her own guitar in concert is one of those live music moments you have to see. She normally ends the show with it, and it's worth the price of admission alone.

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review by: jessie date: 2007-06-07 rating:
Kate Rusby is under a star
Album review for "underneath the stars" by Kate Rusby

This traditional folk music by Kate Rusby is great music and Rusby really pulls it off with her brilliant new album.

The album is very calming and creates a relaxing atmosphere. There is a good mix of upbeat songs "Goodman" and slow peaceful songs "The daughter of Megan". A lot of her songs are melancholy and are all played with traditional folk instruments like the mandolin, cittern and guitar.

Kate Rusbys voice is very soft and clear and is very beautiful.

This album is defiantly worth your money and time. It's worth listening to all of it just for the last song "underneath the stars" which was written by Rusby herself and the name of the whole album.

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review by: date: 2007-01-20 rating:
A bit of a dirge
I really liked Kate's rendition of Village Green Preservation Society(the theme from Jam & Jerusalem & written by the great Ray Davies)so I thought I'd try an album. Many of the most favourable reviews were of this one, but having bought it I'm a bit disapointed.The songs sound very similar,
performed at the same,slow,"dirgy"tempo & I find her mock Yorkshire accent a bit irritating (yes, I know she's from Barnsley!)...mind you, I would consider buying another album.


review by: date: 2006-11-06 rating:
Brilliant, brilliant
A beautiful album. Great songs, great voice, great musicians. There's something about listening to Kate that makes me go weak at the knees.

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