CHELTENHAM FOLK FESTIVAL FINAL CONCERT: FAUSTUS and JIM MORAY - TOWN HALL

The evening opened with an outstanding solo set from Jim

Moray. Moray first gained acclaim nearly ten years ago with the genre-busting electronic

treatment of traditional songs on his first album Sweet England, the title track of which he reproduced here perfectly.

He often focuses on the gloomy and macabre side of the tradition, his delicate

and studied guitar work creating a distinctly sombre ambience on his opening

number Bella Hardy's ghost story Three Black

Feathers.   He followed this with the

urgent and driving Jenny of the Moor,

his clear sweet-edged voice bringing great clarity to the narrative. Taking to

the piano for Hawkstow Range his use

of multi-layered vocals to replicate a four-part choir was perhaps a little

less successful. After returning to his darker side with a brilliant version of

the murderous story Long Lankin he

then delivered a spine-tingling rendition of Poverty Knock, lamenting the factory weaver's struggle to make ends

meet, the chorus recreating the repetitive clacking of the shuttle as it fires across

the loom. His minor-key vocals created the perfect atmosphere to finish this marvellous

set with a very well received encore of Wistfulness

Waltz.

The rambunctious trio Faustus then took the stage with Benji

Kirkpatrick leading on the energetic Broken

Down Gentleman. The pace slowed with a studied version of The Deserter, in which an errant soldier

is saved from the firing squad by none other than Prince Albert. Paul Sartin's threatening

violin then combined with Kirkpatrick's piercing guitar and Saul Rose's dense melodeon

to brew up a storm on the doom-laden Battle

of the Nile.  To relieve the sombre atmosphere three dance tunes were then dispensed

at such breakneck speed that Rose was left gasping for breath and pleading for

a towel with which to dry both himself and his instrument down.  The Faustus boys are never short of a saucy song

or two, so the introduction of The Thrashing Machine was no surprise, its blatant

agricultural metaphor for more lascivious activity receiving the natural response

from the audience. A rousing version of The

Humpback Whale, made popular by Nic Jones, had the audience chorusing in

good voice before Sartin finished off with the dramatically miserable sheep-stealer's

song Brisk Lad. Dazzling entertainment

from an excellent band.

Eric Worrall