Fay Hield releases her third solo album, Old Adam. The LP is described as a fresh and original exploration of how we use stories and music to understand what it means to be human.

Old Adam contains 14 tracks (48 min, 41 sec), ranging from the 'The Hag in the Beck' from the 1600s to 'The Briar and the Rose', a version of a Tom Waits song. The title track explores the oldest story in the book: the fantasy of a purity of life, before corruption and sin.

‘Willow Glen’ is taken from the Lucy Broadwood collection, while ‘Green Gravel’ (from Alice Gomme’s Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland) is an interpretation of a playground song. ‘Raggle Taggle Gypsy’ moves into the realms of fantasy, with a glimpse of a world we could inhabit, if only we would follow our hearts. Themes of justice (and injustice) are explored in 'Queen Eleanor’s Confession' (from a version by Tim Hart and Maddy Prior) and 'The Hornet and the Beetle' (from the collection of Ralph Vaughan Wiliams).

Old Adam will only appeal to that slice of the population that enjoy traditional folk music, and whilst Hield has tried to dress it up a bit and bring it into the 21st century, it still won't appeal to those who don't enjoy the genre.

Fans of Hield will no doubt get a blast out of this - everyone else should stay away.

5

Nick Smithson