''Folk Music'' is the seventh studio album by English acoustic roots duo

Show of Hands Show of Hands is an English acoustic roots/folk duo formed in 1986 by singer-songwriter Steve Knightley (guitars, mandolin, mandocello, cuatro) and composer and multi-instrumentalist Phil Beer (vocals, guitars, violin, viola, mandolin, mandoc ...

. After the successes of their 1996 Royal Albert Hall performance and their subsequent album '' Dark Fields'' (1997), the duo decided to record a limited edition album featuring the duo's renditions of

traditional folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...

. It was recorded in September 1998 as a project to connect the band to their roots. It was released as a limited edition release in late 1998 on the band's own label

Hands on Music A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the koala (which has two opposable thumbs on each "han ...

. It was only released via postal order and at the band's concerts and was not reviewed by music press. It was

out of print __NOTOC__ An out-of-print (OOP) or out-of-commerce item or work is something that is no longer being published. The term applies to all types of printed matter, visual media, sound recordings, and video recordings. An out-of-print book is a book ...

for many years before being re-released in 2015 as a free download to those on the duo's mailing list.

Background and content

After Show of Hands performed an unexpectedly highly successful performance at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

in 1996, they released the concert as a

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

entitled '' Live at the Royal Albert Hall'', which became the duo's best-selling album.Show Of Hands Biography , OLDIES.com
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Steve Knightley Steve Knightley (born 1954) is an English singer, songwriter and acoustic musician. Since 1992 he has been one half of folk/roots duo Show of Hands along with Phil Beer. Knightley was named "Songwriter of the Nineties" by BBC Radio 6 Music in ...

of the duo noted that as a result of the success of the performance, "it's easier to get in local papers. But we now need to replace that with a story about the music. That's the dilemma." The duo followed the success with '' Dark Fields'' (1997), an album which the duo had intended to build on their success. Whilst very much a critical success, the single released from the album, "Crazy Boy", commercially underperformed.Living Tradition CD review of Show Of Hands – Dark Fields
/ref> In 1998, the duo promoted ''Dark Fields'' with a tour. During the tour, the duo decided that they would not so quickly release a new album of music that the duo had composed. Knightley had begun writing songs, but would use them for his first solo album ''

Track of Words ''Track of Words'' is a 1999 solo album by singer-songwriter Steve Knightley. A lost album of sorts, which was re-recorded by Knightley and co-producer/engineer Mark Tucker. The re-recorded album was released as ''Track of Words – Retraced'' ...

'' (1999). The duo decided to release a limited edition album of the band's renditions of

to "connect them to their roots".Liner notes of '' Roots: The Best of Show of Hands''. The duo recorded the album in September 1998 and were pleased with the results. The album contains ten versions of traditional folk songs, as well as a

hidden track In the field of recorded music, a hidden track (sometimes called a ghost track, secret track or unlisted track) is a song or a piece of audio that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, LP record, or other recorded medium, in such a way as t ...

featuring a short version of "High Germany", a song that the duo had previously recorded live for their previous album ''Dark Fields''. Track 10, “The Train” / “ Blackwaterside”, includes "The Train". This is the third appearance on a Show of Hands album for the song, following its inclusion on '' Dark Fields'' and the 10-minute reprise of the song which takes the form of a hidden track also on '' Dark Fields''. “The Train” / “Blackwaterside” is the only song still available from the album on CD, as it was released on the best-of album ''

Roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...

''.

Release

The album was released by the duo's own label

in late 1998 as a limited edition. It was only ever made available via post order and at the band's concerts, and only for a short time. The unusual release meant that the album was not reviewed by any professional music critics. Nonetheless, the duo said that the concept "to connect them to their roots" worked well. The duo were not quick to follow the album with another album of the duo's own material. They followed ''Folk Music'' with an album of re-recordings of their old material, ''Anglicana'' (1999), and an album of contemporary

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s, '' Covers'' (2000), before returning to recording an album of new material with ''

Cold Frontier ''Cold Frontier'' is the ninth studio album by English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands. It was recorded in early 2001 on location by the Countess Wear at the River Exe, Exeter, Devon, with Mick Dolan, engineer for Steve Winwood, co-producing th ...

'' (2001). During 1999, the duo also undertook solo projects, including Knightley's solo album ''

'' and Beer's projects ''

Ridgeriders ''Ridgeriders'' is a 1999 studio album based on music from the TV series '' Ridge Riders''. The album is a collaboration album between Phil Beer, Ashley Hutchings and Chris While. It also guest features The Albion Band and Julie Matthews. The ...

'' and ''

The Fiddle Collection ''The Fiddle Collection'' (subtitled ''Volume One'') is a studio album with tracks from various British fiddle players produced by Phil Beer. Released in 1999, it was Beer's first solo project of the year during his temporary break from Show of ...

''. The tenth song, "The Train"/"Blackwaterside", was featured on the band's 2007 compilation album '' Roots: The Best of Show of Hands'', becoming the first time music from the album had been available in some eight to nine years. In February 2015, after sixteen years of unavailability, the band re-released ''Folk Music'' as a free download to anyone who subscribed to their mailing list.

Track listing

All tracks are traditional arrangements of

folk songs Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has be ...

and

Phil Beer Phil Beer (born 12 May 1953 in Exminster, Devon, England) is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, and one half of English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands. Biography Beer first began to play fiddle, guitar, and mandolin whilst ...

, except where noted. #“John Riley” – 4:34 #“Broomfield Hill” – 2:38 #“All Things Are Quite Silent” – 1:51 #“Lonesome Stockade Blues” – 4:04 #“Mary From Dungloe” (arr. Beer) – 3:13 #“

Down In Yon Forest "Down in Yon Forest" (or "Down in Yon Forrest"), also known as "All Bells in Paradise" and "Castleton Carol," is a traditional English Christmas carol dating to the Renaissance era, ultimately deriving from the anonymous Middle English poem known ...

” – 3:37 #“je ne sais quoi” (Steve Knightley) / “le boeuf anglais” (Gareth Turner) – 1:56 #“Digging Down” (lyrics by Mark Glover) – 1:49 #“Matt Hyland” – 3:28 #“The Train” (Steve Knightley) / “ Blackwaterside” – 6:50 #Hidden track (version of "High Germany") – 2:22

Personnel

* Steve Knightley * Phil Beer

References

{{Authority control 1998 albums Show of Hands albums