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Rachael McShane – No Man’s Fool
Although best known for her work with Bellowhead, 2009 looks like being an important year for Rachael as her involvement in the Darwin Song Project and this debut album have seen her emerge from the safety of the big band, and showcase her talents as a solo performer, arranger and writer.
While the material for ‘No Man’s Fool’ is traditional, her band members come from outside of the folk world, and this alone gives the whole disc a unique feel with arrangements that cross and blur the lines between genres. All the songs are credited as arranged to the whole band, and the eclectic influences of the cohesive four-piece bring some subtle and surprising arrangements to traditional folk songs.
The band of Rachael’s fiddle and cello, alongside piano & keyboards, electric bass and percussion create a full sound that is capable of both subtlety and tension, as well as real drive and drama that is suited to the rich tales of love, death and deceit.
Hearing Rachael’s vocals away from the big arrangements of Bellowhead, shows her voice to be perfectly suited to traditional material as she brings out the characters in the songs with vocal performances that range between playful and reflective.
The choice of material is as equally varied as the arrangements, with a refreshing selection that contains much that will be new to many listeners, highlights include the beautifully arranged ‘The Highwayman Outwitted’, the driving rhythms of ‘The Fisherman’, and the adventurous brass and strings of ‘Maid on the Shore’.
MCSHANE RACHAEL - NO MANS FOOL
Mcshane Rachael
CD (Cat No: 13475)
MCSHANE RACHAEL - NO MANS FOOL
