Rating: - "Poor Kitty Jay, such a beauty thrown away ..."
This is a grudging four-star review (rounded up from three-and-a-half). I had come across Lakeman before in his local band Equation. I heard he had come up with a solo album based on local legends and my curiosity was aroused. This review addresses superficially the songs individually before looking at the album as a whole.
"John Lomax" is surprisingly good; making the chorus softer and quieter than the verses is very effective. "The Bold Knight" displays Lakeman's skilful handling of ... Read More
Rating: - Kitty Jay
My son bought me this album for mother's day last year and it still gets played regularly. I went to see Seth live last autumn and he was absolutely fantastic. This lively folk singer has a fantastic original style of singing and is such a talented violinist and musician. I really cant wait for his next tour. Seth's foot-tapping music is addictive and highly recommended!
Rating: - Dartmoor Delight
This album represents the best of modern folk. It clearly has traditional influences and sensibility, but nevertheless has an edginess to it which gives it a modern feel.
The songs are inspired by the writer's home in Dartmoor and this allows for great variety ranging from old fashioned murder ballads to tales of the moors and the excitement (and the dread) of setting out to sea.
The outstanding track is the title number Kitty Jay, a sad tale of betrayal driven by a fantastic ... Read More
Rating: - Spot on.
A quick encapsulation? Seth Lakeman is English folk's Jeff Buckley.
The compositions on this disk balance the tense, brooding atmospherics of Dartmoor with impossibly attractive hooks and performances.
The quality is in the balance. The persistent drive of John Lomas sits directly next to the addictive Bold Knight. The range of the eleven songs is ambitious by anyone's standards.
The album stamps its greatness with the frighteningly raw Kitty Jay, the sound of contemporary ... Read More
Rating: - Mesmeric
Not being a new folkie, an old folkie, or much of a folkie at all it took the Mercury Prize nomination to wake me up to the talent that is Seth Lakeman.
Was lucky enough to have him play a gig in a local pub in the week he was nominated, and was amazed by both his voice and fiddle playing as he ran through most of the Kitty Jay album in a tiny but packed venue.
Naturally I rushed to get this album and happily it sounds just as good. (Why does anyone spend more than three hundred quid on recording a album ... Read More
- 
-