Reviews

"Wake the Vaulted Echoes" A celebration of Peter Bellamy - Free Reed FRTCD14 (£22.00)

The first thing I want to say about the latest offering is that the sleeve design could be better, but it sn't bad. I draw attention to this primarily because I can find almost nothing else to fault in this absolutely astounding package. It would be easy to praise the sheer quantity of material set forth, not least because, like the recordings of Nic Jones, Bellamy's albums have, with a couple of exceptions, never found their way to a well-deserved CD re-release. However, in negotiating the minefields of copyright and label politics, Neil Wayne and his collaborators have unearthed an amazing wealth of rarities, outtakes, curios and alternative versions that even a die-hard Bellamy fan would be hard pushed to have heard before. With the co-operation of Peter Bellamy's friends, acquaintances and fans, a wonderful product has been created which brings together 47 tracks from throughout Pete's career, from the earliest home recordings to the final studio takes. There are more than enough tracks of stunning quality to balance the less polished but interesting curiosities that are well placed throughout the 3.5 hours of music.

The accompanying booklet is splendidly presented, and deals well with Peter as a person, as well as Peter the singer. The booklet alone is a fascinating read, weighing in at a whopping 71 pages. In addition to all this, those technologically equipped listeners can stick Disk Three in any computer with an up-to-date browser and access a wealth of written material, photographs, essays, anecdotes and more, adding even further to the amazing value presented here. Fans rest assured, everything you would want on a best-of is here, and more. A final word to the uninitiated: Peter's style is, at times, an acquired taste, but the opportunity to listen to such a variety of tracks from such an influential figure on the folk scene is unmissable, and here is as good a place as any to start acquiring some very good taste.